The March meeting of Ignite Phoenix (Claudia Bullmore and Catrina Knoebl brainchild alternative downtown brain-trust gathering) was held last night at Lisa G's.
The guest speaker was Nancy Levinson from the Phoenix Urban Research Laboratory, PERL. Ms. Levinson discussed the difference between working in an urban environment like Phoenix verse Boston where she lived prior to taking the position at PERL 18 months ago.
Phoenix, Levinson says, is a dynamic environment where the rules and design policy are still in flux whereas Boston's design criteria is well established.
The group, comprising architects, designers, Realtors and historic neighborhood activists, had a lively discussion about the problems confronting both the City and residents who have a vision of the downtown region.
The dynamic of the group was a living example of the problems the region itself experiences... many opinions without a cohesive plan of action. I believe the Ignite Phoenix group can have an impact on the future of the downtown region once it establishes action plans and move from talk to accomplishments.
If you would like to join us at future meetings go to: http://www.urbanaffairaz.com/ignitephoenix/ and RSVP for the next meeting.
