Retrospective on the Jane Jacobs Walk in Tampa, FL

05/05/12 Jane Jacobs Walk participants in Tampa, FL hosted by Inspire Your Environment (IYE) stop to reflect at the Lake House. An intentional community, the Lake House is one of many that are springing up in Tampa’s historic neighborhoods and breathing new life into the traditional connotations of the word ‘community’ by means of fellowship, urban gardening and hospitality.

Who was this woman that inspired hundreds of neighborhood walks on May 5th and 6th, 2012? Besides acknowledging that she was a self-taught journalist & widely influential theorist in the realm of urban planning, perhaps the most important thing you should remember about Jane Jacobs is that she was simply an engaged citizen.

Her theories of livable cities, which were based upon her first-hand observations and civic participation in Greenwich, NY and Toronto, Canada, went on to inform the work of city planners and community organizers. With full intensity. In fact, Jacobs’ most well-known work, ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities’ has become among few other timeless works, required reading for many higher education institutions in the disciplines of city planning and architecture. Yet her life and work focused primarily on the concerted efforts of engaged community members to shape the future of their cities. She also coined the adage ‘eyes on the street’, a common-place term planners and developers use to describe the organic, neighborhood-driven approach and certain design elements of the built environment, in maintaining the safety and security of a city’s streets.

For those not familiar with city (also urban) planning, it is a focus primarily on urban land use and the layout, design and functionality attributed to that land. What goes where. What the future of a specific place will entail. Whether an area’s population will increase or decrease and what amenities and resources to provide for that shift. These are some issues planners plan for. At the heart of it, city planners constantly look toward the future stability of an urban place, with a general goal that ensures that cities have what they need to do two main things: grow and prosper. This is the realm in which an ordinary citizen like Jane, wielded the most influence.

An organization in Salt Lake City called the Center for the Living City comprised of urbanists, created  the program, Jane Jacobs Walk. A dedicated team of individuals, the Jane Jacobs Walk encourages walk participants to engage in the role of being pedestrians. By walking we understand how the spaces and places we visit or pass by are used by a mixed population for multi-purposes. The walk was also used to encourage the act of observing the surroundings of the locations we pass by and taking it all on via ground (and foot) level. And finally, to connect with the experience by reflecting on it and creating relationships with fellow participants. In other words, engaging in the theory of ‘community’ beyond the pages of a book, but in real-time, in the real-world.

As participants of the Jane Jacobs Walk in Tampa, FL, we explored a key area of our city: the neighborhood link between VM Ybor, Tampa Heights and Seminole Heights. That link is Nebraska Avenue. The nature of Nebraska Avenue has changed. Still a notorious center lane of conflict and evasion, there’s no doubt that on the surface, the changes of Nebraska Avenue can be overlooked. Yet underneath the seemingly never-ending concrete stretch of sidewalks, the changes are culminating into a slow-spreading transformation.

Tampa Crossroads’ affordable housing establishment Eco-Oaks was a huge hit with participants. “I want an eco-friendly, sustainable home,” one neighbor shares on their survey. “I didn’t realize we had a place like Eco-Oaks. I’d like to see more options like that.”

A mom and pop eatery next to an art school that’s just up the street from a bustling restaurant with live local music each weekend; a LEED Platinum Certified affordable housing establishment that is not far from an intentional community focused on neighborhood uplift, food fellowship and the installment of urban gardens around Tampa via the Eden Project. And they are right up the street from a wellness/fitness center that looks comfortably at an old school bodega less than a block away. More than just the walkability factor, the enjoyability factor has sky-rocketed.

The walkability factor of Nebraska Avenue is improving. Not because of a smaller scale of the streets or the fact that they curve and wind into interesting pathways; they don’t. Not because there has been heavy investment in the design of pedestrian friendly features of the street by state and local government; not yet. Not because the sidewalk activity has increased exponentially; it has not fully. The walkability factor has increased simply because there are points of interest that are clustering together.

Jane Jacobs told of how walking in an urban setting could be enjoyable. How a city should be full of unexpected surprises. The participants of the Jane Jacobs Walk hopefully experienced that concept first hand.

