Archive for September, 2010

September 30, 2010

Anonymity, Memory, The Body and The City

by: Kevin Kellogg

Tweet Today is a very special Thursday installment of the Blooming Rock blog. Kevin Kellogg is the guest author of today’s post. Kevin, AIA, NCARB, LEED ap is Urban Laureate at the ASU Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family. He is an urban designer, architect and planner and principal of Kellog + Associates based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Kevin has over 25 years of experience in the planning, design and development of affordable housing and community planning. He is currently serving as the Urban Laureate, a research fellowship devoted to sustainable urbanism and community engagement. ‘Memory…

September 29, 2010

Fifty Years Later: Perfect Timing

by: Peter Wolf

Tweet Continuing this special week of guest posts from a handful of the best writers and thinkers in Phoenix, today’s post is by Peter J. Wolf. Peter is a Lecturer in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University, teaching courses in both industrial design and visual communication design. When he’s not teaching or taking on freelance writing projects, he blogs about feral cat issues at Vox Felina. I’ve heard it said from people involved with historic preservation that the greenest building is the one you don’t need to build (a message apparently lost on those…

September 28, 2010

An Inexpensive, Eco-Friendly Solution to Connect Areas not Served by the Light Rail

by: Tony Arranaga

Tweet Continuing this week of guest posts by top-notch Phoenix writers and thinkers, today’s post is by the Light Rail Blogger, Tony Arranaga. Since 1995, Tony has worked in television newsrooms around the country. Tony started his career on the assignment desk at the West Coast Bureau for ABC News in Los Angeles. He then spent several years covering politics in both Tampa and Washington, D.C. before landing in Phoenix where he helped ABC 15/KNXV-TV grow a morning show audience. Tony’s new passion is mass transit and alternative transportation. He is the publisher of Light Rail Blogger – which talks…

September 27, 2010

Imagining a New Phoenix Using Old Buildings: A Case for Adaptive Reuse

by: Victoria Vargas

Tweet While I’m traipsing through Brussels, Bruges, and Berlin this week, the Blooming Rock blog will be featuring guest posts from some of my favorites writers and thinkers in Phoenix. Today’s post is by Victoria Vargas. Victoria is a writer, historic preservationist, archaeologist, and lover of small dwellings. She blogs at Smaller Living about the adventure of living small in a (very) big city. “There is probably no action authorized by local governments more singularly fiscally irresponsible than the demolition of a historic building for a surface parking lot.” Donovan Rykema in The Economics of Historic Preservation (2008, revised edition)…

September 21, 2010

Silvana Salcido Esparza of Barrio Cafe Planning to Create Community Through Murals

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet When I heard about the Calle 16 (Calle Diez Y Seis) project, I just about jumped out of my seat. You may know that 16th St., aka Calle 16, is my street. I live in the neighborhood, between Thomas and Osborn, just east of 16th, in the barrio! Speaking of barrio, the tour de force behind Calle 16 is Silvana Salcido Esparza, the chef and owner of the fabulous Barrio Cafe. The very presence of Barrio Cafe on 16th St., a highly-regarded restaurant in the Valley, has done wonders for the neighborhood. Now Ms. Esparza is taking her contributions…

September 20, 2010

Grand Avenue Festival Re-Dapt Tours to Shine Spotlight on Hidden Gems

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet This Saturday the 25th is going to be the 2nd Annual Grand Avenue Festival hosted by the Grand Avenue Merchants Association (GAMA). Two women in particular have been the heavies behind putting this event together, Beatrice Moore and Kate Benjamin. Beatrice owns nine buildings on Grand and Kate has her studio, ModernCat Studio, in one of Beatrice’s buildings, the old Braggs Pie Factory. Both are active members of GAMA. I had the chance to sit and talk with Beatrice this Saturday at her Kooky Krafts Shop. I’ll let you in on a secret about her. Beatrice’s unwavering commitment to…

September 15, 2010

Claude Mattox on the Sahara Hotel and the Reversible Lanes

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Today’s post is part II of my interview with Councilman Claude Mattox who is running for Mayor in 2011. If you missed part I of the interview, catch it here. Below is the rest of our conversation: Blooming Rock: This is a question I’m sure you get a lot, what are your views on the reversible lanes? Councilman Mattox: My view of the reversible lanes is that they function the way they are designed. In lieu of having another freeway that runs north and south, they decided to do this (the reversible lanes) 40 years ago. My official position…

September 14, 2010

Cancer Survivor’s Park – Activated!

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet This morning I’m working at Giant Coffee and enjoying the view of the green-gray Phoenix Art Museum in the background, the CVS sign which is thankfully draped over by a beautiful Palo Brea tree, and of course integral to the Phoenix landscape, the cars zipping by, silently. I noticed a little while ago a coffee drinker stepped outside and sat on a bench at the Cancer Survivor’s Park. And it occured to me, well, isn’t that wonderful? Having the lovely Cancer Survivor’s Park right out there to be enjoyed by us coffee drinkers when we need to make a…

September 13, 2010

Claude Mattox talks about City North and Arizona’s Solar Future

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet A few weeks ago, I sat down with Councilman Claude Mattox in his office on the 11th floor of City Hall and asked him questions about future development in Phoenix. I’ll be posting the interview in two parts. Part I is on Councilman Mattox’s views on Green Phoenix, City North, commuter rail, and attracting solar companies to our State. Councilman Mattox is running for Mayor in 2011. Below is Part I of our conversation: Blooming Rock: Tell me what your views are on the Green Phoenix plan and what your priorities would be to implement it if you get…

September 08, 2010

Engineered Shade is a Poor Substitute for a Vibrant Urban Forest

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet As I’ve discussed in the previous weeks on the Wednesday Phoenix Tree and Shade Masterplan series, the first step outlined in the Masterplan to restore our urban forest is Raising Awareness. The second is Preserve, Protect and Increase. Today I’ll be talking about the third and final step towards the Masterplan’s 2030 goal of a 25% canopy coverage in Phoenix – Sustainable, Maintainable Infrastructure. The goal of this step, according to the Masterplan, is to “Treat the urban forest as infrastructure to ensure that trees and engineered shade are an integral part of the city’s planning and development process”. …