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Mar 02

It’s Not ALL Bad

By Yuri Artibise 28 Day Challenge, Opinion, Phoenix Comments

Regular readers of this blog will notice that I’ve had several harsh words for Phoenix and it’s leader lately. It’s not that I dislike Phoenix. Quite the opposite. I’ve quickly grown to love much of the city and many of its people. It’s because of this love that I want to see my adopted city reach it’s potential.

I’ve long believed that excellence requires a constant search for improvement. If everyone thinks everything is perfect already, or are reluctant to criticize, then there is no impetus to improve. I’ve touched on this theme before.

However, as necessary as it is to point out where we need to improve, it is also important to highlight our successes. There are a lot of great things about Phoenix (otherwise I’d be long gone). The city is home to many world-class events and sites that are uniquely ‘Phoenix.’ Sure not all of these events are the best they could be, but they are building blocks to use to create a unique sense of place that many say is lacking.

hohokam It’s Not ALL Bad

An artistic rendering of Pueblo Grande in its prime (circa 1100-1450 AD)

Here are a few of the more prominent ones:

  1. The Heard Museum is not only one of Phoenix’s first cultural attractions, but also one of the world’s finest destinations for learning about American Indian arts and cultures. In addition, it is home to a world-acclaimed Indian Fair and Market that draws 20,000 visitors and more than 700 of the nation’s most outstanding and successful American Indian artists. If you haven’t been yet, now’s you chance. It’s occurring this weekend.
  2. Phoenix is home to the longest running (and likely largest) art walk in the country. Can you believe it’s been 22 years? This is also happening this weekend.
  3. What do Emma Stone, Max Crumm and Jordin Sparks have in common?  They all honed their skills at the Valley Youth Theater. VYT is a world-class, nationally recognized non-profit theater in our own back yard. They achieve their success by insisting on the same standards of excellence to its programs that apply to adult theater.
  4. The PF Chang Rock n’ Roll Marathon was first held in Phoenix in 2004. In just 5 years, it has become the largest same day marathon and half-marathon in the United States, With over 30,000 participants in 2009, Its unique format has been repeated in seven fourteen cities (and counting). Not bad for an event sponsored by a locally based company.
  5. At over 16,000 acres, South Mountain Park is the largest city park in the world. Yet this is but one of the amazing outdoor areas in the middle of our city. There is also Camelback, Piestewa and North Mountain Preserve in the center of the Valley, and other great natural amenities on the outskirts. As well, we have also have world-class urban parks like Encanto Park with was recently voted one of the best in the country, alongside such famous parks as New York City’s Central Park, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and Boston Commons.
  6. Phoenix is home to one of the longest (and oldest) canal systems in the world. Venice’s 125 miles of canals and Amsterdam’s 47 miles of canals make these cities European icons and postcard darlings. Meanwhile, Phoenix trumps both with 181 miles of canals, yet most people treat them like back alleys.  Check out the new Canalscape Exhibit at Phoenix City Hall from March 2nd to March 12th to learn more about their history and potential. The opening event is this Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 4pm.
  7. Our history is measured in millennium, not centuries like the east coast, or decades like many people seem to believe The Valley is among the longest inhabited region in the USA. The Hohokam began settling here around 1 AD. Learn more at the Pueblo Grande Museum on 44th St and Washington.

What is your favorite thing that is unique to the Phoenix?

This is day 21 in my 28 Day Blogging Challenge. 7 days to go.

It’s Not ALL Bad

Thanks for being a regular reader of my site!

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Feb 27

Suicide Lanes Kill Communities

By Yuri Artibise 28 Day Challenge, Opinion, Phoenix, urbanism Comments

This is the text of a letter to the editor I wrote in June 2008.  It was in response to a  Arizona Republic article on a Phoenix City Council vote about eliminating the ‘reversible’ (aka suicide) lanes on 7th Ave and 7th St. I couldn’t keep quiet after reading the typical ignorant responses on the azcentral.com website.  So I wrote the letter below.  To my surprise, it was actually published in the print edition of the Republic (although not online).

Alas, this letter—and several others like it—did not have any effect.  Phoenix City Council deferred to the traffic engineers and north Phoenix residents and kept the suicide lanes in place for the foreseeable future. Nonetheless, the problem remains.  With next week’s M7/Seventh Ave Street Fair focusing city-wide attention on this vibrant neighborhood, I thought it was a good time to dust of the letter and rekindle the debate again:

PHP48E9806492966 Suicide Lanes Kill Communities

Photo of Kurt Stickler, by Tom Tingle/The Arizona Republic

The push to remove the ‘suicide lane’ is a no brainer. Traffic engineers can debate whether reverse lanes have increases accident counts, but there is no doubt that it has hurt local neighborhoods and small businesses along it’s path.

