Logical and precise, left-brain thinking gave us the Information Age. Now comes the Conceptual Age - ruled by artistry, empathy, and emotion. By Daniel H. Pink
...a funny thing happened while we were pressing our noses to the grindstone: The world changed. The future no longer belongs to people who can reason with computer-like logic, speed, and precision. It belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind. Today - amid the uncertainties of an economy that has gone from boom to bust to blah - there's a metaphor that explains what's going on. And it's right inside our heads.
[...]
Until recently, the abilities that led to success in school, work, and business were characteristic of the left hemisphere. They were the sorts of linear, logical, analytical talents measured by SATs and deployed by CPAs. Today, those capabilities are still necessary. But they're no longer sufficient. In a world upended by outsourcing, deluged with data, and choked with choices, the abilities that matter most are now closer in spirit to the specialties of the right hemisphere - artistry, empathy, seeing the big picture, and pursuing the transcendent.
Beneath the nervous clatter of our half-completed decade stirs a slow but seismic shift. The Information Age we all prepared for is ending. Rising in its place is what I call the Conceptual Age, an era in which mastery of abilities that we've often overlooked and undervalued marks the fault line between who gets ahead and who falls behind. >Link
Submitted by: Robin Melton
All experienced and inexperienced crocheters are needed to establish a Fort Wayne chapter of the Crochet Guild of America. For more information, e-mail Robbin Melton at robbin12@aol.com.
Submitted by:
Linda M. Kreft
Director of Regional Services, Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne
The Indiana Arts Commission and its 12 Regional Arts Partners around the state are planning the future of the arts in Indiana and we'd like your input. Please help us shape our future programs and services by taking a short survey. It should take only a few minutes to complete. All responses are anonymous. Just click the link below to access the survey. Please do it today:
[The link has expired.]
Submitted by:
John Perlich, Public Information, 260-427-6957
Fort Wayne, Ind. - Mayor Graham Richard tonight announced his 'Green City' initiative aimed at improving government services and making the City more environmentally friendly. Mayor Richard made the announcement during his Report to the People speech at the Northwest Area Partnership.
'Green City' initiative
Purchase hybrid vehicles
Repave Rivergreenway
Floral gardens along major corridors
Endorse environmentally friendly construction
The City will purchase seven hybrid vehicles, which combine a conventional gasoline engine with an electric motor. The new vehicles will save the City $112,000 in fuel costs. The hybrid vehicles increase fuel efficiency and will assist the City in its efforts to reduce ozone pollution. City diesel trucks will also begin converting to biodiesel fuel.
City crews will repave the Rivergreenway system and make landscaping and signage upgrades. The repaving of the entire greenway is expected to take three years. Beginning this spring, crews will repave the one-mile section of greenway from the Harrison Street bridge to the Main Street bridge, and the one thousand feet of greenway along West Jefferson Boulevard in East Swinney Park. Last September, Mayor Richard announced a $2 million commitment to improve and add trails and greenways. The City's financial support combined with other funding sources could bring the total to $8 million.
"Our commitment to innovative investments helps us attract new businesses and jobs," said Mayor Richard. "Our ability to be inspired to make positive changes will enhance the quality of life in Fort Wayne. We will be a leader in providing the best amenities and services."
Floral gardens will be created along four major corridors. Clinton Street from Northcrest Shopping Center to Washington Center Road; West Jefferson Boulevard from Covington/Getz roads to Ardmore Avenue; Lafayette Street from Tillman Road to South Anthony Boulevard; and East Washington Boulevard east of Memorial Park to the Auto Auction. The City also plans to update City markers, which will include improving electrical systems and new landscaping.
Mayor Richard encouraged businesses to gain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for new commercial buildings and major renovations of existing buildings. LEED standards address water conservation, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and the use of sustainable materials in construction.
Mayor Richard endorsed the work of the Northeast Indiana Green Build Coalition. The local organization's purpose is to educate construction professionals, business owners and the public about green building.
