Gateway to Downtown
I’ve never been one to abandon a project but when it came to the Downtown Gateways, the best I could do was finish the planning process and secure board approval before leaving for a new job. That was back in 2014 and it wasn’t until this November 2021 that the Gateway Plaza was completed. I […]
Read MoreThe Potential of COMO’s Public Art
Not too long ago, three new Gateways were illuminated in The District , the culmination of years of planning. (You can read up on the project here.) As part of the public input process, one suggestion offered was a roundabout in the middle of Broadway featuring a statue of Daniel Boone. Although interesting from both […]
Read MoreWhat Pokemon Go Can Tell Us About Our Cities
By now, we’ve all read the articles about the Pokemon Go phenomenon— it’s better than Fitbit at getting people moving, people’s legs hurt because they are walking so much, and everyone from retailers to Hillary Clinton is learning how to take advantage of the crowds of people out and about hunting Pokemon. If you’re one […]
Read MoreThe art of STEM
STEM—science, technology, engineering, and math—is quite the buzz term lately both in education and the increasingly popular makers movement. A friend of mine in the fashion department at Stephens College is quick to remind me that it should really be STEAM—science, technology, engineering, ART, and math. It’s a good point. All to often, we tend to think of […]
Read MoreThe Art of the Steal
I’m rewatching The Art of the Steal and am reminded about how difficult it is to find good guys and bad guys in real life situations. I’m torn between one man’s vision and what’s ultimately best for a city and the people within it. I cheer when the iconoclastic millionaire fights to keep his art collection […]
Read MoreEmergence
How do some areas of a city become known as restaurant row while others sprout art galleries? How has Florence maintained a single street devoted to silk sellers, even as the buildings along it have been torn down and replaced multiple times? How did New York City develop both a diamond district and a button district? […]
Read MoreArts Districts and the Power of Swerve
We walk through cities everyday but rarely do we ask how this messy mix of buildings, people and infrastructure came to be. Who planned this? Planning used to be fairly straight forward. It came from a man with a vision. A planner would look at a public space, decide the best use for it, and […]
Read MoreNaturally Occurring Arts Districts
Oftentimes, when people are busy making the big plans, everyone else is working on the little plan. Over the decades, a number of brainstorming sessions were held by our city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau to see if a cultural district could be created somewhere in the downtown area. Overall, a great discussion to have, and one that […]
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