{"id":237573,"date":"2015-04-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-03T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/imagining-the-future\/"},"modified":"2015-04-03T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-04-03T07:00:00","slug":"imagining-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/imagining-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Imagining the future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Por Kris Michelle | Noticias de la asociaci\u00f3n del centro<\/p>\n<p>More than two years ago, the Downtown San Diego Partnership asked communities throughout the San Diego region to \u201cImagine Downtown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And, boy, did they ever.<!--more--><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_6532\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6532\" style=\"width: 218px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Headshot-Kris-Michell-Finalweb.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-6532 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Headshot-Kris-Michell-Finalweb-218x300.jpg\" alt=\"Kris Michell, President and CEO of SDDP\" width=\"218\" height=\"300\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 218px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 218\/300;\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-6532\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kris Michell, President and CEO of SDDP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>With the support and financial backing of The San Diego Foundation\u2019s Malin Burnham Center for Civic Engagement, the Downtown Partnership implemented an extensive outreach effort that included 38 town halls \u2014 26 held outside of Downtown \u2014 and an online survey. Through this process, more than 6,000 San Diegans weighed in on the future of Downtown San Diego.<\/p>\n<p>Coupling that feedback with best practices from around the globe, the Downtown Partnership developed \u201cImagine Downtown,\u201d a 20-year strategic vision to revitalize our urban center.\u00a0Released in October of 2013, \u201cImagine Downtown\u201d serves as a to-do list on how to best create a world-class Downtown that serves and advances the aspirations of the entire San Diego region.<\/p>\n<p>In the year and half since it released \u201cImagine Downtown,\u201d the Downtown San Diego Partnership has worked hard to ensure that this vision isn\u2019t some plan collecting dust on a shelf. We have made tangible progress in delivering on its overarching goals as well as on the nuts-and-bolts tactics.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some highlights of our accomplishments to deliver a world-class Downtown like no other.<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Build your business<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Partnership has begun to implement a robust economic development strategy to grow and attract businesses to Downtown, especially in the innovation sector, as well as position Downtown as a hub for our bi-national mega region. Those efforts include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Helping lure new tenants to Downtown including Bumble Bee Foods, Kleinfelder, AECOM, Cypress Insurance, Southwest Strategies, Houzz.com and Rev.com.<\/li>\n<li>Commissioning UCSD Extension to conduct a comprehensive demographic study of Downtown, with the first phase to be released this spring.<\/li>\n<li>Sponsoring a variety of educational forums on to highlight emerging industry clusters in Downtown including digital marketing, tech startups and cybersecurity.<\/li>\n<li>Developing \u201cSan Diego Innovates,\u201d a comprehensive economic development strategy for growing Downtown\u2019s innovation sector, and working with Mayor Faulconer on those efforts.<\/li>\n<li>Holding events that connect business and tech entrepreneurs on both sides of the border to bolster our bi-national economy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Made to move<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Making Downtown easy to get to and around was another key priority for the Partnership. Our work to improve mobility Downtown includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Working with Civic San Diego to create a real-time parking app, which is scheduled to launch in spring 2015.<\/li>\n<li>Partnering with Civic San Diego to develop an on-demand circulator system that will help move people in and around Downtown, which is scheduled to launch by the end of summer 2015.<\/li>\n<li>Offering discount transit passes to participating Downtown businesses to encourage the use of public transit to and from Downtown.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Create the vibe<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To deliver a vibrant and engaging Downtown, the Partnership worked to implement a comprehensive placemaking strategy to activate public spaces and has helped foster a distinct arts and cultural scene. Highlights of these efforts include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Launching the first-ever \u201cSounds of Summer\u201d pop-up concert series, offering performances by local musicians on street corners and in parks and plazas throughout Downtown.<\/li>\n<li>Implementing an extensive and decorative tree-lighting initiative, lighting more than 500 trees through the Clean &amp; Safe program.<\/li>\n<li>Working with design firm RAD Lab and property owners HP Investors to create the \u201cPocket Park\u201d at 13th and J Street to provide a unique community gathering spot in the East Village.<\/li>\n<li>Launching \u201cHealthy Living in the City,\u201d a Downtown wellness initiative with Scripps Health, that offers free lunchtime strolls, cooking classes and yoga sessions in unique urban locations. The inaugural yoga class was held on the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum and attracted more than 400 participants.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Make your place<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Partnership has also worked hard over the last year to ensure\u00a0that Downtown\u2019s distinct neighborhoods are safe and attractive with a mix of housing and education options to encourage diversity. Those efforts include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Developing a multi-faceted anti-panhandling campaign called \u201cMake Change Count\u201d centered around Downtown\u2019s donation stations, or red meters, to reduce panhandling and raise funds for programs to address homelessness.<\/li>\n<li>Preparing to welcome Urban Discovery Academy \u2014 an award-winning charter school serving grades kindergarten through eight \u2014 for the 2015-2016 school year.<\/li>\n<li>Expanding our beautification efforts, installing planters and hanging baskets in Downtown neighborhoods as well as landscaping medians with drought-tolerant plants.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Those are just a few highlights of what we\u2019ve accomplished in the last year. We look forward to working with the community in the coming year, to not only continue to imagine Downtown but also deliver real results.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014Kris Michell is the president and CEO of the Downtown San Diego Partnership, a nonprofit, member-based organization that serves as the leading advocate for the revitalization and economic health of Downtown. To learn more about the Downtown Partnership, visit <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.downtownsandiego.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>www.downtownsandiego.org<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Kris Michell |\u00a0Downtown Partnership News More than two years ago, the Downtown San Diego Partnership asked communities throughout the San Diego region to \u201cImagine Downtown.\u201d And, boy, did they ever.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1200,"featured_media":237255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Imagining the future","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-sdnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1200"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}