We are finally launching the Downtown Academy today. Congratulations to everyone who was accepted participate in this year’s inaugural class! We are excited to finally bring this project to Fresno and were even more excited after seeing the number of applicants who applied to participate in the project.
I thought it would be fun to do a quick pre-class posting on our first day of class, since it seemed fitting to recognize the growing positive energy so many Fresnans are putting towards making Downtown Fresno a more vibrant place for everything. In the planning phases of this project, I will admit that I was probably the fiercest devil’s advocate on why the project shouldn’t happen.
“Who would want to go downtown?” I kept asking myself as someone who grew up North of Shaw Ave.
But over the past couple of months I’ve had the opportunity to travel to different destinations downtown. I’ve met many of the people who not only work downtown, but consider it home as well. It wasn’t until I started visiting Downtown Fresno and meeting others who had good things to say about it that I really began to appreciate it and all of its nuances.
When I think of Downtown Fresno, the first thing that comes to mind is the word “choice.” The decision to live, work or play in our downtown area gives people a choice in lifestyle. Fresno is expanding and will likely continue expanding – many call this the “urban sprawl”. However, downtown areas are generally urban environments, where space is limited and there are different, yet equally rewarding opportunities for growth lurking about if you can spot them. If you consider how these newer spaces downtown are being designed, there is a community feel to each of them that you won’t find in more suburban areas of Fresno. In the words of Jane Jacobs, “The point of cities is multiplicity of choice,” which is what we are experiencing with the growth of our downtown.
So here’s my goal for everyone in this class and everyone on the periphery watching & learning about it. My hope is that we can learn to embrace our downtown and see it as an asset that offers people something unique and different. By no means is it perfect, but is there any place that really is? It’s what we make it and how we define it that gives or diminishes its meaning. But by acknowledging that it is unique and different, we can start to recognize opportunities to make this city what we want it to be – a place that’s vibrant, gives people choices, and provides people with opportunities if they know where to look. When we can assume this mindset, we acknowledge that not only are there good things happening in Fresno, but also that we who call this place home have something to which we can look forward.
Tim Sudiacal, Downtown Academy co-founder