Owner Anthony of Reservations: Gourmet-to-go gives us a tour of the kitchen where they whip up classic dishes people can bring home to their dinner tables. “I get asked all the time why we chose to open here on Nebraska,” his wife Elke comments. “And we just answer that we are in a great neighborhood that is so up and coming, it is growing and prospering and is the next big boom to come to Tampa. South Tampa and Kennedy have had the time to shine. Now it’s our turn here on Nebraska Avenue and in Seminole Heights.”

One of the most important parts of the walk for me as the host, was somehow relaying to participants a significant trademark of Jane. I was relieved to see that responses to the survey question, “what one piece of information or memory can you recall that you learned/remember about the walk in general (i.e. info about Jane Jacobs, about the establishments, about the area of Nebraska Ave.?” was answered by a few with ‘eyes on the street’ association. Windows facing the street. More pedestrian traffic versus vehicle traffic. Natural, unprovoked surveillance of and from neighbors, residents, going and coming in.Yes…

“The first thing to understand is that the public peace–the sidewalk and street peace–of cities is not kept primarily by the police, necessary as police are. It is kept primarily by an intricate, almost unconscious network of voluntary controls and standards among the people themselves, and enforced by the people themselves.” – From Jane Jacobs’, ‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities’

Jane also points out that streets and sidewalks purposes includes circulation and mobility, both the most vital organs and the life-blood of a truly livable city. She calls a city sidewalk an abstraction by itself, which means it is merely an idea, a concept on paper. Sidewalks and streets can only really function in relation to what they are used for and what they are connected to. Like foot transit and buildings. Sidewalks are simply theories. They are the introduction to the main story, the framework of the tale.

But in the event that the participants are reading this, I hoped that they would take away a bit more…

Ernie Locke, owner of Ella’s, welcomed the Jane Jacobs Walk crowd with food and encouragement. Sharing the story of Ella’s formidable beginnings to becoming a local sensation, Ernie gave shout outs to nearby businesses that are changing the nature of Nebraska Ave and the surrounding areas into a more positive, more communal one.

Despite never having earned a college degree, Jacobs played a large part in reshaping the entire theoretical landscape of what city planning was then and is now, and had a tremendous role in linking the walkability factor of a city to it’s livability. The livability being inextricably linked with the safety of it. When big bankers and developers craved for a strictly homogeneous industrial city, Jacobs stood firm in the belief that the city was for people. That it really brought out the best in them and the more livable it became, the more purposeful and intentional these spaces evolved into. The evolution was thus in fact the true nature of our neighborhoods, which are comprised of our communities, which shape the look and feel of our cities.

When you look at where you live, whether it’s your city, your street or the home you share with family, you have the strength and creativity to inspire your environment. It begins with your actions. As an engaged citizen yourself, who knows; you could have the same impact she had, and even more. It truly starts with your personal observations:

“Please look closely,” Jane exhorted, “(and) while you are looking, you might as well also listen, linger and think about what you see.” 

A huge THANK YOU to all who made it possible for Tampa, FL to have an amazing community walk. It wouldn’t have been possible (or as great) without you:

Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café 
Reservations: Gourmet to Go
Tampa Crossroads/ Maria Oliver at Eco-Oaks
The Lake House
Jane Jacobs Walk team (Sean and the rest, you guys and gals are incredible)
83 Degrees Media
All of the cool neighbors that woke up at 9am on a Saturday morning to come out and inspire the environment of Tampa, FL! 

If you want, you can check out more pictures & reactions from the Tampa, FL Jane Jacobs Walk on the Inspire Your Environment (IYE) blog.

“A Myriad of Valuable Lessons from the Impeccable Artistry and Passionate Life of Majora Carter”

A modern-day bedtime tale for our children and a history-making performance is currently being written and illustrated by the passionate life of Majora Carter.

