The Neighborhood: Creating Vibrant Communities
Conversations Re: Tacoma is an informal group sponsored by various community organizations and institutions, which has gathered to design and present an annual lecture series exploring urban design issues. Tomorrow evening, they will present their second lecture – The Neighborhood: Creating Vibrant Communities at the New Frontier Lounge at 6:30 pm.
For the past 50 years America has been designing public spaces around the needs of automobiles. This deference to the car has significantly impacted our culture and our day-to-day life, often in negative ways. The auto-centered model is beginning to change how well-designed neighborhoods provide key ingredients for healthy communities. The speakers will discuss examples of vibrant places which are being planned, built and programmed by the residents themselves.
This lecture is part of a series that we hope to provoke thought, to inform the public, and to stimulate conversation, as upcoming changes to the City of Tacoma’s Comprehensive Plan provide the opportunity for community-wide discussion of the city’s design future.
The speaker include two favorites among many of you – Eric Jacobsen and Jim Diers. Are you interested in taking your online conversations to the real world? Join others and make yourself heard!
Details
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 6:30 pm
New Frontier Lounge
301 East 25th Street
$10 at the door
More information at retacoma.com
Filed under: Events, General
8 comments
C crenshaw sepulveda October 21, 2009
More condos, more mixed use, more street cars, get rid of the parking requirements. I just saved you ten bucks.
D Douglas Tooley October 21, 2009
Diers is a worthwhile character to catch, but regardless of the validity of his concept his practice, in Seattle, is open to questioning.
Both Obama and Diers were trained by the same community organizer, and I believe both have ACORN links as well.
In Seattle community organizing was more about bringing bureaucracy to the community then bringing community to the bureaucracy.
For instance, ask anyone who has been involved in Seattle Neighborhoods, including his own South Seattle neighbors who balked at using neighborhood planning to create high density low income housing.
Y You're Welcome October 21, 2009
Don’t we have enough low-income housing? Isn’t it some other cities turn to share the load? We should be creating spaces that attract the educated crowd who have the income to shop and eat in this glamorous down town we’ve been trying to create.
T Thorax O'Tool October 22, 2009
Who will be buying these condos? Last I heard, the FHA, Freddie & Fannie will not touch any condo projects with less than 60% ownership or with any current unit owners in any stage of delinquency or foreclosure.
That spells “more apartments” not “more condos” if you ask me.
T TacomaThinker October 24, 2009
Talk about ignorant comments. It wasn’t about those things at all. It was a great event that helped me to fall in love with Tacoma and to convict me about my commitment to being involved. Jacobsen was brilliant and even though Diers was somewhat of a salesman he has enthusiasm for action over complaints…Get up and do something instead of waiting for someone else to do it. I can’t wait for the next one on Urban Water and hopefully they will continue on after that.
P P October 24, 2009
Talk about ignorant comments.
Who are you to judge? I see a lot more ignorant comments on a lot of other websites. And none of these comments were judgmental or attacking – unlike yours. These comments seem quite benign by comparison. Or, if by ignorant, you mean that these comments don’t align with you view of the world, then maybe it is what it is.
These comments seem to be adding to the conversation.
T TacomaThinker October 24, 2009
They didn’t talk about condos, street cars, trolly’s, Obama, Acorn, condos, lending money, or apartments.
They did talk about what makes a pedestrian friendly and livable environment and how the last 50 years of zoning has cost us a depth of culture. Also which urban design elements can help to bring that culture back. As well as some examples of communities(Ballard, Wallingfor, Delridge, Lake City, and others) who did something positive about it themselves.
T Thorax O'Tool October 24, 2009
“did something positive about it themselves“
Bingo.
I’ve been saying this forever here and on FT… we can’t rely on our incompotent city council to give us the city we want. We can’t rely on these elusive developers to give us what we want. WE have to make what we want happen. Yes, the City and businesses have their role to play, but until we play ours, nothing will get done.