The Mayor's next and final Report to the People will be on Thurs. Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m. at Homestead High School, 4310 Homestead Rd.
Submitted by Vince in San Francisco:
I saw your link to freecycle on your links directory. I want to request that you also put in a link to www.ABCfree.com. Both sites let users give and get all kinds of stuff for free. However, ABC Free also helps local schools in two ways. First, schools get a first look at all items posted. Second, ABC Free donates a portion of its advertising based revenue to local schools.
ABC Free has some product features that freecycle lacks. For example, you can build a "wish list" and be emailed when something on your list becomes available in your area. This way you don't get bogged down with lots of emails that you have to sort through. >Link
How did PopSci find its high-tech cities, and how does yours rate? by Rena Marie PacellaTo determine which U.S. cities can claim the designation "high-tech," we chose 36 technology indicators-our raw data-based on expert and staff opinion. Items such as "robotic surgery," "number of Wi-Fi hotspots" and "R&D budgets at local universities" all qualified. We grouped each indicator into one of six broad categories: Transportation, Connected Citizens, Medical, Jobs, Education and Energy. >Link
FYI, Fort Wayne isn't on the list.
It will become a cultural center for immigrants and refugees
By Kevin Kilbane
From The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel
Old plaster has been pounded and chiseled free from red brick walls. Water-damaged drop ceilings have been ripped out. Office wall partitions have been removed upstairs, creating a large open space.
The Rialto Theater may not look much different on the outside. But a two-story pile of rubble and debris on the inside attests to what has been accomplished so far in the effort to reclaim the architectural gem. Once one of the city's grand neighborhood theaters, it fell on hard times in the 1970s and early 1980s, closing its career as a porn theater.
"We don't have a total on man-hours that have been donated, but it has been staggering," said Joe Johns, director of cross-cultural programming for the Reclamation Project.
The nonprofit organization began work in late 2003 to acquire the 1920s-era theater in the 2600 block of South Calhoun Street. The goal is to transform it into a café and cultural center serving the needs of Fort Wayne's immigrant and refugee communities.
"It will be a bridge from the old Fort Wayne community to the new Fort Wayne community," Johns said.
New immigrants and refugees can become a huge asset for the city, he said.
Most of those who have settled here in recent years are very bright and motivated to build new lives, he said. They are hard-working, honest and have the drive to open their own businesses, he said.
They also bring arts, crafts and other aspects of their native culture that can enrich the lives of people in Fort Wayne, Johns said.
"They help us understand the world a little bit better and to get outside our world," he added.
The actual bricks-and-mortar work on renovating the theater has gone a little slower than expected, however, said Kristie Jacobson, the Reclamation Project's executive director.
"Everything is so much more complicated than I thought it would be," Jacobson said.
For example, she wasn't aware so many permits would be required to restore water and sewer service to the building.
A few puddles inside the building also indicate they have an urgent problem with the roof, she said. The cost to replace the roof has been estimated at $160,000 to $170,000.
They may be able to do the work in phases, however, starting with portions over the theater lobby and office area and the adjacent Tobacco Road store.
They hope to start roof replacement this spring, Jacobson said.
On the positive side, individuals, companies, the city and foundations donated about $100,000 toward the project last year, Jacobson said.
Those donations and countless hours of volunteer labor have helped move the project along both inside and outside the Rialto building.
This spring, the Reclamation Project plans to move into the Tobacco Road storefront, Jacobson said. A small portion of the space will be used for an office. The remaining room will be used for meetings and as a gallery for displaying art and crafts made by local immigrants and refugees.
As time and money permit, the theater lobby will become a café where people from all parts of the world can mingle, Johns said. The theater auditorium eventually will be remodeled into a large space for meetings, cultural performances and special events.
Along with stopping by for a cup of coffee, immigrants and refugees also will be able to get help with resettlement questions and needs, Jacobson said.
"It will be a great resource when it is done," she added.
The Reclamation Project, which is collaborating with other groups assisting new immigrants, already has started two programs that could move to the Rialto when it is ready, Johns said.
