Last Thursday, February 27th, I was able to attend the Vision614 event at Strongwater. It was an event sponsored by Create Columbus that brought young professionals together to think about and discuss the future of Columbus.
The event was from about 5:30-8:30 and was broken down into brief discussion sessions with speakers interspersed throughout the evening. Each of the speakers offered a unique perspective on the future of Columbus.
William Murdock – Executive Director at Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission Murdock believes that Columbus is a city that ‘should or needs to be better.’ He posed the question, ‘why are you here tonight?’ and then said he thought it was because of a ‘hunger for making it better.’ His advice for the discussions that followed came in the form of ‘rules:’ 1. Have fun 2. Don’t be restricted by reality 3. Don’t copy
Bill Lafayette – Regionomics Lafayette spoke about Richard Florida’s Rise of the Creative Class, which refers to people who are paid to think. These people could be artists, writers, business analysts, or even attorneys – anyone who creates ideas over things. He also mentioned how he would like to see more entrepreneurship in Columbus – people with nerve, funding, and a great idea.
Mark Wagenbrenner – Wagenbrenner Development Wagenbrenner posed the question, How do we design housing? He also spoke about the demographics in Columbus and how many people in this city are between the ages of 17-37 years old. With this demographic, he pointed out the influence of youth on society.
Walker Evans – Co-Founder of Columbus Underground Evans discussed the model he uses for his role in the media: 1. Share Information 2. Start Conversation 3. Inspire Action 4. Showcase Action He also discussed how much this city has evolved since 2001 when CU started. It was well before the time of social media, Yelp, Jeni’s and even certain now-established areas of town such as the Arena District. He started CU at a time when there was no other way to really get information about what was going on in Columbus. He also said that he thought there was no perfect way to share information, but that he believes that CU has been successful because it shares people’s stories.
As I mentioned earlier, between each of the speakers, there was time for discussion. I went to groups that focused on: streetscape, transporation, business, and entertainment. I didn’t get the opportunity to take notes during the discussion, but there were plenty of people who did. To read about the great ideas, be sure keep checking back in with the Vision614 site.
I felt like this was a very effective format for gathering information and spurring ideas. Typically, it seems that people have good ideas, but the idea doesn’t get very far. In a school setting, for example, a parent might have an idea and then share it with the school principal. The idea, however, usually stops there. If, however, there were a setting with the intention of brain-storming and hearing others’ ideas, a good idea could easily become a great idea with everyone working together and feeding off of each other.
The real reason we want to build a better Columbus is to have a great community and what better way to do that than by building it together?
What are your thoughts? How would you like to improve Columbus or your own city?