Photos by Madeline Pado
A panel of community activists spoke Tuesday about fostering a thriving downtown Phoenix, local projects and an engaged public.
The second Downtown Devil Discussion of the semester, nominally about the issue of empty and unused lots in Phoenix, covered subject matters that ranged from the city’s history to ambitious plans for future projects.
More than 30 audience members gathered in the First Amendment Forum, with a panel consisting of Greg Esser of the ASU Art Museum, Cindy Dach of the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation, local muralist Hugo Medina and ASU sustainability student Braden Kay.
“An architect from Italy once described the vacant spaces in our area as a district that’s missing teeth,” Dach said.
Dach spoke of the frustrations she has with maintaining unused lots owned by people outside of Phoenix who refuse to sell or make use of their space. Still, she believes that contributing to the general upkeep of downtown is necessary.
“I’m helping (an owner’s) value by activating his space and cleaning it up,” Dach said. “But for me, it helps my value because I’m there everyday. I’ve heard for years that I’m going to have a developed city, and that’s awesome, but in twenty years I’m going to be on my walker and I want to enjoy right now.”
Esser said that air-quality rules set by the Environmental Protection Agency and Maricopa County can hinder construction projects.
“What may comply with one law may not meet the test of another law, so there are multiple interwoven regulations that have to be navigated in order to understand what solutions should be implemented,” Esser said. “It takes perseverance and it takes a lot of resilience to really make that process work.”
In the interest of promoting community discussion, Esser mentioned that the ASU Art Museum is planning a dinner on a half-mile-long dining table, which he estimates could seat up to 2,400 people.
“We’re about a year out from that project,” Esser said. “Part of community development is creating places where people can come together and share ideas.”
Medina said that owners are sometimes motivated to sit on their undeveloped lots because developments can be expensive, but it is something Medina believes is worth the commitment.
“It’s old-school mentality where it’s all about business to them, where, for people who live in the community, it’s not just about business, it’s about a better way of life,” he said.
Medina said that Phoenix artists and businesspeople should look to the example set by the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Va., a building with art galleries and studios which he called “a destination that gets people walking in the area.”
Referring to his mural project, Medina said, “The best way to get community involved is to create something that they want to participate in, that they want to be a part of.”
Kay, who helped manage the Valley of the Sunflowers project, said that Phoenix citizens have a responsibility to help improve the city.
“Every morning, when the city wakes up, it can tell its own story,” Kay said. “Phoenix has a choice of whether it tells some story or not. ‘I’m a city with missing teeth, I’m a city that’s disconnected, I’m a city that has racial and economic tensions, I’m a city that is run by corporations.’
“Or, it can wake up and tell itself a story of: ‘I’m a city of creativity, I’m a city of small businesses, I’m a city of active neighborhoods and murals and arts organizations, I’m a city of sunflowers.’ And that’s the story that we have to figure out how to tell.”
As the discussion wrapped up, the panel presented a slide show of before-and-after photos to demonstrate downtown development that has already taken place, highlighting community events like First Friday and the Pie Social.
The event concluded with a comment from audience member Caroline Rushton-Addington, who was born in Phoenix in 1933, thanking the panelists and audience for contributing to the development of Phoenix.
“I’m commending you first-generation people for getting the spirit going again,” Rushton-Addington said. “Historically, it’s my story, and your story. So thank you very much.”
Contact the reporter at bkutzler@asu.edu
