[author's note: Yes, this is the third theme for the Blog of the Week series. But whereas my colleagues, I'm sure, are going to interpret this prompt as what physical place makes Downtown Phoenix special, I'm taking it a bit more in the abstract. How is this possible? Read on, friends; read on...]
There are hundreds and thousands of places in Downtown Phoenix that are intriguing. The last time I was approached with this writing theme, I discussed the Phoenix Symphony and the amazing things that they do. But this time around, I’m taking it from a different lens. Downtown Phoenix is special because of the people of Downtown Phoenix. It’s special because of the memories I have made in the area. It’s special because as I have grown and learned more about myself, Downtown Phoenix has grown and learned more about itself.
Consider Fair Trade Café at the Civic Space. It’s special not just because of the fact that they serve amazing coffee and have amazing food. It’s special because of the people that are there behind the counter. I know them, they know me, and they know what my favorite coffee drink is and that I always want a bit of room left in the cup for some cream.
Or consider the greater entity that is the Civic Space Park. There are people from the community that sit and chat, there are students studying for classes, there are kids playing football (or football), and there are just people being there enjoying the park and its surrounding urban environment.
Or consider the people at the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus. When I had to first talk to a staff person on the campus, I was immediately surprised at how friendly they are. Coming from the sea of humanity that is the Tempe campus, where one is not a name but a number, this was a huge culture shock. Stepping inside to a classroom, one would be surprised that it’s not a lecturer preaching from the altar in a lecture. There’s discussion, discourse, and even disagreement happening in those classrooms.
What’s special about Downtown Phoenix? It’s the people. It’s the memories. It’s what you make it to be. Downtown Phoenix is that blank canvas on which one paints one’s memories.
As most of you are aware, last week, I stepped down as the President of BLAST’D, the Barrett Leadership and Service Team on our campus. It was not an easy decision to realize that I had to make, nor was it a decision that I took lightly.
Being that I never had a chance in which to say farewell and thank you in person, I’m hoping that this open letter in this public forum will suffice just as well.
Let me be clear: My departure had nothing to do with the people that were serving alongside me. I have tremendous admiration and respect for the Executive Committee and the staff of Barrett Downtown. These individuals–volunteer and professional staff alike–tirelessly have advocated for us all and have worked to promote Barrett Downtown to the other ASU campuses. None of our events since Barrett Downtown’s inception would have been nearly as successful as they have been if our staff was not involved in the process.
Why, then, did I step down? It boils down to that the number of hours in the day remain fixed. My commitments–academic, professional, and service–keep growing. I cannot be all things to all people, and I quickly came to the realization that I needed to take an honest and objective look at all of my commitments. I have a lot on my plate with three simultaneous large-scale research projects, a continually-evolving job with the Dean’s Office for my College, the College of Public Programs, and the requisite coursework so I may graduate in December 2010. In addition, I’m starting to create my graduate school application for the Master of Public Administration program at ASU’s School of Public Affairs, where I’ll start in August 2011.
I think that the first thing that we, as students, forget is that we are students first when we’re in college. We try–and especially we as honors students–to do so much résumé-building that we truly forget why we’re here in the first place: to go and learn things so that we may become successful in whatever we choose to do. And especially as honors students, we have even more on our plate. Yes, résumé-building is good, but as the number of hours in the day remain fixed, we need to have our priorities.
For the club going forward: Give Caroline Porter her due respect. Ms. Porter is a wonderful person and she is equally committed to this club’s success. My decision to leave was made easier because I know that the club would be in capable hands.
Finally, I finish with these words: Thank you all so much for the support that you have given to me, to the club, and to the Barrett Downtown community. Keep that spirit alive as your relationship with Barrett Downtown continues to grow. Keep your support and enthusiasm for BLAST’D as alive as ever.
Oh, and by the way, this isn’t my goodbye from Barrett Downtown. Far from it. I’ll still be at some of the events and I’ll still be helping Jill, Jenn, and Dr. Peck on some projects and initiatives, still advocating and fighting for BLAST’D’s success and due recognition along the way. Consider me the new Goodwill Ambassador for Barrett Downtown.
