Posts Tagged ‘downtown voices coalition’

January 16, 2012

DVC’s State of Sustainability Forum – a Next Step after the Wreckage of Bird on Fire

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Andrew Ross’s book Bird on Fire: Lessons from the Least Sustainable City in the World is the talk of the town. And tomorrow night, it will be the subject of a panel discussion put together by the Downtown Voices Coalition called the State of Sustainability Forum. As I wrote in my article in the Atlantic Cities called In Defense of Phoenix, Ross’s book has raised a lot of ire in our city, whether it’s focused on the author himself who can conveniently go home to New York without offering any solutions after criticizing the place we hold dear in…

June 14, 2011

PCA/DPJ Mayoral Debate

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet If you missed last night’s Mayoral debate sponsored by the Phoenix Community Alliance and the Downtown Phoenix Journal held at the School of Nursing at ASU Downtown, here’s my twitter recap of what was said. Not much was different from the Mayoral debate last Thursday sponsored by the Downtown Voices Coalition except for the fact that Anna Brennan, a candidate that did not make the ballot, was present. Learn more about the major candidates and read the Blooming Rock interviews with Mattox, Stanton and Neely. I’ll be posting my interview with Wes Gullett in the next few days. Note:…

June 09, 2011

Downtown Voices Coalition Mayoral Debate

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet If you missed tonight’s Downtown Voices Coalition Mayoral Debate, here’s my live twitter coverage to give you an idea of what all was said: EVERYBODY is here at tonight’s DVC mayoral debate! Wes Gullett’s vision for Downtown: let’s take it to the next level, commercialize, get government out of the way of small business. Jennifer Wright’s vision for Downtown: we need to look at our whole city, not just Downtown. Doesn’t believe we should invest City $ in DT. Greg Stanton’s vision for Downtown: TIF, strong public education, adaptive reuse code, range of housing, walkability, make it a neighborhood…

February 15, 2011

Feliciano Vera on Phoenix’s Geography of Isolation and the Importance of Having Conversations

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Below is the second half of my interview with Feliciano Vera, partner at Habitat Metro, the development company behind Portland Place, The Oasis Motel redevelopment and now the Lexington Hotel redevelopment. If you missed the first half, make sure to catch it here! Blooming Rock: How has the economy impacted you? I know Habitat Metro started in 2007 when everything was flying high. How has it changed you? Feliciano Vera: It’s reinforced our discipline in terms of our basic business discipline and our focus on opportunities and work that passes basic economic muster. We have to be able to…

January 02, 2011

New Year’s Resolutions for a Better Community

by: Jim McPherson

Tweet Today’s post is by Jim McPherson, a follow up to his guest post last week. He helps us kick off the new year with some resolutions on how to improve Phoenix and concrete steps on how to get started. Thanks Jim!… Happy New Year! Here in Phoenix, the sun is out, the sky is clear, and there’s a slight chill in the air. Not bad, not bad at all. It’s also that time of the year to resolve to improve upon the previous year. It’s time to look forward and to move forward. Last week in my post, “Yes…

December 22, 2010

“Yes Virginia, there is community in Phoenix”

by: Jim McPherson

Tweet Today’s post is by Jim McPherson, a dedicated and revered community leader here in Phoenix… A few months ago at Hob Nobs Coffee House I chatted with Russ Haan of After Hours Creative about the “ups and downs,” “twists and turns,” and “progress and pitfalls” of getting projects off the ground in downtown Phoenix. In our conversation we rattled off a dozen or so, but later I got to thinking, “How many projects are we talking about?” Before I go any further, let me define “projects.” It’s those “fine grain” projects, initiatives, events, and activities organized by individuals and…

October 15, 2010

Action Item: Love Dogs, Not Cars

by: Sean Sweat

Tweet Today on Blooming Rock we have a special Friday post by Sean Sweat about future plans for the Sahara Motel site that is slated to become a parking lot, but Sean has a better idea. Sean Sweat, aka @PhxDowntowner, is the Treasurer of St Croix Villas in the heart of downtown and an MIT-trained transportation professional. His professional focus is supply chain & logistics. His personal focus is pedestrianism, public transit, and multi-modal interactions. INTRODUCTION St Croix Villas needs your help. If you like any of the following things, you’ll want to help us: • Downtown Vibrancy • Pedestrianism…

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)…