the BURRITO files - PENELOPE

Are you a Tucson native? If not, where did you move from? New York.

What are you doing downtown today?
Working at the Central Arts Gallery

Describe downtown Tucson in 3 words or less noisy, hot, happenin'

If downtown Tucson was a burrito, what would be in it? homeless youth, mango salsa, and steel bumpers

Have any significant events in your life happened in downtown Tucson?
I've been running Odyssey Storytelling for four years downtown.

the BURRITO files - EVA

Are you a Tucson native? If not, where did you move from?
I moved to Tucson from Rogers Park, Chicago in 2005.

Describe downtown Tucson in 3 words or less
Misfit Haven Present/Past (Okay, I cheated.)

If downtown Tucson was a burrito, what would be in it?
Simply refried beans, cheese and a little hot sauce.

Have any significant events in your life happened in downtown Tucson?
Yes. When my husband was my boyfriend, we celebrated our first anniversary of living together at a New Year's Eve party at Hotel Congress. Also, when we got married we spent our wedding night there. Awwww!

Eva writes the local blog Tucson Querido. Check it out! You can also read an interview with her at the IdeaRodeo blog.

"You can't fake a downtown"

This article (read the full article here) was published yesterday in Inside Tucson Business. It compares Tucson with Tempe and cites Main Gate Square as a successful urban redevelopment project. It also lists the elements to make a successful downtown Tucson:

"So what lessons can be learned from downtown Tempe and the Marshall Foundation that might make downtown Tucson work as an "urban activity center"?

Here’s their advice:

• A clear long-term vision with one goal that isn’t upset by changes in elected or other city officials.
• Leadership
• Courage
• Transparency and consistency with stakeholders with no hidden agendas
• Timely decision making
• Development, decisions and implementation being performed by those with true development experience
• Commitment from the community, full support from the neighborhood; find and establish links with your stakeholders
• A public-private partnership
• A commitment to history and authenticity, particularly downtown. You can’t fake a downtown
• Build to the highest level of design

• Complete mixed-use development. Downtown can’t be a one-trick pony. It needs commercial, residential, business, recreational, entertainment and historical development. And it needs both public and private investment in an environment that is stable and encourages investment.

• Lots of reasons for people to come and be downtown. In Tempe, in addition to many residential developments and businesses, dining and arts destinations, city officials said the city also "throws a lot of parties." Buses even bring in senior citizens, who once loved their downtown, then shunned it, and now have come back to enjoy it.

• Full support from city staff, the mayor and council (In the case of the Main Gate Square project, the mayor and council voted unanimously in support of the project eight times during the development process).

• A streamlined approval process. In Tempe, a "super commission" — a one-stop shop — was set up to make regulatory hurdles less burdensome."

Good stuff here. I'm interested in Leadership and Courage. Who are the courageous leaders out there??

the BURRITO files - PAMELA

Are you a Tucson native?I've been in Tucson for 27 years. I moved here from Columbus, Ohio.

Describe downtown in 3 words or less. Eclectic, historic, resilient

If downtown Tucson was a burrito, what would be in it? Heirloom beans, tofu, homemade salsa

Have any significant events in your life happened downtown?
In July 1981, my honey and I stood downtown by the old courthouse, watched a magnificent, multicolored sunset punctuated by looming monsoon storm clouds, and decided to move to Tucson.

Interview by Julie Ray
Photo by Pamela
Check out Pamela's blog.

What Are Your Thoughts About Downtown Tucson?

Since my goal is to energize the discussion about downtown Tucson's future, I want to hear your thoughts, your ideas, your opinions!

What's in your downtown Tucson burrito?

Why is downtown Tucson an adolescent instead of a fully-functioning adult? And is anything wrong with that?

What is your vision for downtown?

please respond by leaving a comment below. to read all of the burrito files click on April in the blog archive.

More Downtown Geographical Expeditions

Here are more images from the last Downtown Geographic Expedition. We created memory maps of how we each see downtown Tucson. You can click on the maps to see larger versions.
Josh's memory map

Julie's memory map


Jill's memory map

Kimi's memory map

Exploring and Re-Imagining Downtown

The first Downtown Geographical Expedition, led by Kimi Eisele and Josh Schachter, was an exploration of downtown using a variety of mediums and concepts - memory maps, photography using polaroid film and digital cameras, radical geography, post-it art, and walking. Here are few highlights. I'll post the memory maps and the polaroids shortly. All of the photos (except the one below) were taken by Josh Schachter.

50 Steps
We did a photo exercise in which we started at the library and took a photo at every 50 steps. The exercise challenged us to see downtown in new ways. Here are 2 of the images I shot. To see all of my 50 steps pics, click here.

Pennington Street Garage
We ventured to the top of the Pennington Street Garage and commented on what we saw below. We envisioned the abundance of rooftop space being used for performances, gatherings, gardens. The bus station - already filled with mature mesquite trees and other vegetation - could be turned into a multi-use space - a garden of local foods, a cafe serving food made from the garden's harvest, and a gathering space or community center. So many possibilities...

Post-It Notes: re:visioning the Thrifty Lot
The Thrifty Lot - sold by the city to a developer for $100 - has been empty for four years. We covered the fence with post-its imagining what this space could be used for. Among the ideas were a playground, ice cream parlor, locally-owned businesses, and a rainwater harvesting demonstration site.















Scattering of Seed Balls - Re-Greening Downtown
As we walked around downtown, we scattered balls of clay and dirt containing seeds of native plants and even some watermelon! Jill created the balls using seeds from Native Plants.





We checked out the chess event at Hotel Congress
Another Downtown Geographical Expedition will be held on Saturday, May 31st. See the previous post for sign-up information.