Imagine a World Class City- From the President May 2015
From the President
Larry Ambrose
To those few INC members and friends who actually read my scribblings, I have good news. In honor of the pondering and pontificating, proliferated during this election period by pundit politicians, I will keep this month’s column brief.
When Denver looks in the mirror, what does it see? WCC! There was a time, not too very long ago, when Denver was content to imagine itself as a “Great City”. But that got old when all we got was a Six Flags amusement park as the main entry into our downtown, a new airport that looks like cool tents, and a road to them named after the great imaginer.
But we have heard for at least the past 10 years from our political leaders and planning professionals, that Denver is, should be, will be, or is considered to be a “World Class City”(WCC). Having had the good fortune to have traveled around the country and world quite a bit, it never occurred to me to rate where I have been, on some kind of world “class” scale.
But now that I live in one of these WCC’s, I am forced to think about it.
Was Rio de Janeiro world class? Most people I think would probably think so. Certainly had some of the most world class poverty I had ever seen. Seoul? Now there is world class density! And there, it works! I distinctly remember Athens being world class, although, at the time it was being run by a fascist government.
My point is this. I think we should be thinking about what will make Denver a really great place to live
and visit. And to do that, especially at this time, we need some “world class” thinkers to help us figure
out what that future could look like.
Not that our Mayor and Planning Director aren’t classy thinkers, but how can we claim to be creating a “schnitzi” city without looking outside and around the country and the world and finding some really cutting edge people with whom, we the people, should consult.
We need people who can sort all these various claims and answer questions about what is now necessary in WCCs:
- Are bicycles still more important than cars even when it’s snowing and icy?
- Must we have density everywhere?
- Should we permit neighbors to cut off your sunlight access?
- Is noise and gridlocked traffic inevitable all the time?
- Should commercial events take over our parks? Are we in danger of losing part of city living we worked hard to achieve? Are events spoiling the natural beauty and respite that our parks offer?
I just am tired of all of us pointing fingers and each other and saying, “I know best,” and “No, I know best cuz we’re a WCC!” Let’s do a little due diligence, open our eyes, our ears and our minds.
Larry Ambrose
President Denver INC
Just got back from a visit to Paris. It has proud neighborhood districts, a great Metro system, recognition of valuable historic sites, zoning codes which limits building no more than 8 stories in the interdistricts, parks and squares which are for people not commercialization, and more. What Paris also is struggling with is massive gridlock, ( someone think thats grdlock will decrease use of autos), lack of parking, people not obeying the street lights: cars, bicycles, motor scooters and pedestrians and homelessness.
Great cities are made up of people being involved and making decisions. City representatives and citizens sitting at a table with many different ideas and prespectives and most importantly the ablitiy to listen, evaluate and compromise( a unique ability of some humans) are able to come up with some great solutions to challenges. I hope we will see more of this with the infusion of the new City Council members.
The invitation to participate in the dialogue of Imagine Denver a World Class City is appreciated. I am disheartened that we seem to have so much focus on sub-topics about events, historical designations, bicycles — while there is little discussion about the larger issues of taking care of each other, our kids, education and our planet. So many cities are World Class in that they are dedicating efforts with success on sustainability. If I could Imagine Denver a World Class City, it would be we all give more than we take and we give more than we talk.
Let us assume that Great Cities are loved by their inhabitants. The idea of neighborhoods used to be that they be diverse so that the spectrum of residents is wide and deep. I don’t know how to create a city which is loved by its resident any better than asking all residents what they want. The present administration plots ways to keep citizens at bay.