Historically, streets served as places where we stopped for conversation and children played. Today, they are now more the domain of cars than people. Even where sidewalks and streetscapes are present along high-speed streets, they feel inhospitable and out-of-place. This is especially true on 7th Ave that, with the reverse lane, can have up to four lanes traveling in one direction—hardly an environment conducive to local neighborhoods or businesses. While the City of Phoenix should be lauded for ongoing investments in the Melrose on 7th Ave streetscape, the reverse lane has undermined many of these efforts. This lane marks 7th Ave a thruway to and from other destinations rather than reinforcing surrounding areas on both sides of 7th avenue as places for residents to socialize and enjoy art, restaurants and small businesses that this neighborhood offers.

With the pending opening of the light rail, central Phoenix has already made large strides in rethinking the city’s relationship with cars and traffic. Removing the reverse lanes would be another sensible step in the City’s progression from a conventional transportation focus on the automobile to a recognition of the role of transportation in shaping places for everybody to enjoy, whether they are in cars or not.

Please let me know what you think in the comments.  If you agree with me and would like to see the reversible lanes removed, contact your City Councilor and ask that they revisit their short-sighted decision.  Be sure to cc district 4 Councilor Tom Simplot.  His district covers the ares most affected by the reversible lanes, including the Melrose Curve between Indian School and Camelback Rd.  If you happen to live in District 6 (Sal DiCiccio or District 3 (Bill Gates), where the reversible lanes are also present, your support would also be appreciated.

This is day 19 in my 28 Day Blogging Challenge. 9 days to go.


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Feb 25

Opportunity Mirage

By Yuri Artibise 28 Day Challenge, Opinion, Phoenix Comments
  • The Big Apple
  • Motor City
  • Beantown
  • City of Angels
  • The Big Easy
  • Opportunity Oasis

Who’s the odd one out here?

Most major cities in the world have a nickname or brand. They can help in establishing a civic identity, helping outsiders recognize a community or attracting people to a community. They can also promote civic pride; and build community unity. Nicknames that successfully capture a city’s “ideology or myth” are also believed to have economic value in some cases.

The Metro Phoenix Partnership for Arts and Culture has chosen ‘Opportunity Oasis’ for Phoenix on the recommendation of Arthesia, a Zurich and L.A. based consulting firm. On Tuesday I attended a public presentation of the current status of the branding strategy. In the room with the usual suits and powers that be were a few social media colleagues, including Derek Neighbors, Tyler Hurst, Francine Hardaway and Ward Andrews. We were not impressed.

The Opportunity Oasis concept is part of MPAC’s Metro Phoenix DNA strategy book (which, alas is not online, more than a year after being published can be downloaded here.)  It is based on three main ‘story ideas’: Urban Pioneers, Upscale Dessert Garden, and Open Space Thinking.  Sure, there is a certain bureaucratic appeal to the concept of Opportunity Oasis. (After all it was done by a top-notch firm paid big dollars to come up with appealing concepts): it is iterative, it rolls of the tongue, it represents optimism. The fact is, however, that it doesn’t reflect reality. Not even close. Sure marketing campaigns are aspirational, but this is stretching things too far.

10806 fireworks parking%20lot Opportunity Mirage
What I find ironic about this strategy is that the very name Phoenix was chosen as a brand for the region well over 100 years ago. It was chosen by Darrell Duppa to reflect that Phoenix is built on the ashes of past civilizationa. This is an apt metaphor that I’ll return to later.

Here is what I think when I hear the term: Opportunity Oasis.

Opportunity. Sure it is a cheap place to do business, if low ages and cheap rent are your only concerns. This is why WalMart is our #1 employer.

Oasis: Sure the Valley was once a desert oasis. It was first settled thousands of years ago on a fertile river crescent. Alas, over the past 50 years we have done everything to forget this. (Except for our golf courses and back lawns)

So yes Phoenix is an opportunity oasis if you have don’t need talented workforce, want cheap land, don’t need to connect with others on a regular basis, and like to play golf or mow lawns.

