TEDxScottsdale Speaking Notes

My Journey through the Urban Desert

Lost in the Urban Desert

I’m not an architect or an urban planner.  Indeed I wasn’t even an urbanist until a few years ago—I didn’t even know there was such a thing.

Until moving to Phoenix, I thought that urbanism was the status quo.  Sure I knew that suburbs existed—I even grew up in one—but there had always been a central core to escape to.

 

Lost in the Urban Desert – II

Upon arriving here, I didn’t have a car; I didn’t even have a driver’s license.

I spent my first months here doing a lot of walking, a lot of transit, and a lot of cycling.

In doing so I got a crash course in how cities worked, or rather didn’t work.

I also began to discover oases in this urban desert.  Isolated and small to be sure, but it was a start.

• There were places like the Downtown Phoenix farmers market and local coffee shops;
• There were events like First Friday Art Walks and networking groups like Radiate Phoenix;
• There were advocacy organizations like Downtown Voices Coalition and Local First Arizona;
• There is an extensive network of over 200 neighborhood organizations in Phoenix alone.

Encouraged by these discoveries:

• I began attending meetings and events.
• I started volunteering my time and energy with a few groups.
• I started attending City Hall Hearings

Before I knew it, I was finding my way through the urban desert.

But something was still missing.

Finding My Way

About this time, social media was really taking off.  Blogging had gained critical mass, Facebook was gaining steam and Twitter had just been launched.

I began poking around these sites and finding like minds both in Phoenix and around the world.

I started visited blogs to see how urbanists in other cities were using the power of social media to build community in their own neighborhoods.

Through Twitter and Facebook I learned of even more community events and groups in Phoenix.

 

Encouraged by these further discoveries, I decided it was time to stop feeling sorry for myself.

It was time to start creating the type of community I wanted to be part of.

Yurbanism

My first step was my blog, which started as a way to curate and discuss what I was finding through my research as well as what I was observing online.

I also started writing for other online magazines and websites. This allowed me to meet even more people doing cool and interesting things around town.

As a result, I started getting asked to attend and organize with other events.  I even was asked to speak at a few of them!

The urban oases were multiplying.

Soon, attending events and writing about what was going on wasn’t enough. Something was still missing.

I wanted to give back in a tangible way.

I wanted to create my own community in the urban desert.

 

Jane’s Walk I

As part of my research for my blog, I came across an event called Jane’s Walk.

The walks are held in memory of Jane Jacobs.

Jane was an activist and author who championed the interests and knowledge of local residents over a centralized approach to city building.

She passed away in 2006, but her legacy lives on.

I had long been a fan of her writing, and her book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, was one of the books I turned to when trying to find my way.

I also had the privilege of meeting Jane during a couple of her book tours before she passed away.

Jane’s Walk II

Jane’s Walks are a series of free walking tours held on the first weekend of May each year.

They celebrates the ideas and legacy of urbanist Jane Jacobs by getting people out exploring their neighbourhoods and meeting their neighbours.

Jane’s Walks are led by local residents—people like you and me—who want to celebrate their neighborhoods and talk about what matters to them in the places they live and work.

These neighborhood-walking tours started in Toronto in 2007 and quickly expanded to cities around the world; but it hadn’t reached Phoenix yet.

I decided that bringing a Jane’s Walk to Phoenix would be a perfect opportunity to not only honor one of my heroes, but also to begin creating a community in Phoenix.

Jane’s Walk III

Little did I know that I would get so much more out of it.

Through hosting Jane’s Walks in 2009 and 2010 and organizing several more this year, I’ve learned that people want and need opportunities to get to not only know the places they live and work, but also to meet and interact with their fellow residents.

Through the simple act of walking together, we begin to learn about each other’s lives and their connections the neighborhood.

It is through such conversations that shared understanding and a sense of belonging are nurtured and a sense of places is created.

Ultimately these conversations become the stories that are part of a strong and resourceful community.

Park(ing) Day I

Soon after the success of the first Jane’s Walk in 2009, I learned about another annual event—Park(ing) Day.

Park(ing) Day held in September each year.

Here, residents pay for a metered parking spot, but instead of parking our car on it, they create a park.

By temporarily transforming a parking spot into a PARK(ing) space we are attempting to expand our public space and improving the livability of our cities—at least until the meter runs out.

It’s a way to remind ourselves—and our fellow residents who walk by—how important it is to have some space to sit, relax and connect.

But most importantly, it is an opportunity to create community, engage the public and begin a dialogue.

Best yet it is practically free.  For the cost of what many of us already have on our patio, we can create community.

Park(ing) Day II

But unlike with Jane’s Walk, I had a lot harder time making it happen.

Perhaps it was the rogue (although perfectly legal) element of it, but—unlike Jane’s Walk—I couldn’t convince any of my friends to help

I had all but given up until about two weeks from the event; I received a message from somebody in Phoenix asking if I was still interested in doing something.

I told her my story and my difficulties.

Her response was basically So What?  Lets just do it, and even if it is just the two of us, it will be something to build on.

And it was!

