Bucharest is situated near the Bulgarian border and inland from the Black Sea. Ceausescu, the dictator, destroyed large portions of Bucharest, and it is now being rebuilt.

Prospects.

Romania regionally “punches above its weight” in a booming film industry, and an excellent range of arts output across all arts.

According to Economist & other analysis, poverty and social issues plague Romania. Infrastructure spending needs increasing, and Romanians are dissatisfied with their Government.

GDP per capita is around $11000 based on PPP, similar to Bulgaria, and there is a large informal economy which is not captured.

More on Romania.

Enjoy this video.There are more on 2thinknow Innovation channel on Youtube. www.youtube.com/2thinknow

Bucharest & Timisoara (near Hungarian-Serban border) will be included in the scoring of 2thinknow Innovation Cities for 2009. Other Romanian cities, please suggest.

If you have any suggested resources regarding Romania, please post them below.

I am particularly interested in comments by Romanians on their countries.

This slideshow on SlideShare from user MickPork shows the beautiful inspiration of Venice.

Your thoughts?

2thinknow are finalising assessments of this years Innovation Cities. Venice is being scored.

So what are your thoughts on Venice? Cultural, technological, economic or otherwise.

Well done to Serdar Belbag.

The 2thinknow view is that companies seeking to become employers-of-choice, need creative workspaces as an element of their strategy.

What do you think? Would it inspire you to work in these offices?

Or is your work or dream office more creative?

Post the photos in our new flickr group: Creative Companies

About Creative Companies

Creative workplace. Employers of choice. Ethical corporations. Nice seats. Micro-finance projects. Creative Capitalism. Innovation Teams. Inspiring workplaces. Not cubicle farms (unless they are cool). Cool.

The places you work.
The places you’d like to work.
The companies that WOW you.

Think Google, HP, Silicon Valley, Art Co-ops, design firms, Funky London, Apple, Small Business, loose-knit co-operatives.

www.flickr.com/groups/creative-companies/

Or talk below.

The contribution of Harvard university and MIT to world knowledge and learning is barely measurable across the broad scope of all professions.

In addition Boston in New England, is one of the few cities in the USA where the food supply is adequate. Most US cities have a food supply that is below world best practice.

In truth, Boston, like San Francisco or New York is one of the American cities with a rich artistic and cultural life as well as a culinary life.

Newbury Street has some wonderful restaurants, including my favorite, Bouchee, a French restaurant not far from Boston Public Library.

Boston has a reliable public transport system which is one of the few world-class US transport systems, the delightful Boston Common, a bookshop culture, appreciation of arts and a bicycle culture.

Unlike most US cities, Boston allows chance connections and creativity to flourish, being a city that can be walked and discovered… not merely driving from one parking lot to another.

Boston is the bridge between Europe and America.

Berlin is building a Ferris Wheel, Europe’s highest in fact.

Melbourne is building a Ferris Wheel, as a landmark at new district Docklands. Opening next year.

Singapore is building a huge wheel, and Beijing started last year

The City Ferris Wheel Fad

When each city is doing the same thing, and London has already done it, it is not a unique phenomenon. It can’t express what is inside your city’s soul.

Sure it is a money-spinner for London, and it does offer a stand-out skyline image. But for the same money and effort, could not something more permanent and meaningful be created for each city?

Unique Brand of the City

The 2thinknow view, is that each city has a unique essence, that needs to be brought out. The city succeeds when it’s brand is expressed in a way that at that time there is a demand for the brand of that city.

I know each city would like it’s own landmark, but they should be unique to the city.

So with that said, here are 5 City brands, instantly recognizable worldwide.

City Brand Paris

The Eiffel tower means Paris. Grand, over-reaching, central, powerful, strong yet melancholy.

City Brand Sydney

The Harbour Bridge means Sydney. Sunny, optimistic, always on the water, always partying.

3 Other City Brands

The Brooklyn Bridge, Chrysler Building, Empire State, Woolworths building mean New York. Multicultural, multi-style, multi-epoque. And every person worldwide (well, almost) recognizes the I ? NY logo. Every ironic use, or skyscraper reinforces the New York brand, a point raised in the comments to Ezra Kleins post.

The twin-spired Cathedral means Cologne, Germany.

Berlin is the Space Needle-esque ‘Fernsehturm’, television tower.

City Branding, a rising phenomenon

As cities become brands, and instant branding becomes important, cities with unique landmarks that capture the greatness of a city will become more valuable.

Not more Ferris Wheels, but unique landmarks encapsulating a city’s essence.

For Melbourne, it is the trams and conductors, if they were brought back, perhaps!

Not a Ferris Wheel.

What do you think?

What landmark does or doesn’t capture your city? What would you like to see? Or do you love your city’s Ferris Wheel?

Write us your thoughts short or long below…

Standing on level 5 of Georges Pompidou, you can see the whole of Old Paris, laid out before you. I did this last in April 2007, and was mesmerized.

And New Paris: Office district on the other side of Paris; La Défense. This modern office block tower district, is really an additional side to the old Paris not a central part of Paris.

The new 300 metre tower by Jean Nouvel is part of a bold ambitious plan to change this. The plan is to make La Défense, Manhattan-sur-Seine. A 24 hour, modern office district on the outside of Paris, potentially an alternate centre as an adjunct to the ‘old Paris’ of the Left Bank, Invalides and Notre Dame.

M. Nouvel is famed all over the world as an architect, since his 1987 project for the Institut du Monde Arabe and is the 2008 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate.

There is some concern over how this may effect Paris, and perhaps lead to an exodus of office rentals in Paris proper. But I believe the French will resolve this, as the competing forces and interests in Paris often negotiate compromise outcomes.