For the rest of us, Metro Phoenix is more of an Opportunity Mirage:

  • Instead of nurturing ‘Urban Pioneers’ we push aside those who have worked tirelessly on their business in favor of flashy new developers. We tell people with new ideas that they haven’t been here long enough to understand; we ignore worldviews that fall outside their engrained ways (ways that have led Phoenix into a constant boom and bust cycles.)
  • Instead of preserving our ‘Upscale Urban Garden,’ we bulldoze over the desert and replace it with red tiles roofs. We build McMansions up the side of our mountains. We turn our back on to our water sources (or make ‘fake lakes’ to entice developers.). We tear down historical building and put up Parking lot (apologies to Joni Mitchell)
  • Instead of promoting ‘Open Desert Thinking,’ we under fund our education system. We subsidize sprawl making it difficult to connect people with ideas. We let the Mormon Church and others of the ‘righteous right’ enforce their narrow social views on the rest of us.

Perhaps worst of all, we turn our backs on the very opportunities we seek. We are so amounted by attracting the shiny new firm, or any outsider for that matter, that we ignore the businesses that are growing under our nose.

The Way Out

Phoenix doesn’t need another marketing campaign or branding effort. We need live up to our name and rise from the ashes of our past bad decisions. Here some starting points:

  • Stop trying to lure the big fish. They don’t stick around for long (remember Google?) Low costs, government incentives and marketing campaigns are only a small part of the equation. Without focusing on the big things like talent and community, we are just creating a revolving door for business looking to exploit what we offer.
  • Stop the zero sum game of luring developers to build yet another retail epicenter to one Valley or another to enhance retail taxes takes. Instead look at ways to diversify our economy so we are not continually hit by real estate meltdowns. The current crisis was not the first, and won’t be the last. Instead of waiting for the cycle to start again, we need to find another cycle.
  • Focus on getting the fundamentals right. Re-think and re-balance our state tax system to be less dependent on high corporate taxes, even if it means individuals and property owners pay a bit more. Make sure that we offer a solid education system and natural and cultural offerings.  Invest in multi-modal transit to weave stronger connections between the various hubs in the Valley. This will make it easier for people AND their ideas to connect. THESE are what attract talented people and innovative businesses.

MPAC has it backwards: they came up with a marketing campaign first and are acting second. While the MPAC report admits that Phoenix has its flaws, instead of endeavoring to correct them, they want to gloss them over with flashy magazines, yet another website and faux ‘viral’ video competition, and the now requisite iPhone app (that still isn’t quite ready…) We’re told that this is the first part of a long, multi-year process. I suggest that they go back and reevaluate their strategy and help Metro Phoenix get the fundamentals right first. Otherwise their Opportunity Oasis will be seen, not as an authentic expression of what the Valley represents, but as an Opportunity Mirage solely designed to attract the latest business looking for concessions.

*     *     *

Post Script 1: To their credit,  Amy Heisler from MPAC has agreed to sit down and talk with me next week.  I’ll be sharing these concerns and other with her. If you have any comments or concerns to add, please leave a comment.

Post Script 2: If you are indeed going to follow through on the Opportunity Oasis strategy, be sure to get some SEO advice. Right now a Google search shows up Francine Hardaway’s critique and two development firms. Not exactly the image you want to project, whether it’s meant for public consumption or not.

This is day 17 in my 28 Day Blogging Challenge. 11 days to go.

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Feb 16

10 Reasons Why Civic Space Park Doesn’t Work

By Yuri Artibise 28 Day Challenge, Opinion, Phoenix, Places Comments

Last week, I wrote a post on Schelling points, or nodes of unconscious coordination, where people spontaneous identify as important meeting points in a city. When I asked if Phoenixhad such a place, there was no consensus, but several people did name the potential of Civic Space Park to become one.  However, the park’s inability to draw larger crowds—other than when there are formally planned events—was also raised.

Civic Space Park 1 fs 10 Reasons Why Civic Space Park Doesnt WorkThis got me thinking of why—despite being a great park on paper—Civic Space Park has yet to live up to its promise as a great urban space fordowntown Phoenix. On the surface, the park is well designed for activity. It has a fountain for children and a café for teens and adults. It is easily accessible by public transit (both light rail and several buses), and is across the street from ASU downtown, the Westward Ho senior residences and several office buildings. It features, not one but three historic buildings (AE England, US Post Office, and Metro Office Building), and boasts some impressive public art. It features public restrooms, shade structures and trees and bike racks. It provides movable seating that allows people to decide where they want to sit in the space.

While I mused that perhaps it is simply that Phoenicians prefer to hide behind block walls than interact in public spaces, other than at ‘official events’, upon greater reflection, this isn’t the case. Several other urban parks in central Phoenix are well used most of the year, notably Encanto (recently named one of America’s Best City Parks by Forbes) and Steele Indian School Parks, so if it isn’t the people, why other than the odd student and homeless person, is it dead 90% of the time?

