But Hawaii’s most populous city (population 390,000; about the size of Oakland, California) seems to have embraced a more urban version of itself recently, leapfrogging into the 21st century and welcoming the future of urban planning. The current building boom there—centered on Kakaako, a barren warehouse district between Waikiki and downtown Honolulu—is championing many of the trends that currently guide development in places like New York, San Francisco, and Portland, Oregon—things like walkability, entrepreneurship, and a sharing economy....

In a place that primarily caters to tourism, Kakaako has its hopes set on becoming a “locals-first” destination, with a focus on inclusiveness and affordability, though some residents are nervous about how affordable the neighborhood will remain. Regardless, from the gabion-walled parklet outside Hank’s Haute Dogs to the artist/fabricator collective Lana Lane, it is immediately clear that this is not the Hawaii of the previous century....

The Internet, especially social media, may be responsible for much of what’s happening in Hawaii, says Wei Fang, a cofounder and director at Interisland Terminal, an arts organization that has had a presence in Kakaako since 2011. “The Internet really has made things feel different here because there isn’t quite the same sense of cultural isolation,” Fang says, explaining that social media has become a conduit for trends in fashion, food, and design.

It used to be that newspapers arrived on the islands a day later than the contiguous United States (referred to as “the mainland”). Now, Hawaiians can read headlines at the same time as New Yorkers from the same types of mobile devices and interact on the same digital platforms. Perhaps more importantly, they are using social media to export an image of the islands that is broader and more reflective of Hawaiian culture as it exists today.