(For clarification on this entry, read my intro post to Majora Carter which includes helpful terminology and reference links: Pleasantries: Get Familiar with Majora Carter)

“The 20 Most Influential Women in Green” from Eco-Salon

The Knowledge of Good and Evil

A powerful story begins in the perceivably unlikeliest of places, at least where strength is concerned. In the state of New York, a South Bronx neighborhood known as Hunts Point was first in line for the placement of a new waste treatment facility. The South Bronx in general was looked down upon as a hostile place to live, and the perceptions associated with it were increasingly precarious. Hunts Point itself was a neighborhood that experienced a dramatic decline in its population due to ‘white flight’ to the more affluent New York suburbs.  With the advent of that demographic shift, light manufacturing jobs were also removed, along with proper government funding for education, health and employment. In the place of prosperous investments, Hunts Point was saddled with toxic waste. People continued to become sick as a result of the air they breathed. Statistics of crime and incarceration remained disproportionate to favorable education systems and career opportunities there. In addition to this, an even more devaluing measure such as a municipal waste plant was considered a fair exchange for the people of Hunts Point and the land they lived on.

The South Bronx as a whole had suffered the brunt of segregation and mounting disinterest, so what would it matter to the Hunts Point residents to establish yet another waste facility near their homes and where the children played? Now the interesting part of this true story is what the state government not only overlooked, but failed tremendously to anticipate in the year of 1998.

Hunts Point, South Bronx. Image via Majora Carter Group

Surely no one living there would notice the obvious imbalance of trees per acre to municipal treatments sites, brown-fields and razed buildings on nearly every block. More importantly, it was presumed that even if the residents of Hunts Point were unhappy about this decision, no one had the guts, or even the strength to stand up to this challenge. They simply would have no knowledge of the good that could come from their neighborhood rather than the impending evil an additional toxic dump would have on their quality of life. But little did big government know that a visionary resided in that neighborhood. And she was a quiet storm.

Meanwhile, as plans became perfected to place this waste system in the neighborhood, the environmental advocate woke up each morning in the South Bronx and laid her head to rest there each night. When the state government finally unveiled the plans for the strategic location of the waste site, something out of the ordinary happened. At the mention of this planned waste facility, the ears of the visionary heard. A seemingly lone soul that retained the knowledge of good and evil in this scenario had decided that Hunts Point had experienced enough divestment. The individual knew that Hunts Point did not have to get worse.

Fortunately, the circumstances that in a real sense, forced her to move back home with her parents, a move she imagined as a small defeat, was a move that equally put her in harm’s way and in a historic position. And so she began to create her very own strategy for diverting the new waste facility. Harnessing the knowledge of evil that the plant would wield on her neighborhood’s already economically degraded community and impoverished landscapes, she put her knowledge of the salubrious good that the natural environment has on people’s minds and hearts, plus the benefits to a local economy, to use. The knowledge of good she possessed was leveraged mightily in the form of a community-based campaign to strike down that detrimental decision made for people where she lived: her neighbors, her friends and family; herself. In the end of the first chapter of the passionate life of Majora Carter, the audacity of harm was trumped by the peculiar audacity of hope.

The Miseducation of Majora Carter

Before the first pages were written of the heroic actions she was destined to fulfill in the South Bronx, education was how Majora Carter planned her getaway. Promising herself she would not return, Majora attained a higher education she deemed would free her from the possibility of living in a place like the old Hunts Point. But the very thing that allowed her to escape, forced her to return. The series of unfortunate events surrounding Majora’s community, the story of her family and finally the realization that she had to come to terms with it all again, turned out instead to yield a greater fortune than she could have ever imagined. The miseducation she had once received of the lack of opportunities in the South Bronx was auspiciously overshadowed by an overwhelming sense of urgency to realize potential in the face of adversity.

Majora reminds us through this story of the miseducation of ourselves and our miseducation of how we perceive others and our own communities. On a personal level, our knowledge of good and evil is informed through how we observe our surroundings, and through understanding that those who have greatest influence on our lives and destinies are in fact, ourselves. 

Majora’s example shed light on the possibility of a better ending. Once deemed as faceless, voiceless, and unknown characters in a tragic tale, when the smoke cleared, the silhouettes were striking against a once forlorn backdrop. A retrofitted picture was then painted with Majora the protagonist, holding the brush, adding brightly intense colors to green the ghetto, and still incorporating dynamic illustrations of faces, of distinct communities with their own chapters to be added to a story that has not yet reached its conclusion.