Here are ten reasons that I came up with (with suggestions from Facebook and Twitter):

  1. The park is disconnected from its surrounding.  The light rail tracks landscaping and fencing act as a barriers for people to casually enter or exit that park.  This limits its popularity as an impromptu gathering place.
  2. There is little parking in the immediate vicinity. While this shouldn’t be a major issue, given its proximity to transit and well-populated buildings, etc, we are in Phoenix after all, where cars still dominate.
  3. It suffers from a malady common to several city parks: it is over landscaped. While there are a lot of places to sit, there are few open spaces to play.  Popular park pastimes, such as Frisbee, soccer, etc, are inhibited by the unnecessary berms, mounds and other extraneous design flourishes. While these may add visual interest, they inhibit the discourage play.
  4. The café, Fair Trade Civic Space, which never felt inviting, now has reduced its hours, The fact that it is hidden away in the ‘basement’ and is not visible from the street further limits its appeal and accessibility.
  5. The A.E. England Building, while a great restoration, it under-utilized, leaving one of the most prominent features vacant the majority of the time. (Perhaps the café and meeting spaces should have been flipped.) The Post Office has yet to be integrated into the park, and there are no plans to include the Metro Office Building)
  6. A heavy security presence. While there to deter homeless people, it also makes it feel uninviting for other users. Also the security is over zealous at times (i.e. telling people that they can’t WALK their bikes through the park)
  7. Lack of a playground for children. Other than the fountain, which is often turned off, there are few areas for kids to play. Further, given the lay out of the park, it is hard for parents to keep an eye on their children as the run around corners, etc. As well, dogs—another great park demographic—are not welcome.
  8. The grouping of the shade structures on the south side of the park, with little shade provided throughout the rest. The trees planted on the north side will take several years to mature (if they even make it; it looks like a few have already died.)
  9. It is hard to convene public gatherings. There are no publicly available large tables, or other amenities for medium to large groups of people.
  10. The name. Is there anything less inspiring than the bureaucratic ‘Civic Space Park’?  (I have a sneaking suspicion that this moniker is but a placeholder until it is named ‘Phil Gordon’ Park.

Do you have anything to add?  Want to come to the park’s defense?  Leave a comment.

This is day 8 in my 28 Day Blogging Challenge. 20 days to go.

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NOTE: There were several insightful comments on this post when it was first posted.  Alas, due to technical diffculaties, I lost a weeks worth of comment and have had to repost from archives, so I have cut and pastem them below:

10 Responses to “10 Reasons Why Civic Space Park Doesn’t Work”

  1. I’d love to use it more, but there just isn’t any reason to.

  2. I think your reasons are pretty spot on.

    Outside of tweaking some of what you mentioned, I guess it might take good programming to get people there and hopefully have them think of it as a place they can visit outside of special events.

    Also, I agree that the name is pretty uninviting. So, I will start calling it Jellyfish Park since it sounds silly and fun.

  3. You make some great points. Perhaps people choose to visit Encanto and Steele Indian school parkmore often due to:
    1) The incumbent advantage. Encanto & Steele park are long-standing public spaces. They are more well known. People know what to expect there.
    2) Habit & tradition. This ties in with #1. If a certain group holds a monthly meeting at Encanto or Steele park and they have for years, they’re not likely to change to a new park just because one popped up.
    3) Space. You mentioned this in your post and I think it’s a BIG one. Encanto and Steele parks just have much more open space to accommodate a broader range of activities and groups. And parkingspace, as you mentioned.
    4) Water/ponds. Civic space lacks this. Perhaps this is a draw for more people.

    I don’t live downtown, but even if I did, I don’t see any compelling reasons to choose Civic Spacepark as a meeting ground. I hear they’ve been doing live music shows there, which is something that would interest me, but your post isn’t about events, just meeting places.

  4. One of the problems with Civic Space Park is that it’s crammed between 1st Ave and Central, with both traffic and light rail running along its east and west sides. I think this connects it too much with the activity on the street and diminishes the relaxing park atmosphere which it should have. Good parks are respites from the hustle and bustle of urban life…they get people away from the street and provide an opportunity to play. Not only are there the issues you mentioned (overlandscaping and lack of a playground), but connecting the park to streets on two sides makes it seem less restful.

  5. I agree that the name is atrocious and hope that it is renamed sooner rather than later. (And I’d prefer it not be named after a person, but something more grand. The media referred to the Echelman sculpture as “Sky Bloom” and even though that’s not the actual title, I still think “Sky Bloom Park” sounds cool.)
    You makes some great points but I think the major obstacle is that there are just not enough people who live downtown. Without an established neighborhood what’s the point of neighborhood park?
    Overall I quite like it though. I’ve been to some fun and very crowded events there. But like most things in Phoenix, the park has a lot of potential that it hasn’t lived up to.