Park(ing) Day III

While Park(ing) Day hasn’t had the public resonance of Jane’s Walk. It has been on of the most meaningful events I have been involved in here.

Perhaps it’s the roguish act of playing Frisbee on the side of a street, or sitting in a lounge chair where a SUV usually parks, but Park(ing) Day has created deeper friendships that I could have ever imagined.

I have met some of my closest and dearest friends though this event. And not only are they great friends, they are also amongst the most active in their neighborhood and in many cases have gone on to hold their own community events.

Together, we have helped create a passionate, active urban tribe in downtown Phoenix.

This puts the truth to the adage that “the harder the effort, the greater the reward.”

It also confirms that even a small handful of people can have a big impact—even if it isn’t that one you had originally envisioned.

Best yet it is practically free. For the cost of what many of us already have on your patio, you too can help create community.

 

After holding these two annual events, I knew I was on to something.  However, two events a year wasn’t enough for me to build the type of community I was looking for.  I needed something more regular.

Hence Places, Spaces and Faces.

Places, Spaces & Faces I

We rarely get this opportunity to get together with people who aren’t on our usual roster of friends and family.

It’s rare to share our time, much less our home-cooked food with a stranger we’ve just met

Yet, this is what happens at the Places, Spaces and Faces Community Dinner each month.

It started just over a year ago and has been held on the third Saturday of every month.

Sometimes there’s a speaker and a topic of discussion.

Other times it’s simply an opportunity to get together and share food and stories in a special place.

Places, Spaces & Faces II

PSF is not an exclusive club. It’s open to the public. There are no membership or admission fees, other than a potluck dish.

Rather, it’s a way to get together with our fellow residents and share some things with them: our time, our food, our stories, and most importantly, ourselves.

There is no ulterior motive to this gathering. They are NOT for business networking, nor fund-raising, nor meeting dates, although any or all of these things happen there on occasion. J

The purpose of it is purely to come together as a community.

To be with—and talk to—one another.

Places, Spaces & Faces III

I can’t take credit for creating this event—that goes to my friend and fellow urbanist, Taz Loomans.

But PSF is something that I’ve felt was special since the beginning. It highlights another aspect of creating community in the urban desert.

This simple premise of getting together with interesting people in interesting places has proven to be a powerful formula for all sorts of friendships, ideas, and connections.

There’s something meaningful about sitting down over a meal. It forms a unique bond between people.

Perhaps more importantly it forms these bonds in special places, tying us no only closer to each other, but the neighborhoods in which we live, furthering our sense of place.

 

What I’ve Learned

Through these events, and numerous others that I’ve created, assisted or simply attended in Phoenix, I’ve not only been able to find my way through this urban desert we call home.

In the process, I’ve learned a lot about urbanism, sustainability—and most importantly—community.

• I’ve learned that we are all responsible for the success of the places we live.
• I’ve learned that we can’t have a good city, sustainable neighborhoods, vibrant places to live, play and work if we don’t have a strong sense of community.
• But most importantly—in the spirit of TED—I’ve learned my ‘Idea Worth Spreading.’

Cities are People

That idea is “Cities ARE people.”

Community events like the ones I’ve mentioned help forge people together and instill in them the idea that WE are the city.

If we feel that we are separate from our city, we will continue to be ‘victims’ of all the things that aren’t working, instead of becoming a part of the solution.

We need to stop waiting for someone else start the initiatives that we want to see.

If we truly desire urban sustainability, we need to become “co-creators” of the type of cities we want to live in.

By retaking control of our communities and making our own changes—no matter how small—we can be the leading edge of a sustainable urbanism.

Soon, the few oases we have in this urban desert, will not only multiply, but also begin to weave with each other into a vibrant city.

 

Many of the things I’ve talked about are a mindset change, and cost nothing other than time.

The major investment is a shift in thinking from the prevailing YO-YO ethic (“you’re on your own”) to a WITT mindset (“we’re in this together”).

Once we consider ourselves a community, and stewards of not only one another’s well being, but also the well being of our city, anything is possible.

My Wish

Alas, like all good things in life, they come to an end.  I will be leaving Phoenix next week to return to Canada–Vancouver to be exact.

Since I’ve announced that I’d be leaving Phoenix, I’ve had several people tell me that there will be a big hole in the community without me.

While I an honored—and humbled‑ by this, I’m also a little bit frustrated.  One of my main goals in Phoenix has been to empower others to act.

If TED is about Ideas it is also about Wishes.  It is my TED wish, or more accurately my TEDx wish that each one of you take a small step to build your community.

Remember, it doesn’t need to take much money, or even time to create community, even in the urban desert.

It can be as small as simply getting to know the person sitting beside you tonight, attending a neighborhood meeting, or participating in this year’s Jane’s Walk, Park(ing) Day or the next Place’s Spaces and Faces.

Many of you will find that this first step will encourage participation in others and, perhaps even starting your own.

If you all take this small step, soon any hole that may be felt by my departure will turn in to a mountain of community.

This will make Phoenix a better place and my time here will have been worth it.

 

THANK YOU