The National Weather Service is predicting a large storm to descend into the valley tomorrow, 1-21-10, bringing up to 5″ of rain, possible thunderstorms and gusty winds. The prediction calls for light rain to begin to fall after 11pm tonight and pick up around 11am tomorrow. The Downtown Phoenix Partnership is working closely with police and city staff, and will provide current information throughout the day based on the severity of the storm.
Please be aware of unscheduled road closures put in place due to flooding, debris in the roadway, and traffic signals that may be out due to a power outage.
Contact the Downtown Phoenix Ambassadors at 602-495-1500 to report power outages or debris – we will contact the correct department at the City. Also – call if you have questions about travel conditions in the downtown area – they are your Go-To-Resource!! Remember – the Ambassadors provide Umbrella Escorts – so if you need to go out during the day…they are equipped with large umbrellas and can escort you to your destination.
From myself and from my colleagues in the Dean’s Office of the College of Public Programs, we wish you a successful, productive, and engaging Spring 2010 semester.
Last week, retired US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor stopped by KAET’s public affairs program Horizonto talk about what she’s been doing since she retired from the high court, civility in government, and her O’Connor House Project.
Justice O’Connor’s confirmation created the Horizon program back in 1981 and it’s apropos that she was the first guest in Horizon’s new set in the Cronkite School building on the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus.
[source: METRO light rail/17 December 2009] Take a trip on light rail this Saturday for your chance to receive a “golden” transit pass, discover new and interesting retailers offering discounts to transit riders and be generally rewarded for your support of METRO in its first year. Here’s the inside scoop:
GOLDEN PASS PROMOTION
Ala Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, METRO will specially mark “golden” transit passes in station fare vending machines along the line. With more than 100 machines, METRO wants to help increase your odds. Visit any or all of the following stations and their on-platform fare vending machines for your pass purchase and chance to win.
Montebello/19th Avenue
Central Avenue/Camelback
Roosevelt/Central Avenue
Van Buren/Central Avenue and Van Buren/1st Avenue
Mill Avenue/3rd Street
Veterans Way/College Avenue
Price-101 Freeway/Apache Boulevard
Sycamore/Main Street
The 50 “golden” transit pass recipients will be entered into a raffle to receive one of 30 pairs of US Airways Center event tickets – either to a regular season Phoenix Suns home game or a family-friendly event, Disney on Ice or Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus – or one of two “Grand Golden VIP Experiences” that include:
Four lower-level tickets to a Phoenix Suns home game
Seats on the Suns bench during pre-game warm-ups
Suns locker room tour
Suns autographed memorabilia
For additional information, including rules, regulations and eligibility details, visit www.metrolightrail.org. Platinum Pass and U-Pass cardholders have also been integrated into this program.
RIDER APPRECIATION DISCOUNTS
To sweeten the anniversary celebration, more than 45 gracious retailers along the line will offer special discounts or deals to anyone who presents a valid transit pass on December 19. Riders will enjoy substantial savings such as two-for-one deals or as much as 30% off at these one-of-a-kind businesses.
The Suns are also offering a great deal extended through the holiday season. Present a valid transit pass at the US Airways Center ticket office between December 19 – 31 and receive $20 off lower level tickets or $10 off upper level tickets for any January 2010 game. Great seats are still available. Give a gift that will make your favorite Suns fan cheer! The offer may be redeemed at the US Airways Center ticket office during normal business hours while supplies last.
METRO is celebrating it first year of operation having served more than 10.3 million riders through November 2009. With the community’s support, METRO’s weekday ridership is 34 percent greater than projected, with Saturdays and Sundays fairing even better. METRO will continue to look for ways to refine its 20-mile operation and level of customer service, while also planning for 37 miles of future extensions. Go to the www.metrolightrail.org site and click on Metro Turns One. At Events to Enjoy there are lists of activities in the areas around Metro stations.
The forum is a response to President Barack Obama’s recent call for public debate concerning job creation in communities across the nation. Information discussed at the forum will be compiled into a report and sent to the White House for review.
The forum will begin with brief presentations about existing community building efforts in the service and design sectors and the relationship between entrepreneurship and job creation.