  6. 10 Reasons Why Civic Space Park Doesn’t Workandrewkfromaz says:

    I think it’s a well-designed park, and that they did well with the space they had to work with. A big part of what’s currently “wrong” with the park is external issues: the nearest residential buildings are mostly vacant, ASU’s campus is not yet built out, and so on. I think none of the flaws you mentioned (though I do think they are fairly accurate) are true deal-breakers. Once the surrounding areas come into their own and flourish, the park will bustle with activity.

    I am hugely disappointed w/ Fair Trade. If they’re not going to make any better use of the space than that, they need to close down and let someone in who will be more of a draw.

  7. 10 Reasons Why Civic Space Park Doesn’t WorkSteve Weiss says:

    Issues with parking and the meeting hall nature of A.E. England are good points. I like the idea of Fair trade or some other biz being above-ground. Maybe A.E. England could have been that Phoenix Museum of the Arts or even shared studio artspaces the City once sought during the last bond selection process. This would have cost much less than the heavy adaption inside.

    The park was a gift to ASU to go along with their coming soon Student Union in the Post Office. It was built for this purpose, and to assuage the city residents for eliminating the center-of-the-city already built but woefully underfunded/poorly build and managed/never activated Patriot’s Park to make a mall with upscale bowling.

    The park is tiny. I’m not so much disappointed with the shade(give it time)or the landscaping, and it was incredibly smart to have Echelman’s sculpture not take up ground-space. I like the sustainible ideas of the park. It’s the only park in Phoenix that will always have green grass. I dig coming over to it at night and playing next to the color pillars or laying under the sculpture. After 8 pm you can park at any of the 3 metered parking spaces,for free. :-)

    A first read made me wince with your use of “it’s” when you should be using “its”…”it’s” is a contraction of “it is”…easy thing to learn, hard to ignore.

  8. 10 Reasons Why Civic Space Park Doesn’t WorkKhamis says:

    Yuri I think you missed one major point. It doesn’t have to do with the design of the park, but it’s equal in importance. The lack of diverse uses around the park. Who lives within 1/2 mile. And the people that do live within 1/2 mile likely have closer (Roosevelt, the strange linear Portland Parkway) parks with some of the things you’re saying Civic Space lacks. The only people that use civic space are students more or less. There isn’t much use besides that going on around it, and until there is… (say redevelopment north of the Y along the west side of central) then I don’t see it becoming a huge success.

    But of course things like the visibility of FT need to improve. I wonder why the city hasn’t put a HUGE sign with an arrow, or maybe a super graphic on A.E. that points peds to the shops down there. They’re new, people aren’t going to suddenly know to go down, but they will… people go down random alleys in Seattle because there are signs that announce there are shops down them, also they’ve been around, but there are still signs. The A-frames aren’t cutting it.

    I also disagree with free parking being provided for what is suppose to be an urban park, in a pocketpark footprint. There are plenty of meters around the area.

  9. @J Seth Anderson: Sky Bloom Park sounds awesome!

  10. 10 Reasons Why Civic Space Park Doesn’t WorkYuri Artibise says:

    Thanks for all the great feedback and insights. I’ll remark on them later tonight when I have some time.

    (And Steve, thanks for the comments regarding ‘its/it’s’ It makes me wince too, They should be fixed now… A downside of writing at 2am is my editing is worse than normal.)

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Dec 17

CenPho Camp

By Yuri Artibise Phoenix, Social Media, Uncategorized, events Comments

Yesterday, Tyler Hurst announced that the PodCamp concept is coming to downtown Phoenix on the afternoon of January 23, 2010.

This is an opportunity for downtown and central Phoenix residents, community organizations and businesses to get together and share information about social media and how it can help improve our community; whether it be through fostering relationships, sharing information or improving business sales.

“The characteristics of all successful communities: broadly shared, accessible set of opportunities, a shared sense of responsibility for the success of the common enterprise, and a genuine sense of belonging.” – Former President Bill Clinton, TED2007

For those of you unfamilair with the PodCamp concept, it is basically an ‘unconference‘—that is, an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from participants who are the main actors of the event. People of all skill levels and experiences are encouraged to participate..

Basically If you’re interested in blogging, social media, social networking, podcasting, video on the net, or if you are a business owner, non-profit manager, artist, musician, desiogner or other creative type looking to expand your customer base, or a resident or downtown denizen who is curious about social media or somebody who is just looking for ways to get more involved in your community, this event is for you.