 A Rose in a Concrete World

Hunts Point Riverside Park, the first park along the waterfront in the Bronx in 60 years. The founding of Sustainable South Bronx, a non-profit that equips local residents with communal incentives. The development and implementation of BEST, a green-collar training and job placement program; think landscaping, green roof installation, Brownfield remediation. The founding of the for-profit consulting agency and planning firm, the Majora Carter Group, LLC. National public radio host for the Peabody Award winning program, the Promised Land. A speaker for the world-renowned TED conferences. The recipient of a MacArthur ‘Genius’ grant in 2005.

Hunts Point Riverside Park. Image via The New York Times

All of these accomplishments? Majora has done them. The Wesleyan University graduate who continued on to earn a Masters degree in Fine Arts from NYU creates daily works of breathing, living and growing art. Whether it be a singular installment such as a green roof, or a tapestry of neighborhood connections through bike and pedestrian trails, a masterpiece of healthy local communities rooted in economic vitality is the artistry of Majora Carter. But the vivacity and energy she possesses allows her to do more.

Next on her itinerary is launching a nationally recognized brand that relates to the consumer the guarantee they are buying the most freshest of local food. Majora recognizes that, “by establishing a nationally recognized brand platform that immediately signifies local economic prosperity and high quality, we can drive more investment into local food systems. That means building more indoor, year-round hydroponic growing space, which in turn reduces blight, draws people back into declining urban areas, and inspires hope for those who have very little now.”

Still, the accolades that have been attributed to Majora cannot begin to describe what she has achieved for others on a psychological level. In addition, what they themselves have achieved in their own lives on a spiritually edifying level because of the passionate life she lives, could not be immediately determined.

Because how do you accurately categorize the accomplishment of helping one man never again return to prison when he was, by popular opinion, supposed to? How can one place a value on the experience of a child who will not suffer from asthma or diabetes? How does one gauge a new interest in ecological preservation from those who were never afforded the chance to witness firsthand the complex beauty of nature? And what about the countless individuals who have become the supporting force of her vision? A generational legacy in the making is hers to claim.

One Sun Gives Life to All

Heat, energy, light and life in general: like the sun that sustains every aspect of our existence and comfort, so are other essential and natural things, ours to have and share. Like clean air. The health and safety of our own children in our neighborhoods and in the place we call home. Majora reminds us that we are supposed to have these things, and in abundance. It is not only for the wealthy or the privileged, but for each income bracket.

There is no skin-color requirement, nor socioeconomic pre-requisites or standardized tests you have to pass to be afforded what you rightfully deserve: atmospheric natural beauty to envelope you, the access to healthy food, unpolluted air, and a neighborhood that you can feel proud to call home. This in essence, is environmental equality, Majora’s greatest mission and aim:

“No community should have to face more environmental burdens than any other. Period. We have to strive for equality in all aspects of life, but the environment is chief because it affects everything—how we breathe, what we eat and how we move through our communities and our lives.”

An excerpt from the interview with Majora Carter titled, With Liberty and Environmental Justice For All by  Natural Home and Garden

Through the campaign that brought down the municipal waste plant that was planned for the South Bronx, Majora teaches us that if we do not understand the enormous value of our own lives, our own health and our own happiness, we become steady targets for harmful decisions carried out time and again by lawmakers. So like Majora, we work to become informed of decisions made for where we live, educate ourselves on our basic human rights and work smarter against measures that aim to deplete and devalue our living environments. Her actions have spoken just as loud as her words through her ability to use activism as a genuine tool for social, environmental and economic progress.

Nothing, If Not Authentic

Activism. What comes to mind when I hear that word? Cut-off jeans with frayed edges. Ivory skin. Picket lines formed by participants waving signs smeared with deep red ink. You know, the stereotypical tried and true, all-American red, white and blue. None of these things are wrong, and equally important, they do exist in the realm of activism.

But what Majora has done with the word [activism] is nothing short of awe-inspiring. She has reenergized it and skillfully injected within its definition, the artful beauty of knowledge-based regenerative problem-solving. Undoubtedly, she is one of activisms’ authenticator’s.