A newly hired language coordinator will do more than just help new immigrants learn to speak English, Johns said. The program also emphasizes life skills and adapting to American culture.
A second program, Circle of Friends, matches a new immigrant or refugee family with 10-20 people from the Fort Wayne community. The local people serve as mentors and friends as the individual or family adjusts to life in the United States.
"What they need most is American friendships," Johns said.
The Reclamation Project foresees leaders developing within the different immigrant communities here, Johns and Jacobson said. Those leaders eventually can assume responsibility for operating the Rialto center and meeting the needs of current and future immigrants.
"I'd love to work my way out of a job," Jacobson said.
Save the theater:
To learn more about the Rialto Café and Cultural Center or to donate to or volunteer on the project, go to www.thereclamationproject.org on the Web.
Fort Wayne's Science Central shows how industrial buildings can be adapted to new uses. The former electricity plant was empty for nearly 20 years before becoming a popular science museum full of interactive exhibits for kids and adults alike. >Link
By STEVE PAUL The Kansas City Star
From his desk at the high-style home furnishings store he owns, Rod Parks will have a front-row view of the new downtown.
The big corner windows of Retro Inferno, at Grand Boulevard and Truman Road, overlook the highway canyon of the South Loop and, beyond that, the excavation under way for a new entertainment district called Kansas City Live. Parks can also see the blocks where a huge new arena will rise.
As a merchant in the Crossroads Arts District, a downtown neighborhood that's been awakening for years, Parks wonders how all that activity will affect him.
"I bet I'm in the crosshairs of some people," Parks says.
And he's not alone.
Many of the artists, business owners and creative entrepreneurs who have brought the onetime industrial Crossroads district back to life in the last 15 years have been watching the downtown rebound with mixed feelings.
In some ways they sense a struggle going on for the soul of their neighborhood: Yes, the downtown rebirth is great, but can the Crossroads retain its creative edge in the face of a $2.5 billion redevelopment juggernaut just next door?
The answer may lie in a tangle of economics and urban design.
On the one hand, rising property values, and thus taxes, are forcing the issue. In reaction, some Crossroads leaders are working with city and business interests on a tax-abatement plan to help the art community deal with the pressure.
"Most other cities use artists to develop neighborhoods like this," says Suzie Aron, a real estate investor, broker and arts supporter who heads the Crossroads Community Association. "We are much further along - our neighborhood is already developed - so now we're trying to save it."
As for design, the vibes of encroaching mega-developments are pulsing through the district, raising questions about how size, scale and details contribute to the neighborhood's urban fabric and its self-image.
The Crossroads is an area of roughly 100 blocks bounded by Interstate 35 and Bruce R. Watkins Drive from Truman Road to the railroad tracks behind Union Station. Its mix of old brick facades and high-ceilinged, former warehouses has been a low-expense magnet for artists since the late 1980s. Along with the creative interests and the influx of residents, it retains a diverse range of businesses from automotive shops to high-end restaurants.
Bracketed by the high-rise stature of the Central Business District and Crown Center, the Crossroads in some ways has become the meat in the sandwich of a greater downtown. Its one-of-a-kind shops, galleries, design stores, loft buildings and creative businesses stamp it as a distinctive district. Its promoters point to recent mentions in national media as validation of their difference. The First Fridays gallery crawl attracts thousands of strollers, winning over many first-time visitors.
As the larger developments in the South Loop lean toward brand names and mass market appeal - names such as ESPN Zone and Hard Rock Cafe have been floated as typical attractions - Crossroads people see their district as a vital and complementary contrast.
Yet, neighborhood pioneers know that in city after city, successful artist-led urban transformations are usually followed by bigger crowds and mainstream developers. Then another transformation begins, which smoothens the chaotic edginess that defines frontier districts and forces the artists out.
Aron and a committee have been working on a tax-abatement plan for arts uses in the Crossroads and seeking feedback from city and business leaders. A draft proposal would establish a special district under the auspices of the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority and mitigate tax increases caused by rising property values. Aron hopes a program could be in place by spring.
