In a testament to how much people want an authentic, urban environment in Phoenix, there's still progress downtown even in this bleak economy.
Downtown denizens like me have looked forward for years to the opening of the Phoenix Public Market's permanent grocery store, the first such store in downtown Phoenix in a generation. Tomorrow is the day that the market finally opens. Here's hoping this is just another step in the remarkable growth of the public market since it opened in early 2005.
Did you know-- and can you believe-- that a housing development was actually just completed downtown? A transit-oriented development for seniors called McCarty on Monroe opened last week at 12th Street and Monroe, just one block north of a light rail stop. In this economy, this type of small-scale, near-downtown development is crucial if we're to build a true walkable urban environment.
Finally, the ultimate slowly-but-surely piece of news that emerged downtown is that the Downtown Phoenix Partnership is organizing a "zombie walk" the night before Halloween. While I beat up the DPP for a lot of their moves, they deserve some credit for putting this fun idea together.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
New downtown Phoenix marketing effort misses the mark
The Downtown Phoenix Partnership can’t seem to get out of its own way. After the partnership made the right call in abandoning the silly Copper Square “brand” for downtown, it followed up by unveiling an odd-looking logo and an unintentionally ironic billboard marketing campaign.
I won’t go into the logo (you can decide for yourself at downtownphoenix.com), but the billboards are an unfortunate waste of money. The signs are in several places around central Phoenix, and probably elsewhere, and show a panel of three pictures and the slogan “only in downtown Phoenix.” The problem is that the pictures are generic glamour shots of smiling kids and adults that look like they could be anywhere.
The Downtown Phoenix Partnership needs to scrap this first wave of billboards and roll out others that identify and depict the unique places and people of downtown—you know how many suburbanites still have never heard of Cibo, much less have no idea how to pronounce its name?— and stop trying to make downtown look like everywhere else.
I won’t go into the logo (you can decide for yourself at downtownphoenix.com), but the billboards are an unfortunate waste of money. The signs are in several places around central Phoenix, and probably elsewhere, and show a panel of three pictures and the slogan “only in downtown Phoenix.” The problem is that the pictures are generic glamour shots of smiling kids and adults that look like they could be anywhere.
The Downtown Phoenix Partnership needs to scrap this first wave of billboards and roll out others that identify and depict the unique places and people of downtown—you know how many suburbanites still have never heard of Cibo, much less have no idea how to pronounce its name?— and stop trying to make downtown look like everywhere else.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Two views of downtown emerge at ASU
Since I praised current ASU students for their more positive views about downtown, it seems a battle of opinions has been waged on campus about downtown Phoenix. While more students seem to have come around to the view that downtown Phoenix isn't "scary," at least one person still is afraid in downtown, especially being hit up for change. (Is that guy serious?)
Friday, August 28, 2009
'Twilight' under the stars
ASU students will resume their free movie showings at the Civic Space Park tonight with a screening of 'Twilight' at 8 p.m. The plan is to run movies on the fourth Friday of every month during the school year. This is a great concept, and I give a ton of credit to the ASU students who put this together. The current crop of students seems different from their recent predecessors, whom I criticized in the past for their knee-jerk derision of downtown Phoenix and their failure to lead. This group of ASU students is just the opposite, and is helping to shape downtown Phoenix in a very positive way.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Caffeine High for downtown Phoenix
Flash back to 2004, and it seemed like the nationwide coffee shop craze had bypassed Phoenix. Despite the success of independent coffee houses in basically every city nationwide-- even Buffalo has a hip local coffee chain known as 'Spot Coffee'-- Phoenix had only the Willow House and Lux and a few outposts in Tempe.
But in a boom that parallels the explosion of restaurants in and around downtown Phoenix, a lot has changed in a few years. Downtown and central Phoenix are now awash in java places, and the suddenly competitive landscape is going to test the depth of the downtown market.
By my count, there are three independent coffee shops and at least five Starbucks outlets in downtown Phoenix. Three more places (Tammie Coe, Krispy Kreme, and Calabria) serve coffee but specialize in other fare. Further uptown are several other popular indie coffee houses, including the aforementioned Lux, which sparked the trend.
And in the next few months, the number of independent shops is set to double. All the entrants are familiar faces-- Royal Coffee Bar will open a branch at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market's indoor store, the people behind Matt's Big Breakfast will open a shop near the Phoenix Art Museum, and on Friday Fair Trade Cafe will start up a second branch at the new Civic Space Park. In addition to the new independents, another chain-- Press Coffee-- was announced at CityScape.
As with every positive sign for downtown, there are sure to be naysayers and doubters that will come out of the woodwork. A common refrain will likely be that there aren't enough people downtown to populate these enterprises. But like the new restaurants, which all seem pretty popular even in the face of a recession and a massive cutback in consumer spending, I expect the coffee shops to do just fine.
The suburban doubters often misunderstand the urban market. Unlike suburban stores, which seem to like to isolate themselves from competition, urban shops benefit from clustering. The more places to go-- even places of the same type-- the more people will get out and walk the sidewalks and eventually decide to stop inside some place for a drink and a break. Coffee shops particularly fit the urban streetscape with their windows that let patrons face out and observe life outside the shop.