Panelists include:
Dennis Hoffman, ASU Professor of Economics; Director, L. William Seidman Research Institute; and Director, Office of the University Economist
Debra Friedman, University Vice President and Dean, ASU College of Public Programs: How the College of Public Program’s Spirit of Service Scholars initiative will strengthen the service sector
Russ Perry, Owner, Keane Creative: How the collaboration within our local design community supports the retention of highly qualified graduates and has the potential to attract new industry-based investment
Audrey Iffert, University Innovation Fellow, Office of University Initiatives: The connection between entrepreneurship, social capital/networking, and job creation
Sean Coleman, Orange Slyce, ASU student entrepreneur: How internships enhance human capital and support job creation
Following the panel, participants will break into small groups to discuss:
What can the university do to better support and prepare our future workforce?
What are Arizona’s strengths? How can we leverage these strengths to create new jobs in our region? How do we build strong communities to support job creation?
How can we foster industry-specific collaboration to attract investment to our region?
What are the current obstacles we face to spark job creation? How do we overcome these obstacles?
Discussion leaders include:
Sherry Ahrentzen, Ph.D., Associate Director of Research, Policy & Strategic Initiatives, Stardust Center for Affordable Homes & the Family
Mary E. Dawes, Ph.D., Director of Academic & Career Exploration, ASU University College
Russ Maloney, Partner, Keane Creative
Kitty McGrath, Executive Director, Career Services, ASU
Bruce Mosby, C-Level Management Consulting, Mosby and Company, Inc.
Roselyn O’Connell, Owner, My Campaign Advisor
Anticipated forum participants include leaders from the business and design communities, elected leaders, current and aspiring entrepreneurs, and ASU faculty and staff.
Also, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council will host an Arizona forum on jobs and economic growth from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10, at the Biodesign Institute at ASU in Tempe. In addition to the Council, participants include members of the AZ Technology Council, Science Foundation Arizona, labor leaders and nonprofit leaders. The focus is to listen to these leaders about what they believe the White House and Congress should do to help create jobs and restart Arizona’s economy.
ASU’s College of Public Programs offers educational and research programs spanning the fields of social work, public affairs, criminology and criminal justice, and community resources and development. The College has over 3,000 students in more than 35 undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree and certificate programs. Its graduates are leaders in government, nonprofit organizations, and criminal justice and human service agencies. For information, visit http://copp.asu.edu/
Ever since Mayor Phil Gordon’s State of Downtown address that seemed to go over like a lead balloon, people have been sharing their reasons, opinions, and assessments on Downtown Phoenix and how it can be improved. For starters, there’s Tyler Hurst’s analysis that sparked tonight’s Radiate Phoenix event, another analysis by Derek Neighbors, Yuri Artibise’s analysis, and others have thrown their voices into the discussion. Some have been productive voices offering concrete solutions, some have denounced the blind cheerleading that goes on, but all voices have been heard and ruminated.
Surprise: this is another post on that same topic. But, as preface, remember that I’m in the Urban and Metropolitan Studies program at Arizona State University, and as such, this is what we study. What makes cities work? What makes them not work?
[Author’s note: Yes, I know that Radiate Phoenix is tomorrow night and that this topic is the main item on the agenda. It’s just that this is horrendous timing with Thanksgiving being a couple days away. The holiday is pretty important to me and it's big in my family and, as strange as it might seem, I’m going to need all the preparation I can get. I write this as my two cents’ worth to the discussion. But I wish you all a spirited and productive conversation.]
Why is Downtown Phoenix not what we want it to be? How can it get there? I’m prepared to argue that Phoenix (its downtown, the city as a whole, and the region) focuses too much time and energy on the things that bring people here but not keep them here. In August, I wrote a series of posts that explored this issue. As proof for this thesis, know that for every five people that are enfranchised by the area and come here, three people are disenfranchised and leave (source: Making Sense of Place – Phoenix: The Urban Desert).
It’s important to take a step back and look at the region’s recent history. After World War II ended, those that were stationed in the various military outposts in this region came and settled here with their family. With the land readily accessible, developers built new houses on virgin land outside the central core. This began, inevitably, a culture and a mindset that if something isn’t just quite right, then just forget about it and build again—anew. Downtown Phoenix began to become desolate, and so rather than quickly fixing the problem when it would have been an easy fix, we (true to form) ignored the problem and built new urban villages away from the core. Those who could afford to leave did; those who couldn’t became disenfranchised as policy and governance focused on the new things, because they were politically more “sexy.”