CenPhoCamp will be an afternoon of one-hour presentations about specific issues facing local businesses and the community at large. Presentations are open to any business owner, customer or resident. The application process will be announced very shortly.

ASU's Cronkite School of Journalism

ASU's Cronkite School of Journalism

The event will be held at ASU’s Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. form 2-8 pm on January 23rd.  Alas the Cronkite building isn’t free, but it’s cheap. So if you’re an interested business or individual willing to help sponsor the event, please let me know.

As Tyler noted in his post, planning is just getting under way so stay tuned for more details.  in the meantime if you want to be involved in any way shape or form, whether it be as a planners, presenter, sponsor or volunteer, please contact me or Tyler.

Thanks and see you on January 23.

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Dec 15

DPJ Article: Forty Years of Moving the Valley Forward

By Yuri Artibise Downtown Phoenix Journal, Phoenix, articles Comments

Orginally published in the Downtown Phoenix Journal on December14, 2009:

n43076293986 1168771 58941 300x137 DPJ Article: Forty Years of Moving the Valley ForwardLast Friday, Valley Forward Association held its 40th annual luncheon at the Phoenix Convention Center. Valley Forward is a nonprofit public interest organization that brings business and civic leaders together to discuss important regional issues and promotes cooperative efforts to improve the environment and livability of Valley communities. With over 400 members and counting, Valley Forward is composed of some of Arizona’s largest employers and some of its smallest businesses. Its members represent a range of interests, including industrial and manufacturing sectors, municipalities and governmental agencies, educators, nonprofit organizations and Valley citizens.

During the luncheon, Roger Baele of engineering firm David Evans and Associates and Laurel Kimball of Phoenix Philanthropy Group were honored with Valley Forward’s 2009 Leadership Awards for their outstanding contributions to the organization and community over the past year. In addition, the 2010 board of directors was elected, and Jay Hick from EDAW/AECOMM was named as Chair-Elect for 2010 Chair for the Valley Leadership Association.

Ricahrd Louv

Ricahrd Louv

The keynote speaker at the luncheon was Richard Louv, a futurist and journalist focusing on nature, family and community. Louv chairs the Children & Nature Network, an organization helping to build an international movement to connect children with nature. He coined the term “nature-deficit disorder” in his national bestseller Last Child in the Woods to describe what happens to young people who become disconnected from their natural world.

Louv was a fitting speaker for the 40th anniversary of Valley Forward, as his message complements the Valley Forward’s long-running advocacy of land use and open space planning, desert preservation, parks, trails and connections with the natural environment and received the 2008 Audubon Medal for his work. During his address, Louv identified a clear link between the lack of nature in children’s lives to some of disturbing childhood trends, such as rises in obesity, attention disorders and depression. He then discussed some simple ways to heal the broken bond between children and nature, emphasizing the positive impact unstructured play outdoors has on healthy child development, and offered some practical suggestions for parents, teachers, urban planners and kids at heart.

The Valley Forward Association offices are located at 3800 N. Central Ave., Suite 220 in Midtown. The association can be reached at 602.240.2408 or info@valleyforward.org. Valley Forward can also be followed on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Contact information for Richard Louv can be found here.

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Dec 04

First Friday Folly

By Yuri Artibise Opinion, Phoenix Comments

Another First Friday is upon us. What started out over 15 years ago as a way to bring people back to downtown, has turned into the largest event of its type in the country. Each month, over 100 venues open their doors and over 20,000 people converge on downtown. By any accounts it is a success. But to me, this success has come at the price of a truly vibrant downtown.

If Phoenix wants to have a 24-7 downtown, with activity going every night of the week, we need to get out of the “let’s have an event on First Friday mentality. I have no problem with the walk or small gallery openings, and I admit that First Fridays are a great way to get walk by traffic It is the slew of other events that could be held any night of the month and still draw an audience that I’m talking about. Does the Phoenix Art Museum really need to host its 50th Anniversary Party tonight?  Or the Latino Cultural Center Grand Opening? Or the All Hands on Deck finale at After Hours Gallery? I would love to attend each of these great events, and would gladly have done so if they were held on any other night of the month.  I’m sure there are  hundreds of other people who would have as well.

Flickr image by labanex.com

Flickr image by labanex.com

So why hold event such as these on First Fridays? These events will draw their own audiences regardless of when they are held. Holding them tonight only dilute the audiences for other smaller galleries and openings that also deserve our attention. Moreover, the gaggle of events on First Friday mean that they will be other nights throughout each month when downtown will continue to fade to black after the offices close and classes end.