So, as with the proliferation of condos and restaurants, the more coffee shops in downtown Phoenix, the merrier.
But in a boom that parallels the explosion of restaurants in and around downtown Phoenix, a lot has changed in a few years. Downtown and central Phoenix are now awash in java places, and the suddenly competitive landscape is going to test the depth of the downtown market.
By my count, there are three independent coffee shops and at least five Starbucks outlets in downtown Phoenix. Three more places (Tammie Coe, Krispy Kreme, and Calabria) serve coffee but specialize in other fare. Further uptown are several other popular indie coffee houses, including the aforementioned Lux, which sparked the trend.
And in the next few months, the number of independent shops is set to double. All the entrants are familiar faces-- Royal Coffee Bar will open a branch at the Downtown Phoenix Public Market's indoor store, the people behind Matt's Big Breakfast will open a shop near the Phoenix Art Museum, and on Friday Fair Trade Cafe will start up a second branch at the new Civic Space Park. In addition to the new independents, another chain-- Press Coffee-- was announced at CityScape.
As with every positive sign for downtown, there are sure to be naysayers and doubters that will come out of the woodwork. A common refrain will likely be that there aren't enough people downtown to populate these enterprises. But like the new restaurants, which all seem pretty popular even in the face of a recession and a massive cutback in consumer spending, I expect the coffee shops to do just fine.
The suburban doubters often misunderstand the urban market. Unlike suburban stores, which seem to like to isolate themselves from competition, urban shops benefit from clustering. The more places to go-- even places of the same type-- the more people will get out and walk the sidewalks and eventually decide to stop inside some place for a drink and a break. Coffee shops particularly fit the urban streetscape with their windows that let patrons face out and observe life outside the shop.
So, as with the proliferation of condos and restaurants, the more coffee shops in downtown Phoenix, the merrier.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
The free market did not give us suburbia
A common refrain of defenders of the dominant American suburban form is that it is simply the culmination of millions of microeconomic decisions by consumers to "vote with their feet" and buy a house in the 'burbs. If mainstream Americans really wanted urban living, they would have chosen to stay in the cities, goes the argument.
A great article in today's Wall Street Journal debunks that free market myth, and discusses the way that government-- through its creation of Fannie Mae and federal underwriting for mortgage loans, among others-- shaped our sprawled-out society through multiple market-distorting policies throughout the 20th century. One key quote from the article:
The article is a worthwhile read, and makes one ponder how America would look if government policy (authored by politicians of both parties) hadn't for decades obsessed over increasing (mostly suburban) homeownership. And it goes without saying that Phoenix, which came of age as these policies were in their ascendancy, would have looked much different. It also makes one wonder about Phoenix's future as these policies increasingly come under question by politicians and more importantly, consumers.
A great article in today's Wall Street Journal debunks that free market myth, and discusses the way that government-- through its creation of Fannie Mae and federal underwriting for mortgage loans, among others-- shaped our sprawled-out society through multiple market-distorting policies throughout the 20th century. One key quote from the article:
The article doesn't even get into the federal government's massive freeway-building programs that laid waste to central-city neighborhoods in order to whisk commuters into and out of downtowns and back to the suburbs."Federal housing policies changed the whole landscape of America, creating the
sprawlscapes that we now call home, and in the process, gutting inner
cities...[o]f new housing today, 80% is built in the suburbs-- the direct legacy
of federal policies that favored outlying areas rather than the rehabilitation
of city centers."
The article is a worthwhile read, and makes one ponder how America would look if government policy (authored by politicians of both parties) hadn't for decades obsessed over increasing (mostly suburban) homeownership. And it goes without saying that Phoenix, which came of age as these policies were in their ascendancy, would have looked much different. It also makes one wonder about Phoenix's future as these policies increasingly come under question by politicians and more importantly, consumers.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Elsewhere around downtown
A look at what others are saying about life in downtown and metro Phoenix:
* A group is organizing tonight to promote late-night hours on the light rail line. I took light rail after 11 p.m. on a Friday a few weeks ago and it was packed, but it's great to see others fighting complacency and helping to make sure that we don't lose our late hours.
* A state legislator gives Downtown Voices Coalition a "C+" on its report card and then receives rebuttal from a DVC member listing the group's accomplishments. I'm interested to see if the legislator responds.
* Samuel Richard at the Downtown Phoenix Journal writes about people leaving Phoenix, and draws an avalanche of responses on the topic.
* Phoenix is noticed by the Wall Street Journal, but once again it's not for reasons we'd like.
* A group is organizing tonight to promote late-night hours on the light rail line. I took light rail after 11 p.m. on a Friday a few weeks ago and it was packed, but it's great to see others fighting complacency and helping to make sure that we don't lose our late hours.
* A state legislator gives Downtown Voices Coalition a "C+" on its report card and then receives rebuttal from a DVC member listing the group's accomplishments. I'm interested to see if the legislator responds.
* Samuel Richard at the Downtown Phoenix Journal writes about people leaving Phoenix, and draws an avalanche of responses on the topic.
* Phoenix is noticed by the Wall Street Journal, but once again it's not for reasons we'd like.
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