Fired up? Inspired by the Edmonton Arena District? Itching to do something.
What about by Expo 2017, top of mind, do you care? 
Two projects, portending great vision for our city. Which gets your attention, time, interest and energy? I like Expo 2017. Why? Leadership, leaders who invite participation, coalesce a cause, and collaborate. There's a sense of ease to the Expo bid. Like the North Saskatchewan meandering through town in the spring, the Expo Bid process flows, relentlessly.
There are tangible results. Introduced last fall, six months later it has garnered qualified provincial support. City support with an accelerated plan for the LRT. Regional support with airport expansion. Tangible infrastructure assets to show the feds, we have 'skin' in the game. Demonstrate to the Expo people, we are equipped to surpass their hosting standards. All because the first question, in the Expo Bid is "why"? The purpose, what the leadership believes. Not want the leadership 'wants'.
Leaders are powerful people, who 'peddle' influence. Leadership inspires action. Examining the ArenaDistrict and Expo leadership under the inspiration metric, ArenaDistrict comes second. Katz Sports and Entertainment tells us what they want. Pay for the arena. Wants first. Vision second. It's them and us. For the Expo leadership, is just us, all of us.
Why is unanswered Edmonton revitalization question. Why, the purpose, the belief, the inspiration behind all this revitalization 'talk' . Creating an 'entertainment district', is a result. That's not why?
Why, missing from revitalization, is the top priority for Expo '17. On why, the two groups go east and west. It's not buy-in. It's inspiration. Getting an entire community 'fired-up" in the vernacular of the time. Paraphrasing Martin Luther King; he said, "I believe...," not I have a comprehensive plan, minus the details which we'll talk about later.
So why might be: Edmonton is city which challenges norms. We believe 'we' can re-design down town Edmonton to make it a better place to 'live". How, by tapping the collective wisdom of the community, in an open frank discussion. What, re build downtown Edmonton, deploying new made in Edmonton standards for financing, engineering, environmental stewardship, (zero waste, alternative energy systems). Create a new city centre which offers an array of new housing options. Accommodates current area residents. Attracts the best in Global Entertainment. Drives Tourism. Supports local business. Do you want to help?
Fired up?
If you had 10 hours to volunteer your time and expertise, which group would get it? Edmonton ArenaAD, or Expo2017 Why? Which group do you think would accept your offer ?
0 comments:
Post a Comment