Imagine Greater Tucson
Phase I Data Gathering
| The Planning Center | ||
| 110 S. Church Av, Tucson | ||
| Date of Conversation: Thursday, February 03, 2011 Time: 11:00 – 1:00 PM | ||
| Facilitator: Marc Fink Recorder: Sue Morman | ||
| Number of Tables: 1 Number of Participants: 8 | ||
| Theme 1. Education | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| Progressive educational institutions 1)UA 2)Civano (first green school and student-centered school in the nation featured in the Ellen show) 3) Vail academy and High School first LEED platinum K-12 science oriented school in the state | ||
| Presence of a large university - the positive cultural and economic impacts | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| More educated elected officials who make right decisions for Tucson not for personal reasons - government education | ||
| Money for education at a state and local level College, HS, elementary, teacher pay | ||
| Improve all education system - money and active pre-K through college | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| We need young leaders that can prioritize education | ||
| 47% of our state legislators have less than a college degree | ||
| Parents need to be involved and accountable | ||
| Voting: We re-elect the same folks which means that there is no change | ||
| Leadership needs to focus on improving education | ||
| Make education a priority | ||
| Some schools and areas are bad- those are the high crime areas | ||
| The education is bad, and people don't want to move to areas with bad schools | ||
| Focus on good education and then everything else will improve | ||
| It's not just funding and politicians - parents could have the biggest effect | ||
| Teachers are not paid well in poor areas | ||
| Our good schools are good compared to other areas of Arizona - better than other states | ||
| We have both good schools and bad schools | ||
| We need graduates to stay in order to improve the culture and sense of community | ||
| Students go to college and then leave. How can we retain our graduates? | ||
| Industries wont move here because of our poor education system | ||
| 12th in county ranked on per capita spending | ||
| Theme 2. Climate and Environment | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| Sonoran desert - natural environment | ||
| Sonoran desert - natural environment | ||
| Climate | ||
| Desert environment - the climate, weather, and opportunities | ||
| Theme 3. Recreation | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| Access to public lands | ||
| Environment- natural wonderful settings for wellness (hiking, biking, rock climbing, trail system, regional/state parks) | ||
| Easy access to recreational opportunities (hiking, camping…) | ||
| Proximity and active and passive access to outdoor opportunities, both natural and developed | ||
| Open space and recreation - national, state parks, COT parks and trail systems | ||
| Opportunities for outdoor recreation (hiking, biking, golf, etc.) | ||
| Theme 4. Culture - the fine arts | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| Cultural - proximity to border/binational economy/diversity/Mexico/Native Nations) | ||
| Cultural opportunities - symphony/plus Mexican proximity and flavor | ||
| Theme 5. Community Identity | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| Sense of high community interaction (high participation in neighborhood organizations) Big in Tucson, rare in other areas | ||
| Kindness - people helping others (Western US more outgoing - missing the hostility, calm and nice) | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Trash the "no" paradigm | ||
| Disproportionate power of small interest groups - political | ||
| Poor visionary leadership - elected plus in the community. It's across the board | ||
| AZ viewed unfairly. Categorized as bigots and has a negative image | ||
| Theme 6. Sense of Place and Identity | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| Local businesses - not overwhelmed with big chains | ||
| City is a reasonable size (not too sprawling) | ||
| Unique Sonoran environment (nature and culture) | ||
| Unique character/sense of place/identity (different than most cookie cutter cities) | ||
| Sense of small community | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| City's scruffy/shabby appearance - vacant buildings, buildings on top of streets | ||
| Sprawl- lack of connectivity and mobility and walkable neighborhoods | ||
| More action on the river parks | ||
| We are no longer a small town and need to make some big changes to adapt | ||
| Sprawl (low-density driven development does not allow the compact mixed-use type of development that fosters walkability, efficient transit, and sustainability | ||
| You know when you are in Tucson.. It is not ubiquitous." Native plants, vernacular architecture | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| There is economic disparity - quilt patches of good and bad. We're looking for equal access to transportation and resources | ||
| It's how to feel prosperous, diverse, and friendly | ||
| Not a physical/cultural vision | ||
| Personal goals and why a sense of place is important is because I was want to live in a unique location | ||
| You can't create a sense of place- it just happens as a result | ||
| Choose a sense of place and then everything else falls into place | ||
| It's personal and emotional - that is the result of most of the themes, it leads to that | ||
| Relates to our ability to function properly | ||
| Theme 7. Economic Development | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| The positive effect of the border with Mexico - the economics | ||
| Emerging new technologies (UA Solar Zone, UA tech park, UA bio park) present opportunities for high-wage economic development | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Local government mismanagement of development opportunities | ||
| More active support for new opportunities (business, cultural, and education) | ||
| City's representatives' (i.e. the City Council) view on economic development and planning, Rio Nuevo, and planning for the future | ||
| Lack of economic diversity - the employment base | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| We need more opportunities | ||
| Provides funding for transportation, recreation, crime prevention, and the education system | ||
| Reduced standard of living - it seems to be the trade-off for the nice climate and environment. It shouldn't be one or the other | ||
| Linked to retention of youth and community leaders | ||
| It's harder for local businesses to keep going | ||
| It is the engine that creates opportunities | ||
| In order to generate revenue to do what we want | ||
| We need employment opportunities | ||
| Theme 8. Crime | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Large population of dirt bags (crime) | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| Homeless in derelict areas - chain link fences give the impression to keep out. The perception of safety would let us come out | ||
| No sidewalks add to the perception of a scary area | ||
| The dark skies adds to the feeling of being unsafe | ||
| The snake bridge is not safe at night | ||
| It limits aspects of life, if you can't go out at night | ||
| It gives a negative external image - shy away from tourism | ||
| Downtown is the safest place - you can walk there after dark. There are other places where you can't do that | ||
| Not everyone thinks it is crime ridden | ||
| Scary, feeling on insecurity. Effects daily life - drives people to leave or not come in the first place | ||
| Violent crime is down, property crime is on the rise | ||
| Snow birds need to feel safe | ||
| The image is that crime is up - the statistics show that crime is down | ||
| The worry is worse in Tucson | ||
| It ties to resources and economic development | ||
| Theme 9. Circulation Accessibility | ||
| What do you like the most about our community/region? | ||
| Easy access to commercial areas (I live within 1/2 mile of three grocery stores and a farmers market) Campbell and Prince | ||
| What do you most want to change or improve about our community/region? | ||
| Transportation network - there is a lack freeways, expressways, and decent infrastructure | ||
| Pedestrian friendly neighborhood sidewalks | ||
| Sprawl (inadequate multi-modal transportation system) No critical mass to effectively support sustainable travel modes such as light rail | ||
| Sprawl (lack of walkability) high-reliance on car use | ||
| Why is this important? How does this affect you? | ||
| It's negative to have only one freeway- when it's down everyone is affected | ||
| Shade is needed- it reduces the heat island effect and makes for a walkable community even in the heat of summer | ||
| More sidewalks | ||
| More walking equals better social interaction and connections | ||
| Promote the light rail | ||
| Cars increase commute times | ||
| 300 parking spaces in front of malls inhibits pedestrian access | ||
| There needs to be better connections from residential to commercial areas | ||
| Physical and mental health is better for pedestrians | ||
| I hate to get in my car for everything, I want more opportunities for walking | ||
Thursday, February 10, 2011