Mayor Phil Gordon and the Chairman of the Phoenix Parks Board, Phil Richards, speak out on the Master Plan Urban Weave being developed for the corridor between Central & 1st Ave - south of Fillmore.
From AZCentral.com: Civic space to provide key element downtown lacks
To have a great downtown, you absolutely need housing, retail, high-rises, restaurants and cultural amenities. But to make it all work, you need to thoughtfully and deliberately include an appropriate amount of open space, artfully woven into the mix. And for cities, that means "civic space" - such as parks.
When I first became mayor, I promised we would rebuild Patriots Square Park to be truly worthy of its name. In a few weeks, that process thankfully begins.
But beyond Patriots Park, I also noted that Phoenix has always lacked the kind of "defining amenity" that all great cities have. With our new downtown civic space, a 2.7-acre park that is a key component in the renaissance of downtown Phoenix, we will have that defining amenity.
It will provide crucial, shaded open space and serve as the connection between the downtown campus of Arizona State University, the University of Arizona Medical College, emerging residential housing to the west, and the thousands of employees who work nearby. Neighboring Central Station and Metro light rail will provide easy access to the park from all directions.
For more information, see:
Civic Space Study (PDF)
Good not good enough for Phoenix park
Janet Echelman (sculptor) website
