October 12, 2010

Councilman Peggy Neely on City North and Downtown Development

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet A few weeks ago I spoke to Councilman Peggy Neely who’s formed an exploratory committee to see if she wants to run for Mayor in 2011. Councilman Neely’s is District 2 that includes Kierland Commons and City North. I was curious to find out, since her district is away from the central city, what her view is for Downtown. I was also curious to know about her position on City North as it is in her district. Also, I asked the Councilwoman about how we can support small businesses since as much of her district is home to lots…

October 11, 2010

Biking Infrastructure as Sign of Modernity and Progress

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet “Bruges is a biking city” declared the woman at the information counter at the train station when we arrived from Brussels. I found out first hand that she wasn’t kidding. Biking is an integral part of the infrastructure in Bruges, which is a tiny city in Belgium that has gotten a few big things right. And one of those things is their bicycle culture. Right from the get go, when we walked out of the train station, I saw a sea of bicycles parked outside: The woman at the information counter would later tell me that locals bike to…

October 06, 2010

A Tribute to the Canals of Phoenix

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet I know it seems like I keep harping on all the things I find problematic about Phoenix and I tend to point out the things we could learn from other cities. But this doesn’t mean there aren’t already great things about living here, right now, just the way they are. Today I wanted to touch on one of those things, and that is our canal system. There has been much discussion, much speculation and much thought put into our canal system thanks to Nan Ellin’s visionary Canalscape project which is now being overseen by Valley Forward Association. But what…

October 05, 2010

Tom Simplot on the Impact of the Reversible Lanes on the Central Core and More

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet A few weeks ago I spoke with Councilman Tom Simplot, the councilman for District 4 in Phoenix. There is a possibility that Councilman Simplot may run for mayor in 2011, but he did not confirm one way or another during our interview. He did, however, answer questions about many of the things we find important at Blooming Rock such as historic preservation, sustainability, growth and the reversible lanes. Below is our conversation: Blooming Rock: Are you running for mayor? Councilman Simplot: I’ll tell you right now, no one should be saying definitively if they are running for mayor because…

October 04, 2010

Learning from European Cities: An Introduction

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet It’s good to be back in the Valley of the Sun! I had a fantastic time in Europe and learned a great deal about how dense urban centers work. I’d like to share what I learned over the coming weeks on Mondays in my Learning from European Cities Series. It’s true that Phoenix will never be and shouldn’t be a reproduction of a European city. We have very unique characteristics here, as well as a completely different climate and landscape, land availability, and cultural differences among other factors. However, there are a few universal things that work well in…

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…