Imagine Greater Tucson
Phase I Data Gathering
| Jewish Federation – Table 2 | ||
| Tucson Hebrew Academy - 3888 East River Rd, Tucson | ||
| Date of Conversation: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM | ||
| Facilitator: Patrick Hartley Recorder: Michelle Crow | ||
| Number of Tables: 1 Number of Participants: 12 | ||
| Theme 1. Culture | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| Lifestyle | ||
| All of the arts, plays, and entertainment in the greater Tucson community | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Better Newspaper | ||
| Theme 2. Business | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Better shopping | ||
| Greater business involvement with the community | ||
| Theme 3. Environment / Conservation | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| More conservation of water- no lawns | ||
| Less sprawl | ||
| Theme 4. Transportation | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Get rid of traffic cameras | ||
| Road structure - the layout of the roads | ||
| Infrastructure - roads | ||
| Traffic congestion | ||
| Traffic | ||
| Improve transportation | ||
| Theme 5. Community | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| Close community | ||
| Community feel | ||
| Community spirit - open to all; easy to build friendships | ||
| Small feeling of the community (it's character) | ||
| Still feels like a small town | ||
| Small town feel | ||
| Simplicity of living | ||
| The cohesive Jewish community | ||
| Community feeling | ||
| Compassionate people | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| Weather creates a good mood | ||
| It's slower paced here | ||
| We have a laid-back lifestyle | ||
| We are not fighting for every piece of real estate here in Tucson like in other places | ||
| Each city has its own feel based on its main industry | ||
| The sunny weather contributes to a favorable mood | ||
| We don't have a high-pressure lifestyle, so we have more cordial relationships | ||
| Other cities have reputations (example: New Yorker - people are 'pissed off' and 'too busy'). That is not the feel that is here in Tucson | ||
| Is it the size of the city or the people that are here that make it have that Tucson feel? | ||
| You can get involved in what you want | ||
| In other big cities people are rude. They are not interested in helping you; here people stop and help you | ||
| There is only 2-3 degrees of separation in Tucson | ||
| Always can find a connection to another person and place | ||
| We know each other | ||
| Tucson feels nothing like Phoenix | ||
| Brings closeness | ||
| We help each other | ||
| It's nice to feel like a community and talk to people | ||
| Lot's of mom and pop businesses | ||
| Even though we are getting larger, we still feel close | ||
| Theme 6. Religious life | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Start temples in the Northwest | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| People are moving to the northwest, a temple will give us the ability to maintain the Jewish community there | ||
| We need to have temples where people are moving | ||
| Theme 7. Outdoors | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| Access to outdoors | ||
| Weather | ||
| Outdoor recreation opportunities | ||
| Mountains | ||
| Mountains/hiking | ||
| Outdoor space | ||
| Weather | ||
| Outside recreation opportunities | ||
| Outdoor spaces | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| It's related to our health and it lowers are rate of obesity (the exercise and recreation opportunities) | ||
| Expensive housing being built in the open space is not good | ||
| It's what keeps people here and we need to protect that | ||
| So much public land here and it's fully accessible | ||
| We need to protect open space and the county has been short sighted in protecting that open space | ||
| Tucson wouldn't exist without the weather | ||
| Opportunities to join outdoor recreation clubs | ||
| Started coming here on vacation and it led us to stay here | ||
| Lot's of outdoor opportunities | ||
| Love to hike | ||
| The mountains are fabulous | ||
| Brought us to Tucson | ||
| Theme 8. Provincialism | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Small town mentality when it comes to municipal government and infrastructure | ||
| Small town thinking | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| Some of the charter schools are failures - but some are exceptional as well | ||
| There are areas that don't need to be "small town" such as our local government, yet they still act that way | ||
| Can you have one without the other? The "small town feel" and "provincialism." | ||
| Don't want an LA. I like the small town feel, Provincial has a negative connotation and don't think that term applies | ||
| Theme 9. Education | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Strengthen education | ||
| More state funding for education | ||
| Education - an emphasis on K-12 | ||
| More emphasis on better education | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| We should support charter schools | ||
| Private and charter schools are the wave of the future, provide more choice for parents and students - and charter schools are available to all in the community regardless of income | ||
| Anything that increases choice is better for the system | ||
| The education system is an embarrassment | ||
| The funding of charter schools needs to be addressed, they are unlicensed an unsupervised and take funding away from public schools. 32% of students transfer back from charter to public schools. | ||
| Arizona is ranked worst in the US | ||
| Crime rates are higher with drop-outs | ||
| An increase in social services | ||
| Opportunities are not good for our kids | ||
| If the drop-out rate is high, there is no workforce | ||
| You lose a generation of kids | ||
| Move more people around | ||
| The university system | ||
| Cut down pollution/preserve unique feel | ||
| Attracts businesses | ||
| Education is related to so many of the other topics that we have talked about | ||
| Stronger families | ||
Monday, January 17, 2011