Imagine Greater Tucson
Phase I Data Gathering
| San Clemente Neighborhood Table 1 | ||
| Randolph Clubhouse 600 S. Alvernon Way, Tucson | ||
| Date of Conversation: Thursday, January 20, 2011 Time: 6:00 8:00 PM | ||
| Facilitator: Deborah Knox Recorder: Patrick Hartley | ||
| Number of Tables: 1 Number of Participants: 6 | ||
| Theme 1. Education | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Local schools that protect good children | ||
| Overprotective parents and invisible, unsocial kids | ||
| Few good choices in public schools | ||
| Lack of support for education/schools | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| How can you have good schools when charters are taking funding and competition? | ||
| It becomes a job for parents trying to get their kids a good education - a 2nd full-time job | ||
| You shouldn't have to work so hard at getting your children a good education | ||
| When the best and the brightest start to leave the community, you have a brain drain | ||
| I can't work here because the jobs in my field are not available to me, if I wanted to work I would need to return to California | ||
| It creates opportunity | ||
| Quality education keeps and attracts talent to the region | ||
| Education is important for commerce | ||
| It is also essential to build community | ||
| Theme 2. Economic Development | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| Affordable living | ||
| Affordable real estate | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| More solar | ||
| More jobs | ||
| Better business climate | ||
| The median household income needs to increase | ||
| Lack of business opportunities | ||
| Service economy salaries | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| We voted down making government a full time job, so we pay the price for our votes | ||
| If alternative energy could be made a viable commodity, we could turn this thing around | ||
| There needs to be a more cogent government. We need to discuss urban planning more. City and county governments lack maturity | ||
| You don't have to be Phoenix, there are ways to develop without sprawl. I don't want to be Phoenix, but we can look at the things that they do well | ||
| We have a flagship university here with concrete professions (engineering, the sciences, etc.) but they can't find work here | ||
| I can't get my children to stay here; I can't say to them you have a good economic future in this area | ||
| If you are educated, you want that to pay off and that doesn't happen here | ||
| It all starts with education. People need to be taught civics in school, people don't know how things work and they then vote out of ignorance | ||
| Thing of all the things we've lost because of our economic environment; spring training baseball comes to mind | ||
| Opportunity is the biggest thing- for culture, education, etc. | ||
| People don't know how taxes work. It's so convoluted (taxes are going up as housing values go down). It's very complicated and it doesn't have to be - we need a 1-page tax code | ||
| It starts with planning, but the codes are a mess (Land Use, Water, Tax) | ||
| A vibrant economy means a constant turnover of old places to new places- therefore the infrastructure system stays modern; if not it starts to rot. With turnover you have enough money to maintain the infrastructure | ||
| We'd like to make decisions based on Quality of Life, but it often comes down to the economy | ||
| Theme 3. Liberal Politics | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Would like to see more liberal politics | ||
| Theme 4. Natural Environment | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| Public lands accessible (mountains, parks, trails, etc.) | ||
| Climate/ physical landscape | ||
| Winter weather | ||
| Sunny warm weather | ||
| Natural beauty close to the city | ||
| Natural landscaping | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Reduce the heat island effect | ||
| Want more alternative energies | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| Basis for our quality of life: the views, the botanical environment, it generates our land values and contributes to our economy. You've got to live somewhere, and you should love it. The environment makes me love it here | ||
| Using the natural environment to create economic development. Solar capital of the world, we can exploit that and do something good | ||
| It's like a museum; it's so unique it needs to be preserves like a piece of artwork | ||
| It's our life-breath: clean air and clean water | ||
| Want to maintain the environment near Tucson, keep it close and accessible | ||
| We want a planet left here for our kids | ||
| It's how I relate to the world: a personal relationship with the world through the environment | ||
| Theme 5. Transportation (bridge between the natural and the cultural environment) | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| More improved, affordable, multi-modal transportation | ||
| Minimal public transportation | ||
| Distances to services are too long - too much commuting | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| I had always thought that you have to be tough to take public transportation - it's good to hear that it is actually nice on the bus | ||
| It's a community thing. A bus driver told my son that he forgot his hat. People look out for you on the bus | ||
| The bus makes me nervous; but I don't take them. I think of it as something of a rolling detox | ||
| Driving is expensive and it pollutes | ||
| Anyone that goes to Europe or New York knows how great public transit can be | ||
| Transportation encompasses both housing and economic development | ||
| Who wants to commute all day? Transportation is important to anyone that has to get anywhere | ||
| Theme 6. Downtown culture | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| More vibrant downtown | ||
| Better downtown; less sprawl | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| The history, culture, the architecture. I love my neighborhood, but if downtown had a grocery store, I'd live there | ||
| A downtown is a place that makes people more civically engaged - you have a great symphony and great restaurants | ||
| Lack of great downtowns is not just a Tucson issue; it is an American issues (or at least the western states) | ||
| A great downtown allows for diversity | ||
| It's a place where everyone goes; it belongs to everyone | ||
| Sprawl means we're not together, because we're all spread out. Downtown should draw people together | ||
| Theme 7. Cultural Environment | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| The libraries here are great; it's the best kept secret of Tucson. They provide community education, information, literacy, gathering places, and multiple other activities | ||
| Friendly place | ||
| Tolerant live and let live wild west attitude | ||
| Neighbors | ||
| Downtown/midtown neighborhoods! Especially mine | ||
| My personal history (I grew up here) | ||
| My neighbors/ neighborhood | ||
| Merging of the cultural melting pot | ||
| Bicycle friendly (somewhat) | ||
| The population size - 1 million or less | ||
| Good libraries | ||
| It is a college town | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Small town mentality | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| Biking is an easy alternative available to everyone | ||
| There are so many crossovers - biking is good for fitness, the planet, and the natural environment | ||
| The culture brings people here and is related to the education and economic environment | ||
| College town gives a little wider view and wider perspectives. You hear debate and other views are represented | ||
| Our culture is the sports teams, the symphony, art museums, restaurants; all the things that make this place unique | ||
| We need to keep those unique, locally owned small-businesses and restaurants; especially the ethnic food choices | ||
| I hope we aren't only famous for Gabby Giffords, but also all the other great things we have | ||
| There people here who care about neighborhoods; they want to expand themselves and build relationships - people to talk to and can support people with needs. It builds trust. | ||
Monday, January 31, 2011