I’m not blaming the event organizers, per se. After all they are playing by the informal rules established by over a decade of habit. There once was a time that the only day a month that many people would dare venture into downtown Phoenix after dark was with the crowds that formed on First Fridays. Over the past several years, however, this has changed.  Downtown is now a safe place any night of the week. The only thing missing are things to do other than catch a game, eat out or grab a pint.

Downtown Phoenix has enough activities to keep it going strong almost every night of the week. The problem is they are all clumped together on a select few nights a month. To be a truly vibrant downtown, these events need to start occurring throughout the month.

To be sure, things are changing slowly. As an example, SideBar’s 1st Anniversary Party held this past Wednesday was a huge success.  Hundreds of people proved that they are willing to venture out in the middle of the week to attend an event. Sure SideBar could have waited until tonight for the party, but they didn’t need to. This allowed people to enjoy downtown Phoenix on a weeknight freeing their First Friday for the hundreds of other events going on. In addition, many of those in attendance stopped by other downtown establishments for dinner before hand, or drinks afterward, bringing customers to the central core on an otherwise quiet night for most businesses. Events like this is a small but important step towards a vibrant downtown more than one day a month.

Next time you want to hold an event—and are thinking of doing so on a First Friday—ask yourself if it could be held on another night of the month. And if you normally only venture downtown for First Fridays keep an eye open for other events going on throughout the month. It is only by overcoming Phoenix’s First Friday folly that we will achieve a truly vibrant downtown.

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Nov 23

Downtown Phoenix: Don’t Hate the Haters

By Yuri Artibise Opinion, Phoenix Comments

Recently there has been a lot of discussion in the blogosphere on the shortcomings of downtown Phoenix, my adopted hometown. First, there was some consternation that events like Ignite Phoenix and TEDxPhoenix, were in fact not held in Phoenix at all and therefore not to be attended by ‘true Phoenicians’.

In addition, there have been posts from bloggers like Derek Neighbors, Tyler Hurst, and the Downtown Devil explaining what they see as downtown Phoenix’s shortcomings. And of course there is Jon Talton, the ‘exiled’ Arizona Republic journalist who doesn’t pull punches when describing what has happened to his beloved home town. All of these people and their writings have raised the hackles of some downtown Phoenix cheerleaders. However, all of these people are deeply engaged in their communities in their own ways, something that many cheerleaders are not (Hint to cheerleaders: eating dinner at a local restaurant does not make you active in the community).

As an incurable urbanist, I am excited by what’s going on downtown, and have been one of the area’s biggest boosters. I am a firm believer that the only thing worse than unconstructive criticism however, is blind boosterism. As such, I am not blind to the fact that downtown Phoenix is a work in progress that still has a long way to go before it becomes a truly vibrant urban hub and I’m grateful that the above people are willing to point out its flaws.

Yes downtown has come a long way over the past 10 years (and especially the last 5 years). However, all this work has barely laid the foundation for a ‘real’ downtown; an urban space that offers a mixture of opportunities to live, work and play. It is far to early to sit back and proclaim that downtown Phoenix has arrived, and definitely too early to castigate those who dare to point out the remaining shortcomings and hurdles that the downtown core faces.

Boycotting events or ignoring those you disagree with is no way to help the city or region grow. So rather than write of the comments of Derek, TD or Jon, why not listen to them and learn how others see the city? Sure you may disagree with some, or all of their points, but chances are you will re-examine your perspectives and may even find some common ground with the critics to work with. By simply writing the critics writing them off as negative cranks, however, you are missing an opportunity to improve your city.

There are plenty of opportunities to share your opinions and ideas. To begin with, share your opinions in the comment section of this post, or TD‚ Derek‚ or others. Better yet, come out and engage us in person, starting at tomorrow night’s Radiate Phoenix meeting at Local Breeze. If you can’t make it this week, don’t fret, Radiate Phoenix is a monthly gathering held the last Tuesday of every month.

If Tuesdays doesn’t work for you, you can check out Ken Clark’s Get your Phx on the Third Thursday of every month, the intermittent¬† Phoenix Rising events, or one of several other events than occur regularly in and around downtown. In addition the City of Phoenix is holding public consolations for the General plan update that will lay out how the city will take shape over the next 40 years. Even if you can’t attend your neighborhood villages sessions, drop in on another, they are all open to the public. Or if you are simply not a group meeting type of person, invite the critics out for lunch coffee or a beer (we are extremely social people), start up a conversation at your local coffee shop or pub; downtowners are more than willing to share their impressions on what is going on in the communities and engage in constructive debates on where the city is heading.