Already some artists have moved out of the busy, central part of the district and are igniting interest in less-expensive blocks east of Oak Street. Another group of galleries, artists and businesses are in the midst of remaking a long-forgotten triangle of buildings west of Broadway.
But both of those moves also signal that the Crossroads is still growing as a creative district.
The idea of a baseball stadium in their midst has been a recent catalyst for debate. For one thing it raises the question of how a stadium would affect the Crossroads' small-scale entrepreneurship and pedestrian-oriented environment.
Nathan Graham begs to differ. He's a New Orleans transplant and proprietor of Tchoupitoulas, a coffee shop on Walnut Street that sits on one of several possible stadium sites around downtown.
"Even if it costs me a business," Graham says, "I think a stadium is a great opportunity for the city."
Still, some Crossroads leaders have been vocal about the consequences of a stadium.
"We're a community that's pulled itself up by the bootstraps when nothing was going on in the Loop to speak of," says Brad Nicholson, a developer who has been active in the Crossroads for years. "Everybody says what a great neighborhood it is. We just need to make sure we don't go start destroying large sections of it."
Many in the Crossroads have been content to see their neighborhood grow incrementally. They hope that slower growth will help fill in long vacant lots, or "gaps in the teeth," in ways that are compatible with the district and that also foster entrepreneurship.
"Look at this little building," Aron says.
She is standing on the sidewalk in the 1500 block of Main Street. Across the way is a three-story stone-fronted building, which houses the Lane Blueprint Co. It's the last late 19th century building remaining on its side of the street. Built in 1889, it also would give way to a stadium, under one potential location.
Yet, says Aron, those are the kinds of buildings where small businesses create jobs and ideas and lend a city its uniqueness.
"We need to find ways to help developers build a whole block of buildings like this," adds Kevin Klinkenberg, an architect who joined Aron on a recent walk in the district.
Some downtown interests say it's premature to worry about a baseball stadium and what effect it might have on the Crossroads. And they argue that no one is trying to drive out small operators. Just the opposite.
"Small entrepreneurial business is incredibly important to the sustainability and vitality of downtown," says Bill Dietrich, president and CEO of the Downtown Council, which has become a guiding force of downtown's makeover. "A lot of the projects we're working on are meant to bring more pedestrians downtown, more street retail, making it more lively for people - for our residents, our office workers and for the visitors."
Jay Tomlinson, a founding member of the Urban Society, is a principal in Helix Architecture and Design, whose office on Walnut Street faces a possible Crossroads stadium site. Yet he has taken a more optimistic view of the situation.
"I'm not going to fall into the NIMBY trap and be overly concerned about a ballpark," Tomlinson says, using the acronym for "not in my back yard." "The project will go where it should go. There's too much NIMBY going on that limits the greater good."
Tomlinson says he is genuinely excited about what's happening in and around the downtown loop.
"I think this is the brightest time the city has seen since I've been here working the last 25 years," he says. "So I think it's full of hope and excitement ... I'd rather focus on the good things that are going to happen.
"Yeah, we'll make some mistakes," Tomlinson says, "but that's how cities are made. You know, Paris didn't get made into the city it is today by doing it right the first time. An urban design process is a messy, long-lasting, happy-accident type of process."
To reach Steve Paul,
call (816) 234-4762 or send e-mail to paul@kcstar.com.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The details
Smaller-scale design, the kind of planning and amenities that make the space between buildings comfortable and lively, is being addressed in the Crossroads and the Central Business District on several fronts:
· A new downtown planning study under way by Sasaki Associates is expected to look at how revitalized districts connect with one another and preserve a sense of neighborhood at street level. And the Chicago architectural firm of Skidmore Owings & Merrill has been hired to upgrade streetscape designs along 12th Street and elsewhere in the revitalized loop.
· A new organization called the Urban Society is studying the plausibility and impact of five possible downtown stadium sites, as well as other neighborhood-scale issues such as angle parking on some wider streets.
