Posts Tagged ‘phoenix’

February 29, 2012

Pho and the Possibility of the City

by: Ferminio Diaz

Tweet Today’s post is by Ferminio Diaz. Mr. Diaz used to frequent a bar called Drumlins in Central Square. In some East Coast college town. When not getting tossed from the Turf (apologies to Andy and Frank), he can often be found at Giant Coffee or the Crescent Ballroom. And she, like the oasis of possibility that is Phoenix, is 100% Real. I woke up a few Saturdays ago, in the wee hours of the morning, dreaming of an imperfect facsimile of you, my 100% perfect girl. It was not April, and we were neither in Harajuku nor San Miguel…

February 27, 2012

What is Your Vision for Lower Grand Avenue?

by: Lysistrata Hall

Tweet Today’s post is by Lyssa Hall and Leslie Dornfeld: What is your vision for Lower Grand Avenue? What are your short-term ideas for increasing vibrancy along Lower Grand Avenue? What are the challenges and barriers blocking sustainable urban development? What is the role of the community in developing a sustainable Phoenix? The city of Phoenix, Grand Avenue Merchants’ Association and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are interested in hearing your ideas and invite you to participate in a three day community design workshop focused on “Greening Lower Grand Avenue.” Starting with its birth in 1888 as a 100-foot wide roadway…

February 01, 2012

Bicycle Cellar in Downtown Phoenix a Step in the Right Direction for Air Quality

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet Air pollution is a major problem for Valley residents, not just because it sullies our beautiful blue skies, but because it has a very real and lasting negative impact on our health. According to an excellent seven-part series currently running in the Arizona Republic called The Air We Breathe, “studies now link pollution, especially traffic-related pollutants to heart disease, premature births, asthma attacks and shortened lives.” The series, of which only three installments have been published to date, explores many reasons why we find ourselves in a choke hold with air quality, but lays much of the blame on…

January 30, 2012

Revitalizing America’s Worst Urban Park

by: Will Novak

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Will Novak: Since I’m stuck in Boston until the end of February I’ve been unable to participate in the current visioning processes for Hance Park. From what I’ve seen, the process is moving along rather rapidly, but so far I’ve yet to see a plan that fulfills the parks amazing potential. Below is a slide show I’ve created outlining what I think it will take to make Hance Park one of America’s great urban parks. It’s a big vision; it will take time and lots of money, but its better to dream big…

January 18, 2012

A Letter to Light Rail Riders

by: Ryan Glass

Tweet Today’s post is by contributing writer Ryan Glass: Dear Valued Rider, We realize our relationship has had its ups and downs this past two years, and since it’s the New Year, it feels like we should join in the spirit and shape some things up so that we can feel better about each other in 2012. Therefore, we present our list of resolutions: Longer trains arriving more often. Yeah, it really sucks having to wait on the platform for so long just to get crammed into a one-car train. We admit we started this so that we could take…

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…

January 11, 2012

Why the Central Avenue Road Diet is a Big Deal

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet New bike lanes are in on Central between Camelback and Bethany Home as part of the planned road diet for the area! I rode this newly slimmed down stretch of Central on Sunday with a group of bikers in celebration of this move towards making Phoenix a more bike-friendly place. Someone said to me on the ride, there are people in Arizona that don’t like bicyclists, that don’t think they should be on the road. And for too long, these people have had all the say in the transportation planning of our city. the road diet is a…

November 07, 2011

Car-free in Phoenix? Impossible! (well, not really)

by: Eddie Jensen

Tweet Today’s post is by my friend and fellow central Phoenix advocate Edward Jensen. Having lived and learned in central Phoenix for the past decade, Edward Jensen is a midtown Phoenix resident and an advocate for alternative transportation. He is on the Downtown Voices Coalition’s Steering Committee where he works to advance bicycling and alternative transportation. A 2011 alumnus of ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus, he is presently a technology and IT consultant for his new firm, Downtown Technology Company. His blog is edwardjensen.net, he is on Twitter at @edwardjensen and has a Facebook page at facebook.com/edwardjensenphx. Imagine not having a car in Phoenix. It…

September 28, 2011

An Essay by Will Bruder: What Can We Aim For?

by: Will Bruder

Tweet This week I am posting Will Bruder’s excellent essay for the 98th Arizona Town Hall meeting, “Capitalizing on Arizona’s Arts and Culture”. I’ve posted the essay in 3 parts. In today’s post, which is the third and final part, Will gives us a 6-point plan on how to move forward in Arizona in ways that we can tap into our unique local resources and plug into the sustainability progress happening globally. Make sure to read Part I and Part II of this essay if you haven’t yet. If you’d like to read Will’s entire essay in one sitting, you…

September 21, 2011

Valley of the Sunflowers – Enlivening an Empty Lot in Phoenix

by: Taz Loomans

Tweet It’s one thing to complain about the empty lots that plague our city, but it’s a very different thing to actually DO something about it. That’s why I’m so impressed by the A.R.T.S. (Adaptive Reuse of Temporary Space) initiative which aims to activate vacant lots. A.R.T.S. is a project that was spearheaded last April by the Roosevelt CDC and its visionary leaders Cindy Dach and Kenny Barrett. The latest installation of A.R.T.S. is the Valley of the Sunflowers, a field of sunflowers on a 2-acre vacant lot in Downtown Phoenix. Not only will this field be startlingly beautiful in…