Through the magnificent accomplishments she has swiftly pioneered, Majora shows us that activism must be purposeful and directed; it must be a catalyst of fresh innovation and ever expanding and blossoming ideas bridled with the renewable energy of informative strength. Kaleidoscopic at best, Majora illustrates that the greatest results come from demonstrations of activism with the community at its helm. She shows us that a community that is informed and educated and skilled in not simply higher education, but also trade skills, common knowledge and with avenues open for ongoing training is where real solutions are found. Her activism seeks out preventative measures before a new crisis erupts. Her activism is academic and artful, it is grass root and top-down, and it is ongoing and ever-improving the lives and economic vitality of the communities she serves. Real activism is pressing towards a just cause & utilizing all resources vital to that cause: the people, the planet and even the profit. For Majora, activism is nothing, if not authentic. 

Majora Carter Group image via Allblackwoman.com

Reconsider Your Position

After engaging in conversation in a coffee shop one morning with a young man I am forever indebted to, he mentioned he learned of a unique woman, a Black urban planner by way of a TEDTalks clip on YouTube. I was caught off guard at the mention of these simple descriptors: black, female, urban planning, TEDTalks. She must have done something really cool, I imagined happily. After rummaging through his web history, he finally pulled up a link with her name for me: Majora Carter. I scribbled it down on the back of used receipt paper. Days later, I could say I had learned a great deal about the inspiring life of Majora Carter.

She is an environmental justice advocate and activist. She strongly believes in the power of education to change all things, from how we see ourselves to how we see the natural environment we all share. Because she believes in the pride one feels when they can work with their hands and hearts to create something good for their local area, she puts her money where her mouth is when it comes to neighborhood revitalization, and encourages all stakeholders to do the same. She and I share the perspective that a higher GDP does not have to include a degraded environment and population. With her first organization SSBx, her activism did not settle on only reacting to problems, but also included taking existing problems and creating solutions that are innovative and designed in order to be flexible for future benefit.

But the single greatest lesson I’ve learned and grasped and now hold tightly to from Majora Carter, is to reconsider your position: where do you live and what is bringing down the quality of life there? Utilize the resources you have in your midst and expand on them: the families in your apartment complex or residential street. The public library. The people in your school. The place of worship you visit. The local, national and global news stories. The social and educational events that are free to the public that take place in a number of areas inside and outside of your immediate community. Your own imagination.

These, Majora shows me, are all resources. I have learned the greatest lesson from Majora is to be the change you want to see. It is to look closely at your city and your neighborhood, shoot even your block, examine the problems there, and then re-imagine it all. Begin to teach yourself and others around you and start on the extraordinary quest of turning it all into something beautiful, healthful and stronger than it was before. Because Majora believes…“You don’t have to move out of your neighborhood to live in a better one.”

“Helping people and groups understand that when we value all people, the value of all people rises. Environmental problems may seem impossible to solve, but when we accept the challenges of equality, economic opportunity and the environment, we uncover the keys to more powerful solutions for all of our issues. When we can do that, we will experience real peace with ourselves and our planet.”

An excerpt from the interview with Majora Carter titled, With Liberty and Environmental Justice For All by  Natural Home and Garden

More of Majora

Visit her site: Majora Carter Group, LLC
Follow her on Twitter: @MajoraCarter
She was in Minneapolis, my hometown and spoke at my alma mater: Majora speaks at ‘Momentum’
Soundtrack to this blog post: “All I Can Become”

Pleasantries: Get Familiar with Majora Carter.

In the moments before I post an entry on the urban planning extraordinaire that is Majora Carter, I feel it important to become familiar first with ubiquitous terms associated with her field, her expertise and the inspiring work she has committed her life to in the realm of environmental justice. 

Majora Carter speaking at a TED event in 2006.

 

KNOWING TERMS

Environmental Justice: Where creating a sustainable living environment in an area means creating a sustainable economy there as well. Where communities of a low socio-economic status are as entitled to greener, cleaner surroundings as more affluent communities are.

RFP: A request for proposal (RFP) is a document that an organization posts to elicit bids from potential vendors for a product or service. Learn how to write an RFP.

Non Profit: also known as not for profit, an incorporated organization which exists for educational or charitable reasons, and from which its shareholders or trustees do not benefit financially.

For Profit: A business or other organization whose primary goal is making money (a profit), as opposed to a non profit organization which focuses a goal such as helping the community. This includes anything from retail stores to restaurants to insurance companies to real estate companies.