Downtown Phoenix has many different crown jewels that are already here. Just because something is new and shiny does not mean that it’s automatically one of those jewels. Let’s focus on that infrastructure which is already here. From a physical infrastructure point of view, what’s here already is fantastic. Now we have to fill in the gaping holes with a sustainable people infrastructure.
What is this people infrastructure? I’m thinking places where people go: bars, restaurants, coffee shops, schools, parks, etc. This is what academics like to call third places—places outside of one’s home and office.
What can we do to support this people infrastructure? Make it a habit to shop and buy local. Go beyond our elected leaders’ response to shopping local (what seems like mere lip service). Tell friends, family, fellow students, colleagues, coworkers, anyone, and everyone about your favorite local places. And go with them to these places! I cannot tell you how much it pains me to see so many Starbucks cups carried by students, faculty, and staff on the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus, given the fact that the wonderful Fair Trade Café is set in the Civic Space Park.
How do we “fix” Phoenix? Recognize our past. Learn from our mistakes. Diversify how and what we build. Recognize that a healthy city needs a vibrant downtown core. Focus on institutions that keep people here instead of those that just attract new blood.
-Edward Jensen
epilogue. Join me in making a pledge to purchase all your holiday gifts at locally-owned shops across the Valley. If you’re throwing a party or preparing a big meal for your family to mark the season, shop at places like the Phoenix Urban Market or, if you must go to a supermarket, then there’s Bashas’.
Last night was Mayor Phil Gordon’s sixth annual delivery of the “State of Downtown” speech, and the third year with my attendance. The venue was the Civic Space Park which was decorated quite well.
Staging aside, the Mayor’s speech left me with more questions than answers. The first year I went (2007), the Mayor outlined several bold proposals for downtown, including moving ASU’s College of Law to the then two-year-old campus. The 2008 address was delivered at the then recently-opened Sheraton but with the economy having just collapsed, the highlight of that speech was for all those in attendance to ride the then yet-to-be-opened METRO light rail.
And then there was last night.
The roughly forty-minute speech seemed to lack a specific focus. Over half of the speech was dedicated to the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus. So was this the State of Downtown or the State of the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus?
My other impression from the Mayor’s speech is that this should have been delivered 3-4 years ago when the different things he was lauding – CityScape (strangely, there wasn’t one mention of One Central Park East), the UofA medical school, the Civic Space, ASU’s presence in downtown, etc. – were being pitched to the voters for their support. Except these things had already opened or are very close to opening.
Another theme I took away from the Mayor’s speech was that there is no separation between ASU Downtown Phoenix and the greater Downtown Phoenix community. The fate of one would affect the fate of the other. Granted, the two are mutually related and intertwined in some fashion, but if there’s one thing that Arizona’s economy has taught us, it’s that we shouldn’t put all of our economic growth eggs in one basket.
Granted, with the Mayor’s tenure in office coming to a close soon (he’ll wrap up his second and final term in January 2011), maybe he’s trying to cement his legacy. I’m not giving him any grief about this, but this city has a lot of issues facing it at the moment.
(It never helps with the state legislature is working against the city, or rather against the state.)
[source: Marshall Terrill/ASU at the Downtown Phoenix campus Public Affairs] For the second year in a row, ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus is using the power of music to connect students, faculty and staff with the local community.
The “Know Your Neighbor Concert Series” promotes local music with downtown venues, and is designed to introduce students to each other and the community where they live. The free series, which is open to the public, starts this week and runs throughout the month of November.
“This is an exciting opportunity for ASU’s student body, faculty and staff to explore their communities and meet their neighbors. This series was created through an initiative to respond to the communities’ desire to see and meet our students in their venues and at their events,” said Malissa Geer, Community Engagement Liaison for the Office of the Vice President and Dean of the College of Public Programs at the Downtown Phoenix campus. “Using music, local venues and festivals is an innovative way for ASU to continue to integrate within our rich and vibrant community. It uniquely demonstrates our shared commitment of social embeddedness. ASU students and the community are working together to coordinate this really fun experience!”
The series kicks off with at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6 at the Paisley Violin, 1028 Grand Ave., Phoenix. Castles Made of Sand, a group comprised of two local ASU students, Spencer Gefroh and Weston Michl, will headline the five-hour music showcase.
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