Am I A Zealous Nut? Are You?

The Project for Public Spaces has published a piece called In Praise of Zealous Nuts that makes me realize that we (the collective Exit133 community we) may be onto something.  From the PPS article:

Years ago, when we began advising key decision makers, clients, and anyone else who would listen that they should entrust public spaces to zealous nuts-meaning people who were passionate about their communities-we were greeted with incredulous skepticism. There was great hesitation to empower people who seemed to care a little too much, and who may have had minimal expertise in planning, business or government. Why hand over authority to people who are not experts? That’s what local leaders wondered. They would probably just gum up the works with impractical ideas.

But that’s not how its works out in practice. “Zealous nuts” know more about the places where they live and work than anyone else, and therefore their ideas turn out to be most practical and valuable. They naturally engage in what PPS calls “Placemaking”—a new way of looking at public spaces that takes into account all the factors that make a successful place.

After starting Exit133 and meeting so many new people, I’ve learned that it’s the Tacoma zealots that make this site interesting.  Everybody seems to have their pet projects and ideas, but it’s the concern for our place as a whole that makes it seem right.  We may not have jobs or degrees that match our projects and interest. What we do have is a passion for something that somehow contributes to the community.  Consultants and slick marketing isn’t going to create Tacoma’s future.  It’s us, Tacoma’s zealous nuts, that’ll drive the city forward.  Let’s keep it up.

Link to the Project for Public Spaces