Despite the bloodshed over at Good Magazine last Friday, tonight's "Good Ideas for Cities" panel is still a-go. The magazine darling known for focusing on the positive and most inspiring angle of each story while incorporating strong design methods, laid off all but three of its in-house editors last week. Now, those remaining are tight-lipped about the cause of the firings and the direction the publication will take in the future.
Tonight, that scandal will not take center stage. Instead we'll take a peek at three areas around Dallas that have been identified as needing improvement, and then listen as panelists pitch ideas to remedy the issues to local officials. (The event is completely free, so get a ticket here.) Those involved joined Good Ideas for Cities during AIGA D/FW's Dallas Design Week, which brought together Dallas' biggest thinkers and asked them to lend their creative prowess to define and solve several of our city's ... less attractive... shortcomings. The think tank split into three groups and selected the following points of deficiency to fix:
1. The neighborhood around Edgefield and Ferndale in Oak Cliff is a medium-sized, auto-based commercial district surrounded by single- family neighborhoods. The neighborhoods appear to be stable and well maintained, but the commercial center includes many small, vacant spaces. How do improve use of this under-used commercial space?Daniel Oney, Office of Economic Development, City of Dallas
Elmwood Neighborhood Revitalization: Mark Lea,Whitney Holden, Krystyna Morgan, Justin Tiros
2. The City of Dallas has more than 110 miles of hiking and biking trails. But due to lack of branding, non-existent wayfinding system and lack of a comprehensive electronic field guide, many citizens don't know that this incredible resource exists. How do we connect the dots so local residents, business owners and developers not only know about, but make better use of our hike and bike trails?
Samuel Stites, Dallas Parks Foundation; Joan Walne, Dallas Park Board; Michael Hellman, Park Planning & Acquisitions; David Whitney, Dallas City Design Studio
Connect the Dots / Bike Hike Trails: Brian Murphy, Robbie Good, Cyndi Long, David Whitley, Deana Jirak, Edna Monterrosa, Erin Hanley, Jared White, Joel Landingham, Katie Galasso, Lacy Barnett-Cagle, Mikel Wilkins
3. It's a common perception that Texans won't take transit, ride bicycles, or walk, other than to get to their pickup truck. Now with the largest light rail system in the United States, it is time to change Dallas' image into one of a truly multi-modal city. How might we transform the 55+ stations in the system into centers of social and economic activity, creating a vibrant network of communities connected by various modes of transit?
Jack Wierzenski, DART
Transformation Stations: J.B. Chaykowsky, Hon Yam Mok, Charlotte Hicks Todd, T.E. Sumner, Jeremy Klott
There's a cocktail reception tonight at 6 p.m. at Lakewood Theater, followed by presentations at 7:15 p.m. All are invited with RSVP. If you'd like to browse the work Good Ideas for Cities has done elsewhere, go here.