· A major city study of a new 22nd-23rd Street corridor addresses the need for pedestrian-scale design and streetscape improvements throughout the Crossroads. Expect more vest-pocket parks, for instance, and creative approaches to paving and signs.
Wednesday, February 9, 2005
John Perlich, Public Information, 427-6957
www.cityoffortwayne.org
Fort Wayne, Ind. - Mayor Graham Richard tonight announced his "Invest Fort Wayne" initiative that sets a goal of $1 billion of urban investment in the City over the next three years. Mayor Richard made the announcement during his Report to the People speech at the Southeast Area Partnership.
$1 Billion Invest Fort Wayne
* Tax incentives
* Investment Partnership - City, Alliance, DID
* Urban Investment Strategy
"We must strengthen our city with a goal for significantly increasing urban investments," said Mayor Richard. "Making these investments help us build a better city to retain and gain jobs. We are actively pursuing investments that are innovative and inspiring."
Two Community Revitalization Enhancement Districts (CRED) help Fort Wayne offer tax incentives to investors. The downtown CRED district allows the City to capture increased sales and income tax dollars generated by new investment in downtown. It also allows for a 25% investment tax credit for qualified investment that occurs downtown. The CRED district for the Southtown area offers similar benefits to investors.
The City will partner with the Fort Wayne-Allen County Economic Development Alliance and the Downtown Improvement District (DID) to create an investment partnership. Members of each entity will work together to aggressively seek the interest of developers to make investments in the City.
The City-County joint comprehensive plan (Plan-it Allen!) will include components of an urban investment strategy to examine how to effectively attract businesses and jobs to the community. The plan is expected to be complete in late 2005.
"We have set an ambitious goal," said Mayor Richard. "We must be willing to set ourselves apart from everyone else if we are to become a city that is known for being a leader in developing the very best investment opportunities."
Recent investments by Verizon and Fort Wayne Newspapers give the City a jump-start on reaching the $1 billion goal by January 2008. Verizon's fiber to the premise program is a $65-$75 million investment. Fort Wayne Newspapers' new printing press and facility is a $35 million investment. The commitments from Menards and STAR Financial Bank at Southtown Centre will add to the investment total.
"Our commitment to increased infrastructure investments over the past five years has positioned us to attract innovative and high-tech jobs," said Mayor Richard. "Investors know Fort Wayne is a city where we do the basics well. The City provides excellent water and sewer services, fast permitting and good roads. We are prepared to bring the most innovative businesses to the community."
Recap of Mayor's previous Report to the People sessions Jan. 24/Downtown Rotary (Report to the People preview) Mayor Richard emphasized the importance of innovation and investment and announced his support of House Bill 1283, House Bill 1182 and Senate Bill 51. Those particular bills in the Indiana General Assembly encourage investment in Fort Wayne through tax abatements, tax increment financing and the selling of tax credits.
Feb. 1/Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce Mayor Richard announced his Innovation Initiative that supports new business development and job creation. The Innovation Initiative includes an Innovators Forum, the formation of venture capital funds, and iTeams for Broadband.
by Christopher DeWolf
"You're doing really well," Richard Florida gushed to an audience of business types and government officials at a downtown Montreal hotel two weeks ago. "You've inherited one of the best ecosystems for this kind of creative economy in the world."
Florida, an urban consultant and professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon, was there to tell the audience what they had paid to hear: that Montreal was one of the most promising cities in North America and that, if its creative potential was properly harnessed, it would reap untold benefits. It's easy to be cynical when faced with a speech that so closely resembles a pep talk, but Florida's conclusions aren't pulled out of thin air. He and his colleagues have just completed a nine-month study of Montreal's economic health, and they're impressed with what they found. After decades of near stagnation, Montreal is among the top five North American cities for job growth over the past five years, and ranks second on the continent in terms of "super creative" employment-meaning people who work in education and training, arts and culture, and technology.
