A bustling, diverse, centralized downtown is indispensable to a metropolitan region's success — that's a premise that underlies this week's cover story.
But what if the majority of residents don't see things that way? What if, as Creative Tampa Bay's recent statistical study suggests, many people in our region see more value in living in the suburbs or a small town than in a city? Does the movement to create "livable" downtowns run counter to the real needs and desires of the population? Or is it simply a matter of "If we build it, they will come — around?"
These are just a few of the questions raised but by no means answered in this week's cover story, the first in a series looking at "Downtowns on the Verge." And they're among the questions we'll ask — and we hope you'll ask, too — at our next Political Party.
Hosted by Planet Political Editor Wayne Garcia, the panel will feature a lineup of experts from both sides of the Bay, all of whom are playing significant roles in the future of the two downtowns: Christine Burdick, president of the Tampa Downtown Partnership; Bob Jeffrey, St. Petersburg's director of urban planning and historic preservation; Greg Minder, the president of Intown Group, the urban residential developers building Skypoint in Tampa; and Don Shea, president and CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership.
Can the Riverwalk attain a level of accessibility and user-friendliness comparable to riverfronts in cities like San Antonio — or even St. Petersburg's bayfront? Are the two city governments putting the squeeze on homeless populations as part of a general effort to gussy up downtown — or is there real help being offered to people in need? Will anyone other than tourists ever ride a trolley? And if there's no hope for retail coming to downtown Tampa anytime soon, why not follow resident Scott Gunderson's advice and try to sell people on living close to where they work? "If you lived here, you'd be home now."
What do you think? What's at stake for you and your neighbors? Come and speak your mind at the Political Party.
Political Party: Downtowns on the Verge, Shimberg Playhouse (home of Jobsite Theater), Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Monday, June 12, 7 p.m. Admission free. For directions or parking information, go to www.tbpac.org/welcome/directions/directions.html. For more information about the Political Party, call 813-739-4854.
This article appears in Jun 7-13, 2006.