The point is to get involved and get engaged in your community and neighborhood. Sitting back and cheering is just as bad as sitting back and complaining. After-all, it is only by acknowledging our shortcomings that we care able to address them and help realize downtown Phoenix’s full potential.

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Nov 04

My Experience at Ignite Phoenix 5

By Yuri Artibise Personal Brand, Phoenix, Uncategorized, Who am I? Comments

Well, it’s all over now! And all I can say is that it was an experience that I won’t soon forget. Presenting at Ignite Phoenix was memorable not because of the size of the audience, but rather the format. Keeping up to slides that changed every 15 seconds was challenging‚ even after rehearsing my presentation dozens of times! Now that it’s all over, and I’ve had a few beers to celebrate (and a good nights sleep to reflect) I can honestly say it was an amazing opportunity, and one that I strongly recommend that everybody with a passion attempts.

I have attached my slide set and video for posterity:

Slides:

Urban Space: The old skool interactive platform

Video is here.

I must say however, that making my presentation was only a small part of the evening. Sharing the stage with 16 other amazing and passionate people was in and of itself an amazing experience. To see so much talent and energy on the same stage and to share in their pre-show nerves and rituals‚ as well as their and post show humility‚ was an invaluable part of the evening. Those of you who only saw our 5 minutes on stage missed an important part of what makes Ignite such a fantastic experience.

For those looking to join in on the fun, Ignite Phoenix 6 will be held on March 30th at the Mesa Art Center.  The #IgnitePhx crew are already accepting submissions (I’ve heard through the grape vine that several keeners have already sent in their ideas). If you have an idea you’d like to share, or a passion that you can no longer contain, I highly recommend to share your idea, so you to can experience the phenomenon that is Ignite.

My Experience at Ignite Phoenix 5
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Nov 03

A Community Garden is Coming to the Melrose Curve

By Yuri Artibise Phoenix, urbanism Comments

A community garden is coming to 7th Ave! It will be located on the empty lot next to Melrose Pharmacy, on the corner of 7th Ave and Montecito Ave (map).

Drawing by Cathy Eglin, Past-President, Grandview Neighborhood Association

Drawing by Cathy Eglin, Past-President, Grandview Neighborhood Association

This is a great addition to the Melrose on 7th community and a key milestone in its rebirth that has progressed over the past several years, even during these tough economic times. It continues the street-scape improvements, including shade structures, and pedestrian crossing that have brought a more “pedestrian friendly” feeling for the neighborhood Melrose shopping district, despite being a well-traveled thoroughfare, infamous for the reversible (i.e. suicide) lanes that have created what Vice Mayor Tom Simplot has described as a mini-freeway. Moreover, community gardens are important community enhancements. Not only do they provide a catalyst for further neighborhood improvements, they stimulate social interaction, reduce local crime, reduce human heat island, and produce affordable a nutritious food.

Photograph by Yuri Artibise

Photograph by Yuri Artibise

The four neighborhood associations in the immediate vicinity Grandview, Woodlea/Melrose, Carnation and Pierson Place will be provided spaces to plant and nurture their own crops. In addition, there will be some parking spaces added for gardeners as well as patrons of Melrose Pharmacy and the other businesses in the Wagon Wheel Building. Also included in the plans are be shade trees, enhanced sidewalks and new public art.

This community garden is being made possible by Clear Channel, the owners of the property. While Clear Channel will retain ownership, they are leasing the land to the Seventh Avenue Merchants Association (SAMA) for a nominal fee. In addition they will opat a total of $50,000 towards the improvements listed above, and maintain the property for at least two years.

Clear Channel will also be replacing the large ground level billboard currently on the property with a new smaller (10×30′) digital sign located on the the building to the north of the lot. Clear Channel has also proposed removing another sign along 7ths ave (at Glenrosa) altogether. As a result the signage on 7th Ave will be reduced by over 1,000 sq ft, which is another important step in returning a neighborhood feel to the street.

Approvals and permits still need to be obtained from the city, so nothing is assured yet, but with the support of the SAMA and the local neighborhood associations, the process is expected to go smoothly.

For more details about the community garden you can contact Kurt Stickler at 602-279-9847. You can also drop by the Wagon Wheel Building and check out the conceptual drawing in the window of Kurt’s Clayface Ceramics studio at 710 W Montecito, next door to Hollywood Regency. You can also contact Vice Mayor (and District 4 Councilperson) Tom Simplot’s office to voice your support for the community garden in particular, and the continuing pedestrian improvements along 7th Ave.

The current lot. Photograph by Yuri Artibise

The current lot. Photograph by Yuri Artibise

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