Divestment: Divestment is the opposite of investment. Sometimes it is called Divestment. Instead of taking a sum of money and placing it into an institution to gain capital, here money is taken out to place economic pressure on that institution. Learn more about divestment strategies.

Retrofit: To add (a component or accessory) to something that did not have it when manufactured.

Shareholders: An owner of shares in a company.

Stakeholders: A person with an interest or concern in something, esp. a business.

TED:  Technology, Energy Entertainment and Design (TED) experts and non-experts come together to share ideas. Majora utilized this platform to shed light on her motto, “Green the Ghetto” and also on 3 eco-entrepreneurs working to rearrange the negative statistics in  their own communities by enhancing environmental value, economic progress and social benefits inside of them.

Greenway: A greenway is a long corridor of protected open space, usually following natural geographic features, planned for environmental or scenic protection and to provide opportunities for recreation and non-motorized transportation. Most greenways include a trail or bike path. Sometimes called linear parks, greenways provide tree cover, wildlife habitat, and riparian buffers to protect streams. The environmental benefits include reduced storm water runoff, flood reduction, water quality protection, and preservation of biological diversity. The trails within the greenways provide access between neighborhoods and destination points, opportunity to travel without an automobile, outdoor education classrooms, and paths for walking, jogging, and bicycling.

Green the Ghetto: Majora Carter’s catchphrase that encompasses the act of working for the best interest of the United States most economically impoverished communities and rebuilding them, with green-collar training, employment and educational opportunities, and environmental justice.

SSBx: Sustainable South Bronx. Founded by Majora Carter in 2001, SSBx provides green-collar job training and environmental advocacy for the community it serves.

BEST: SSBx Bronx Environmental Stewardship Training program. Local and neighborhood ecological-restoration job-training. Training includes green roof installation, Brownfield remediation and landscaping.

South Bronx Greenway: In 2000, Majora Carter applied for and won the approval of a 1.25 million $ Federal Department of Transportation Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) planning grant for the South Bronx Greenway  and includes bike and pedestrian paths, parks along the local Bronx River and a fishing pier complete with a fish cleaning station.

MCG: Majora Carter Group is a for profit consultancy focused on helping communities across the United States use the re-development of their environment as a basis to promote social and economic growth.

Currently in the Works: Tampa Bay’s future.

The highlight of my night: Restitch Tampa. Image via news.usf.edu

Where is Tampa’s urban future headed? And who will take part in deciding it?

Hopefully it is headed in a real unique direction, and perhaps small businesses and entrepreneurs will be at the forefront. At the Not Your Average Speakers kick-off last week brought to us by the awesome 83 Degrees Media, I was inspired particularly by the speakers who touched on issues of start-ups in Tampa, sustainable ideas for the design of the city, and culturally explicit endeavors in making Tampa a purposeful and distinct destination city.

But when I think of the future of any planning endeavor, I think primarily on the sustainability factor. The mindfulness of the ecological footprint we make with the construction of our cities is central to me. Because of this, that is precisely why I found one speaker that night especially captivating.

Just days before the event, I learned of Restitch Tampa, a University of South Florida (USF) and the National Endowment for the Arts sponsored talent search to find urban design students and professionals that could contribute innovative and ecological ways to re-frame the centrality of the river with downtown Tampa city development. The framework of people, planet and profit fit perfectly in the competition’s main objective of social, economic and ecological designs. I was happy to hear assistant professor of USF’s School of Architecture & Community design and panelist, Shannon Bassett, emphasize the ecological factor the most, because I believe not only is that the future of Tampa, it is the future of any city that wishes to become even more unique, even more functional, even more economically viable, even more smart.

I briefly caught a story on NPR a few weeks ago that commented on the growth of cities linked to the staying power for recent college graduates provided by new innovation and job creation. The speaker stated that the young professionals are more likely to go to a city that offers jobs and exciting new prospects in their job field, rather than return to a small town or stagnant city that offers them no opportunities.

So in regards to the future of Tampa, will it attract young professionals to migrate here, or will the graduates pursue other options in a new location after graduating college or grad school?