Modern French architecture in France has recently been eclipsed by some London, German and Catalan designs. This seems part of a practical plan to preserve the centre, yet modernize Paris.

Some related plans by the Mayor of Paris, include spreading the ‘mini-Manhattan’ theme, but given French activism and an entrenched coalition of opposition, these seem less likely.

In the end, a positive development for Paris, the city of Paris is ranked #3 in the world for innovation in the Global Innovation Review 2007, by 2thinknow.

A largely industrial city, on the Rhine, Dusseldorf is over 800 years old. The city is known as a fashion and advertising capital, with a major fashion fair annually.

The video contains many of Düsseldorf, ’s more impressive sites, the Rhine and buildings.

Königsallee, is a world-class shopping street, and the city contains various museums and galleries, such as the Museum Kunst Palast of 16-20th centruy art. Kaiserswerth is a famous ruined castle. Alstadt (old town) is popular.

Modern arts figures, like Joseph Beuys, and Wim Wenders, director/producer, are from Düsseldorf. Heinrich Heine, the famed 19th century German poet was born here, and there is a museum to his poetry and life.

As a world city

The city is multi-cultural, and infrastructure like transport world-class, although the station is not as organized as some in Germany.

Yet, culturally, there is a sense of incompletion in Düsseldorf, as it is expensive to live, yet lacks the significant weight of a truly great city such as Vienna or Paris.

An argument could be made that a revived Stuttgart is eclipsing Düsseldorf culturally and industrially, with quality education, many cultural sites and a lower cost of living. Populations are similar, at around 600,000.

Yet in total Stuttgart, Dusseldorf and Cologne (or Koln) are well worth the visit, easily connected by Eurail, and in many ways forming a broader cultural district.

Quite a few Germans live in one city and work in another, something made possible by world-class infrastructure, like ICE trains and Deutsche Bahn.

SAM ROEN – WITH CHRISTOPHER HIRE

These slides show some of Rome’s most inspirational areas and beautiful landmarks. The lovely backing song is Roma Capoccia by Antonello Venditti, a famous Roman singer.

Rome was ranked equal 5th Innovation Cities in the world largely due to its inspiration, and position as Italian capital. The rankings were part of the Global Innovation Review 2007, authored by Christopher Hire and published by 2thinknow.

Rome is undoubtedly one of the worlds, most cultured and beautiful cities.

And on previous trips to East Europe, Christopher found that Roma and London were the most popular destinations to visit, or migrate to. Especially in Budapest.

Rome is a true global city.

Includes a musical backing soundtrack, in Bulgarian.

Bulgaria, notably, has changed a lot since the 90s.

Well, this is true, in Germany, and much of Europe.

The ease of implementation of the Deutsche Bahn (D-Bahn) system, allows for the enquiry into, and booking of complex train routes.

Whilst no mechanical system is perfect, those with some human knowledge of conditions on the ground in Germany, can plan and map routes across Europe using the German website for D-Bahn.

German Trains Worldwide Benchmark

In public transport the Germans are leading the way. How?

Specific details of which trains are on which routes.

Reservations of long-distance seats.

Various frequent-traveller discount programs, like Bahncard.

E-ticketing for domestic trains, using a boarding pass tied to a credit card.

Mobility information before travel for the disabled or less mobile.

Predictable, accurate timetabling.

Consistent connections between trains.

Clean, mostly safe, trains.

Not always modern trains, but consistently well-maintained.

An increasingly integrated transport system.

Lest we just say, oh those Germans have always had good trains… Remember that they have had the massive expenditure of integrating all former East-German cities.

Integrating communist era rolling stock, signal systems and trains is something that was not easy. Such integration would not happen in other free-market economies like the UK or Australia, without mammoth mistakes and front-page disasters.

Leipzig, a Great Example of what’s possible in under 1 Generation

If you want to see what an excellent job the Germans have done, go to Leipzig.

Leipzig was ranked the 5th place Innovation City worldwide in the Global innovation Review 2007. Part of this is an ability to implement innovation, due to strong infrastructure support.

As a simple example, the World Cup was held in Leipzig venues, and was managed very well by all accounts of visitors.

20 years ago, even 5-10 years ago Leipzig was nowehere near as integrated.

2thinknow Research into German Systems

I am returning this April to Germany to research trains and IT integration, as is done in the German booking System for Deutsche Bahn, as well as the use of new technologies in air travel booking that the Germans are using.

Having been to every Australian city and many more in Europe and America, the closest rival to the German system is the French System, especially Eurostar & TGV.

In the Americas Boston and San Francisco have amongst the best public transport of major cities, by US standards. But Germany is ahead.

German’s World Class Trains

Germans should be the benchmark on integrated multi-function, consistent public transport.

Integrated, multi-function transport is increasingly important when many Governments are concerned about “emissions” from cars. Trains are more environmentally friendly in most cases, than individual journeys by car, or plane flights.

But more critically, public transport enables innovation by reducing the friction on trade, allowing free uninhibited movement of people, goods and services, and enhancing cultural exchange.

What is one reason why German Public Transport Works?

Notably, whilst Germany has private basis for some transport, their is a public mindedness operating, a sense of “for the public good” imbued in the system.

This focus, is a part of the cultural factors, that lead German systems to differ from Australian or UK systems. The Australia and UK approaches are typified by heavy outsourcing and confused, inept public planning, and poor ministerial oversight.

In Germany, functioning public transport is a critical component of their world-beating approach to technology-based innovation.

Germans recognize that environmentally, culturally and economically public transport adds value.

2thinknow have identified a number of factors that contribute to the success of a public transport system, through global analysis and comparisons of transport systems.

It is not just the technology, it is the broad integrated socio-cultural approach of the Germans to public transport, that makes them world-top-of-the-class in this field.