But what's so important about education, technology and the arts? It goes back to Florida's wildly successful 2002 book, The Rise of the Creative Class. In it, Florida documented the emergence in the twentieth century of a new "creative class" of workers, defined as people "engaged in science and engineering, research and development, and the technology-based industries; in the arts, music, culture, aesthetic and design; or in the knowledge-based professions of health care, finance and law." According to Florida, the creative class now makes up 30 percent of the American workforce but accounts for half of all income earned. Meanwhile, the manufacturing and service sectors' shares of the economy, along with their portion of the nation's income, continue to decline precipitously, as manufacturing jobs flee to Asia and service-sector employment is usurped by Canada and India.
According to Florida, the creative class now makes up 30 percent of the American workforce but accounts for half of all income earned.
The future, then-at least according to this theory-lies in attracting the lucrative, high-earning creative class. But how? Florida argues that this group is drawn to open, tolerant cities that appeal to a wide variety of lifestyles. To measure a city's openness, Florida and his researchers compile a series of indicators, such as the number of patents issued per capita and the cost of living.
The media, though, have focused most of their attention on Florida's city rankings, including the infamous "gay index," which looks to the number of gay couples in a city as a measure of its tolerance. As a result, they've largely neglected Florida's fundamental message: that cities must move away from funding corporate tax breaks and big-ticket white elephants designed to stimulate the economy. (In one recent example, Washington, DC, convinced the Montreal Expos to settle down by offering to build a new ballpark, raise business taxes and sign over all potential profits to the team's future owner, all on the public dime.) Instead, says Florida, cities need to promote grassroots innovation and small-scale creativity, conditions that have spawned some of the biggest business successes of the past twenty years. "Human creativity," he writes, "is the ultimate source of economic growth. Every single person is creative in some way. And to fully tap and harness that creativity we must be tolerant, diverse and inclusive."
Increasingly, Florida is interested in applying his theories to Canadian cities, especially Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. With more immigrants than most American cities, high concentrations of the most creative types of employment, government funding for small business and the arts, low crime, good public schools and a large urban middle class, Canada's biggest cities seem well poised to take advantage of the trends Florida describes.
Montreal in particular has caught Florida's eye. While outside perception of its language and politics continues to be an obstacle (Florida admits to having had low expectations before he started his research here, then to being pleasantly surprised), it boasts the fundamental ingredients for a creative city: Over half the population is bilingual, and nearly a quarter speak three languages; with four large universities, it has almost as many students per capita as Boston; and it is home to a thriving collection of grassroots arts and cultural projects that benefit from public support (for instance, the federal government's Canada Music Fund, the tax credit given to art spaces and Quebec's Société de Développement des Enterprises Culturelles). That might sound like the kind of fluff a Board of Trade would publish, but you have to admit that Montreal is doing something right. Along with rapid job growth in recent years, the city has attracted a number of prominent companies, including the French video-game firm Ubisoft, which last week announced its intention to double its number of Montreal employees.
In Kotkin's view, it's the suburbs-and suburban Sunbelt metropolises-that now drive economic growth, because of their high birth rates, low taxes and family-friendly environments.
Florida has a lot of fans but just as many detractors. Joel Kotkin-a Los Angeles-based writer and consultant whose latest book, The City: A Global History, will be released this April-is one of them. He doesn't believe the creative class is as big as Florida makes it out to be. Sure, at least part of the American workforce consists of "hip, cool, single, culture-oriented" people, Kotkin says, "but it's not remotely close to 30 percent. [And] if the creative class isn't defined by bohemians, what is it? If it's just the migration of educated people, they're moving to the suburbs, to the Sunbelt." In Kotkin's view, it's the suburbs-and suburban Sunbelt metropolises-that now drive economic growth, because of their high birth rates, low taxes and family-friendly environments. "All of these artistic cities started out with an incredibly vital economy," he says. "Everything else followed afterwards."
