Tag: Downtown Voices Coalition

In Conversation with Phoenix City Council Candidates

Downtown Voices Coalition is hosting a series of one-on-one online conversations with the four remaining candidates for Phoenix City Council.

Downtown Voices Coalition, downtown Phoenix’s only grassroots stakeholder group that champions issues of urban excellence, like small and locally owned business, historic preservation, sustainability in a broader perspective, and good government, is hosting a series of one-on-one online conversations with the four remaining candidates for Phoenix City Council. The four candidates will be in conversation with our Edward Jensen, our group’s Secretary as well as an ardent observer in Phoenix politics and governance.

Leading off the conversations will be Laura Pastor, a program director at South Mountain Community College and the daughter of U.S. Congressman Ed Pastor, on Friday, October 4, from 7:00-8:00pm. Justin Johnson, running against Pastor for the District 4 seat, will be in conversation with Jensen on Monday, October 7, also from 7:00-8:00pm. Johnson is a real estate developer and the son of former Phoenix mayor Paul Johnson. Conversations with Kate Gallego and Warren Stewart are being scheduled for the week of October 7.

The conversations will be hosted on DVC’s Google+ page as a Google+ Hangout On Air, an innovative platform to allow many observers from Phoenix to watch and participate in the conversation. Twitter users can send in their questions and comments using the hashtag #DVC4 and #DVC8 (depending on the district represented). Participants who do not have Google+ can watch on DVC’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/DVCPhoenix. The conversation will then be available on the DVC YouTube channel for watching after the live event has concluded.

“I am pleased to be hosting these one-on-one conversations,” said Jensen. “This is a unique, first-of-its-kind way to engage with the candidates and the questions that will be asked are not the conventional questions asked in debates and fora. It gives the candidates an opportunity to envision that they are in their respective City Council seat and working to accomplish their agenda.”

The questions are focused around the central theme of governance and how the candidates plan to accomplish their policy proposals while they are in office. The four subthemes are “City Hall and the Next City Manager,” “Governance and Intergovernmental Relations,” “Downtown / Urban Phoenix and Urban Living Infrastructure,” and “Sustainability and the Environment in a Broader Context.” The one-on-one conversation format will allow Jensen to pursue different lines of questioning based on the answers given, allowing for tremendous flexibility. About 15-20 minutes at the end will be reserved for audience questions.

Downtown Voices Coalition is a coalition of stakeholder organizations that embrace growth in downtown Phoenix, but is mindful that healthy growth should be based upon existing downtown resources — the vibrancy of neighborhoods, the strength of the arts community, the uniqueness of historic properties, and the wonderful small businesses that dot downtown. For more information, visit downtownvoices.org.

Tonight: The Downtown Phoenix We Want

It’s no secret that I’m the Secretary for Downtown Voices Coalition (DVC), downtown Phoenix’s only nonprofit grassroots organization that fosters discussion on a wide array of social, economic, physical, and political issues. One of our big projects is “The Downtown We Want,” a survey based on “The Arizona We Want” and co-presented by the Center for the Future of Arizona, Phoenix Urban Design Week, the Downtown Devil, and DVC.

You’re invited to a community meeting for residents of and advocates for Downtown Phoenix on Tuesday, April 9 to discuss “The Downtown We Want.” The gathering will include a panel discussion, moderated question and answer period, results of a downtown-specific survey, and reception with complimentary refreshments.

The discussion will be led by Dr. Lattie Coor, president and CEO of the Center for the Future of Arizona and president emeritus of Arizona State University. The Center released The Arizona We Want 2.0 on January 24, 2013 to revisit the eight citizen goals identified in the Gallup Arizona Poll, describe the changes that have occurred since the original report was released three years ago, and identify a set of recommended “next steps” that much be taken to achieve the Arizona we want as described by citizens.

TAKE THE SURVEYS IN ADVANCE
We encourage downtown residents and advocates to complete two online surveys in advance of the meeting: the original Gallup Arizona Poll and the 2012 Arizona Civic Health Index. By registering and completing the surveys using the special Group Code “voices,” you will immediately see how similar or different your responses are from those of your fellow Phoenicians and Arizonans. In addition, a special report will be released at the meeting detailing the survey responses of all individuals and organizations participating in “The Downtown We Want.”

The Gallup Arizona Poll takes 15-20 minutes to complete and is designed to capture a clear picture of what Arizonans want on a variety of issues: Education, Job Creation, Environment & Water, Infrastructure, Health Care, Young Talent, Civic Engagement and Community Involvement.
The Arizona Civic Health Index takes about 5 minutes to complete and is the nation’s leading gauge of how well Americans connect to one another and to their communities. Since 2010, the National Conference on Citizenship has partnered with the Center for the Future of Arizona to publish the civic health report on an annual basis.

To begin the survey, visit http://www.thearizonawewant.org/registration/. Remember to enter the Group Code “voices” in the space provided.

ATTEND “THE DOWNTOWN WE WANT” COMMUNITY MEETING
Other organizations and their constituencies invited to take the surveys and participate in the community meeting include Artlink (representing the local arts community), Downtown Devil (representing students attending downtown colleges and universities), Downtown Phoenix Partnership, Downtown Voices Coalition, Phoenix Community Alliance, and Phoenix Historic Neighborhoods Coalition (representing historic neighborhoods and districts surrounding downtown). Separate Group Codes will be available for each group and included in the report provided at the meeting.

Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Time: 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Place: Third Street Theater, Phoenix Center for the Arts, 1202 N. 3rd St., Phoenix, AZ 85004

RSVP via Eventbrite: http://downtownwewant.eventbrite.com/
Visit the PHXUDW webpage: http://www.phxudw.com/tuesday–4913

Monday opinions on dog parks

…in which I opine on a downtown Phoenix dog park and express dismay over the tenor of the dialogue.

I’m finished opining on the downtown Phoenix dog park.

Everyone has a right to their own opinion. I enjoy hearing the different thoughts that come out in the dialogue and I’m amazed by the diversity of ideas produced. But I have become distraught at the tenor of the conversation. It appears like there are groups of people who are so entrenched in their viewpoints that they fail to consider other opinions.

I’m not saying that one side is right and the other is wrong. I am saying that it is only fair to have a reasoned and rational discussion among all sides about the dog park issue. Personally, I believe that there are more important things to downtown Phoenix’s renaissance than siting a dog park. We need to consider our downtown’s macro issues, being mindful that these are the things that make a downtown truly great: arts and culture, affordable housing, community building, good design, sustainable transportation, social equity, historic preservation, a diverse economy, strong neighborhoods, vibrant public spaces, and solid planning.

While I’m sure that organizations with which I’m affiliated (like Downtown Voices Coalition, the Hance Park Conservancy, and others) will weigh in on this issue, it is my hope that the debate is civil.

I, personally, am finished weighing in on the dog park. My priorities are based on that list above.

DVC presents: State of Sustainability in Metro Phoenix

A panel of local experts and Andrew Ross, author of “Bird on Fire,” will discuss the current state of sustainability in Phoenix at a public forum on Tuesday, January 17, 2012.

PHOENIX, Arizona – A panel of local experts and Andrew Ross, author of “Bird on Fire: Lessons from the World’s Least Sustainable City,” will discuss the current state of sustainability in metropolitan Phoenix at a public forum on Tuesday, January 17, 2012. The event, free to the public, will be held at the George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center at 415 E. Grant Street. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., panel discussion 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., audience Q&A 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., and reception with complimentary refreshments 8 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

RSVP on Facebook / Join DVC on Facebook

Panel moderator will be Charles Redman, Arizona State University (ASU) Virginia M. Ullmann professor of Natural History and the Environment and founding director of the ASU School of Sustainability. The current slate of panelists (with two to be added soon) includes:

Steve Betts, former president/CEO of SunCor Development and current Arizona District Council Chair of the Urban Land Institute;
Terry Goddard, former Phoenix mayor and former Arizona attorney general who now teaches a course at the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus: “Phoenix and the Art of Public Decision Making;”
Taz Loomans, architect and writer/blogger on sustainability issues;
Eva Olivas, executive director, Phoenix Revitalization Corp
Andrew Ross, professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, New York University.
Silvia Urrutia, director of Housing and Healthcare Finance, Raza Development Fund

According to Susan Copeland, steering committee chair of Downtown Voices Coalition, “Issues of sustainability are paramount to the future of Phoenix. Ross’ book is a great springboard from which to begin, or continue, discussion.”

The Downtown Voices Coalition is sponsoring the event with in-kind support from the Lexington Hotel in downtown Phoenix, Four Peaks Brewery of Tempe and the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center.

“Bird on Fire” is available at Made Art Boutique, 922 North 5^th Street in downtown Phoenix and at Changing Hands Bookstore at 6428 South McClintock Drive in Tempe. It is also available at Burton Barr, Cesar Chavez and Mesquite Branch libraries in Phoenix.

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Film screening to explore history, benefits of park development

A documentary on the urban park development movement titled “Olmsted and America’s Urban Parks” will be the subject of a free, public screening at Civic Space Park’s A.E. England Building, 424 N. Central Ave., on January 12, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. Doors open at 5:30. The documentary explores the park architecture of Frederick Law Olmsted and the evolution and history of urban park development in the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries. The event will also feature the TED talk short video by artist Janet Echelman about her work, including Civic Space Park’s signature art piece, “Her Secret Is Patience.”

Viewers also will be able to meet one of the filmmakers of the Olmsted documentary, Rebecca Messner, and participate in a short presentation and discussion on local and national Red Field to Green Fields initiative to convert economically depressed “red” private property (residential, commercial and industrial) into public park property “green.”

The screening is a presentation of No Festival Required’s Building Community Cinema series with the support of the Speedwell Foundation, the City Parks Alliance, Arizona State University, Butler Housing Company, Phoenix Community Alliance, Phoenix Parks Foundation and the City of Phoenix.

Local experts and national author to discuss state of sustainability in metro Phoenix, Jan. 17

Downtown Voices Coalition hosts a sustainability forum featuring local experts and Andrew Ross, author of “Bird on Fire: Lessons from the World’s Least Sustainable City” on 17 January 2012

Maria Baier, state land commissioner, Arizona;
Steve Betts, former president/CEO of SunCor Development and current Arizona District Council Chair of the Urban Land Institute;
Terry Goddard, former Phoenix mayor and former Arizona attorney general who now teaches a course at the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus: “Phoenix and the Art of Public Decision Making;”
Taz Loomans, architect and writer/blogger on sustainability issues;
Kris Mayes, former commissioner of the Arizona Corporation Commission and current director of the ASU Law and Sustainability Program and professor at the ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law;
Andrew Ross, professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, New York University.
Silvia Urrutia, director of Housing and Healthcare Finance, Raza Development Fund