Four community members launched a partnership project at FilmBar theater Tuesday night to help citizens realize their potential in evolving the downtown community.
FilmBar’s soft lights and welcoming ambience served as a proper local venue to introduce “Envisioning Phoenix: An Urban Film Series,” a partnership project that gathered four people with an idea to spread the word of the benefits of living in downtown Phoenix.
Phoenix has been losing a fight, said Daniel Zayas, one of Tuesday’s panelists: a fight to preserve historical buildings, local businesses and sustainable innovations. Zayas is the founder of dtphx.co, a new downtown Phoenix tourism website.
Because of this, Zayas and the co-founders of This Could Be Phoenix, Quinn Whissen and Ryan Tempest, as well as Libby Coyner, an active member of Phoenix Spokes People, decided to take action. They put their ideas together to raise awareness of downtown Phoenix’s importance and how others can join them in making the city a more sustainable and locally-appreciated area.
All four members of the new organization spoke following the screening of “The Human Scale,” a documentary about building cities that fit people’s needs for a livable community. The four panelists believed that inviting people to watch a movie, have a beer and discuss local issues was an effective way to gain the audience’s attention.
“We want to make the event fun,” Whissen said. “Otherwise, how would we engage people?”
The first “Envisioning Phoenix” event sold out, with about 70 people attending the event. Tempest said it shows that, “so many people are invested and care.”
Zayas was the main organizer behind the partnership project, Tempest said. Zayas contacted other community members that cared for the city, proposed a movie to screen, and chose FilmBar to make the idea a reality, free of charge.
“I want people to experience Phoenix tourism by giving patronage to local businesses, historical preservation and biking and walkability,” Zayas said.
Phoenix has razed historical parts of the city since the 1930s and 1940s, Zayas said. For example, he said a restaurant called Sing High Chop Suey House is the sole surviving remnant of downtown Phoenix’s Chinatown, located near the south end of downtown.
“We’re trying to save all the historical buildings we can,” Tempest said. “They can’t be rebuilt. There is a general lack of appreciation for buildings like that.”
In addition to preserving the historic buildings, all presenters said future “Envisioning Phoenix” events hope to work with citizens to build an even better future for downtown Phoenix.
“A small part of what we are doing is getting people excited to live here,” Whissen said, mentioning the large amount of vacant land downtown. “Imagine how we can fill in empty lots.”
Coyner discussed the growing success in bike transportation around the city. She said the city recently allocated $1.5 million to improve biking infrastructure, among other projects.
“Downtown always has this open invitation to join in the community,” Coyer said. “Phoenix is a great place that people haven’t quite discovered yet.”
Whissen claimed the four of them are not experts but rather community members who want to discuss how people can impact the city. Tempest agreed with Whissen.
“We might not be experts, but we’re community members,” Tempest said. “People that live, eat and breath Phoenix. They’re the experts.”
After watching “The Human Scale,” Zayas, Tempest, Whissen and Coyner promoted each of their companies and encouraged the audience to engage in downtown Phoenix’s urban life.
“I’m thrilled to see the community expand,” said Haley Ritter, an audience member at the presentation. “The movie was fantastic. I think people are starting to question their own identities as vehicle owners and citizens.”
All four presenters of “Envisioning Phoenix” hoped it would be a series of quarterly events, but it might not be as consistent due to the unpredictability of their future schedules. They plan to do another event for the future and will continue to promote downtown Phoenix as a place for people to live.
Editor’s Note: Panelist Daniel Zayas is a former Downtown Devil managing editor. He did not contribute to the reporting or editing of this story.
Contact the reporter at Samantha.Incorvaia@asu.edu