In a recent Washington Post op-ed, Kotkin declared inner-city living to be a "niche lifestyle preferred mostly by the young, the childless and the rich." The real action, he said, is now in suburbia and smaller cities like Fresno, California. Some have compared Kotkin's views to those of David Brooks, the New York Times columnist who reduces the American city to a playground divided between such cliques as urban, latte-sipping hipsters, Volvo-driving, liberal inner-suburbanites and-Brooks' darlings-the exurban Patio Man and Realtor Mom, who revel in their frontier paradise with childlike innocence. Unlike Brooks, however, Kotkin has grounded his arguments in real research rather than simply hackneyed caricatures. But Florida is quick to counter Kotkin's findings with his own figures, pointing out that the regions that rank highest in his "creativity index" generated 35,000 jobs between 1999 and 2002 while the lowest-ranked lost 400,000 jobs. Florida also criticizes Kotkin for "divisive thinking" for implying "that a place must either be family-friendly or gay-and-bohemian-friendly, but can't be both."
What this all comes down to is fostering an environment where as many different kinds of people as possible can thrive.
Still, Kotkin-who places himself in the progressive tradition of former New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia-worries that Florida's findings might be used by cities as a way to neglect mounting infrastructural and social problems: "It's almost like we've taken the ephemeral and put it in front," he says. "It's a way of people saying we cannot deal with urban education, urban infrastructure. New York doesn't need another art museum; it needs a subway that works." Kotkin is an advocate of what he calls "sewer socialism": sound investment in efficient transportation, good schools and reliable public services. "If public-school education was better in [American] cities, it would make a huge difference," he remarks. Above all, he concludes, city governments should listen to their citizens, fixing what makes them unhappy and building on what satisfies them.
Unfortunately, the debate over the creative class increasingly resembles a Fox News shouting match. Florida is portrayed as a big-government lackey who advocates reckless spending on museums and symphony halls, while Kotkin is accused of pandering to a social-conservative agenda. "I blame the media for this," Kotkin says. "There's less intelligent discussion about [cities] and more soap opera." He continues, "It would be of more use to have a discussion on these issues and see what comes out of that rather than have a cartoonish debate."
Ultimately, though, Florida seems to have the momentum. It's easy to dismiss his ideas as a vacuous cash grab that nets big bucks for his research firm and big losses for cities, but that doesn't do justice to his basic message that cities need to invest in people and street-level innovation, not incentives for big corporations or baseball teams. Kotkin is absolutely right when he says that cities must first of all invest in the infrastructure and public services that will maintain a healthy and heterogeneous population. But that's only part of the story. A tolerant and creative environment is also necessary in order to stimulate the out-of-the-box thinking that makes some cities such dynamic places.
What this all comes down to is fostering an environment where as many different kinds of people as possible can thrive. Innovation comes from the ground up, not the top down: that's what cities need to understand.
When not wandering our streets, Christopher DeWolf is the editor of Urbanphoto.net. The Urban Eye appears every second Wednesday.
by Dean Hybl - myregion.org
The recent opening of Paris Hilton's new nightclub in downtown Orlando created a brief media buzz, but another recent addition to downtown will likely have a much greater impact in the continued revitalization efforts of the area. UCF's Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) has opened its first phase and soon will bring high-tech opportunities to downtown.
In April of 2004, the Florida Legislature provided $4.2M to UCF to create the FIEA. The City of Orlando and the Community Redevelopment Agency provided the downtown Expo Centre facility, as well as the funds to refurbish the building, to serve as the new home for the UCF School of Film and Digital Media (SFDM) and for FIEA.
The idea is to formulate a "creative village" in downtown Orlando - a community of small, medium and large media-related businesses, students, entrepreneurs, shops, restaurants, living spaces, learning places and entertainment venues. The vision is that the FIEA and the SFDM will serve as the catalysts for this growth.
As it turns out, the timing to start the FIEA couldn't be better. Recent expansion by Entertainment Arts in Orlando has created a natural partner for this innovative program.
FIEA is a 16-month post-graduate certificate program designed to turn recent college graduates into sought after software creators and designers. The idea of the program is to create an actual working environment complete with desks, computers, work teams and tasks.