One important factor that small businesses, big businesses, and state governments cannot ignore is the green factor being introduced and emphasized in higher education these days. Current students and young professionals, especially in the fields of architecture, urban planning and economics, are learning more about our local economies impact on the environment more than ever before. Because of their green sensitivities, I strongly believe that they will either look for places to practice that skill, or create green outlets for themselves. It’s simply a sign of the times.

Therefore I was extremely happy (and relieved) to hear Bassett touch on the essentiality of the river incorporated into the overall design objective, Tampa project the Green Artery and the desire of including pedestrian and bike friendly paths as an integral component idea to the landscape of the competition. This sustainable sensitivity should be embraced when we plan out our future.

And not to be overlooked, the entire panel brought great topics of interest to the discussion: Robert Ledford from Baker Barrios Architects introduced the Encore! project that will clearly bring that real sense of individuality to the Tampa area via a rich African-American musical history. Mike Kennedy of Suncoast Community Capital reminded attendees that focusing on the “next big thing” might not be the real objective; rather how to sustain small but vibrant efforts that new entrepreneurs make will create a complete synergy to shift our economic environment from a stagnant one, to a robust one. He also reinforced the understanding that the information technology sector has seen the least amounts of unemployment and is a sustainable industry to develop and grow in.

The kick-off was a very positive event and one I’m hoping to not only learn from but actively engage in. I am looking forward to participating more in the next panel discussion, which will take place on November 17th, 2011. For more information, visit 83 Degrees Media for the specifics.

Chicago Feels Alive.

Chicago's City Hall roof. Image via National Geographic.

As a result of my friend’s emphatic insistence that I visit her, I made that promise two months prior and kept it. With less than $100 dollars in my pocket, I boarded that Megabus from Minneapolis to Milwaukee then to Chicago. And I will never regret those 9 days I spent in that city. Chicago is the American city I fell in awe with when I visited last summer, in 2010. It is a city that has so much to offer, and if you’ve never visited the place, I strongly suggest you should. There’s a healthy possibility that you will enjoy it so much.

Chicago just feels alive.

And I truly miss Chicago. When my friend was at work during the day, I headed out to the post office, to the round the way cafe’s, on the bus to the other end of the city, over bridges, by public schools, through neighborhood blocks that reminded me of the Huxtable residence…and I adored this place. I wanted it to embrace me, and it did.

It is a city where I felt so many things: excitement, peace, scared, amazed, curious. Being from Minneapolis, it made me think of New York City (a city I briefly passed through via a family road trip to the airport). Chicago seemed like a mirage: how could a Midwest city, so close to my small city, just an 8-hour drive, be so different and so complex?

One example is the confidence Chicago embraces to lead by doing, in the arena of sustainable city building. As a student of architecture or urban planning or environmental science, you learn that our buildings are the largest energy consumers and greenhouse gas emitters.

Each region has a uniqueness about it. Instead of a mass-production approach to our cities, we can look to Chicago to inspire us to improve upon what our specific regions possess that make us one-of-a-kind. What will make your city stand out sustainably?

Instead of accepting this dismal report with no efforts to revamp the building  process, previous mayor Richard M. Daley helped continue the green movement by implementing a green roof right on top of the city hall building. This was just a symbol of many new measures to come: 10,000 bike racks in the city, enhancing Millennium Park, and sustainable housing, just to point out a few.

Should more cities be like Chicago? Yes and no. Yes, because cities should strive to be sustainable for years and years to come. Yes, because cities should embrace purposeful urban design + individuality to encourage others to follow suit. And no, because Chicago should not be seen as the end-all, be-all. Instead, cities should receive from Chicago the impetus to work creatively to solve problems in the areas of job creation through improved physical and educational infrastructure, and devise economic solutions that work better than the previous ones.

The Public Broadcasting Service has a great series titled, e2, which takes an in-depth look at the movers and shakers of urbanization and all facets that feed into its positive impact: transportation, architecture, water, energy and the ecological framework that ties it all together. “Green Machine” focuses on how the city of Chicago is once again leading by example. Chicago reminds us to stand tall in our sustainable approach to revising our cities. This is where the City Beautiful movement started, and where today, the architectural roots are steadfast and new innovation in this discipline is expanding. It is a beautiful city.

To learn more about green measures in American and International cities, check out the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) series, e2.