The first class for FIEA will start training in September 2005 with the target number of students in the first class to be 50. The plan is to bring in a new class each September, January and May with as many as 200 students involved in the program at one time. Students will have the opportunity to specialize in one of five different areas: 3-D modeling, animation, tech artistry, software design and project management.
Recruitment of the first class is starting in February with the hope that this innovative program will attract the best and the brightest among recent college graduates looking to prepare themselves for the computer game industry. Having one of the giants in the field, Entertainment Arts, located in the community also has the potential to be a major asset for this ambitious project and they have already signed on to be a major contributor to the program. UCF now joins Carnegie Mellon and the University of Southern California as schools partnering with Entertainment Arts.
Also to be housed in the Expo Centre are the Center for Research and Education in the Arts, Technology and Entertainment (CREATE) and the Visual Language concentration, which is an undergraduate concentration through UCF. Students in the Visual Language concentration will specialize in digital media and will have two years of classes at the Expo Centre after spending their first two years at the main UCF campus fulfilling their core class requirements. The first class includes 19 students, who are currently at the Expo Centre. The expectation is to have 30 students in that concentration from each graduating class.
Members of the Vanguard Art Exhibition
Presented by: The Avant-Garde Art Gallery & DeSoto Group
1301 Lafayette St., Ft. Wayne, IN. 46802 (corner of Lafayette & Douglas)
Opening Reception Friday, February 11, 2005
7:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m
New artwork by: Tim Brumbeloe, Darin Klopp, Gabriel Cooley, Dusty Neal, Alan Kitchen and Ryan Kropuenske
All Ages - Open to the Public
Free Admission
Valentines Pajama Party
Presented by: Those Two Guys
1301 Lafayette St., Ft. Wayne, IN. 46802 (corner of Lafayette & Douglas)
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Doors open at 8:00 p.m. - Band Starts at 9:00 p.m., D.J. 11:00 p.m. - ???
21 and over
$3 w/ pajamas
$5 w/out pajamas
Fort Wayne Area Artists is a searchable database of visual artists currently living, working, or exhibiting in Fort Wayne, Indiana or the surrounding communities of northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio. The Allen County Public Library created this database to provide information about local artists and our visual arts community. All entries are voluntary submissions by the artists. Therefore, the database does not represent a comprehensive list of area artists. Artists must be over 18 years old and live within a 50-mile radius of Fort Wayne, Indiana for inclusion in the database.
To join Fort Wayne Area Artists, simply fill out the form or call the Art, Music & Audiovisual Services department of the Allen County Public Library (260-421-1210).
February 8, 2005; 7:30pm
Artistic Influences: Robert Anderson and Tom Keesee Lecture
Visiting artists Robert Anderson and Tom Keesee will discuss the evolution of their art in light of historic and contemporary influences. Mimi and Ian Rolland Art and Visual Communication Center, Room 115.
February 5-March 5, 2005; 7-9pm
Mimi and Ian Rolland Art and Visual Communication Center, USF
This exhibit will display paintings by two artists with varying styles. Keesee, a well-known regional artist and instructor at University of Saint Francis, has been inspired by Non-Objectivism. Anderson, who studied at Saint Francis, has exhibited frequently throughout the United States as well as in Europe, most notably the Florence Biennale in 2002.
by Donovan Rypkema
In nearly two decades as a Main Street consultant, Don Rypkema has traveled to thousands of communities and seen just about every challenge a city has had to face. Over the years, Don has jotted down his observations and insights in a series of lists. From "most expensive rehabilitation mistakes" to the "characteristics of successful business districts," Don's lists range far and wide, focusing on the obvious and the obscure, the major issues and minor stumbling blocks of community revitalization with equal skill.
Tips for success, pitfalls to avoid, and common sense observations about the world of main street revitalization all are encompassed in Donovan's Lists. And what better issue to start with than the one that pops out of almost everyone's mouth when they're asked to name the biggest problem in their downtown PARKING! Here are Don Rypkema's observations on downtown parking.
15 Reasons Why Downtowns Don't Need More Parking
© 2004 National Trust for Historic Preservation. All Rights Reserved.