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What sort of impressions are we creating of Downtown San Diego?<\/p>\n
In August of 2017, we hosted place-making expert, Fred Kent. Nearly 100 people joined us for a workshop led by Fred and his team to challenge our conceptions of how we, as a community, can utilize public spaces to best meet the needs of the community.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t about constructing another building or paving paradise to put up another parking lot. Instead, we asked how we could activate existing spaces to create an ambiance where communities can live, work, play and thrive. A blank wall can become a movie screen. An office terrace unused on the weekends can be filled with yoga mats on Saturday mornings. A mural installation can become a place where residents and visitors stop and really take stock of the place they\u2019re in.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s easy to talk the talk, though. Which is why the Partnership is teaming up with Humphrey Consulting and RAD Lab (the guys who brought us Quartyard) to introduce CANVAS.<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t stand for anything \u2014 there\u2019s no cutesy acronym \u2014 a canvas is a starting place. It\u2019s an invitation to stop and consider; to dream, to create.<\/p>\n
Thus, Canvas says something about how we view Downtown San Diego. The neighborhoods that make up Downtown are each uniquely equipped with a sense of identity and character, some more developed than others. The goal of Canvas is to improve these neighborhoods by capitalizing on the existing, latent and potential identity and character already present.<\/p>\n
Canvas seeks to turn spaces, which are easily forgettable, into places that are tailor-made to the needs of those who shape each neighborhood.<\/p>\n
This doesn\u2019t mean neighborhoods have to be turned upside down. Simple changes can generate profound impacts:<\/p>\n
Additional light can make pedestrians feel safer as they travel (and thus more likely to do so).<\/p>\n
Planter boxes can make an urban jungle feel less imposing and more like home.<\/p>\n
Murals and painted utility boxes can turn dull slabs of concrete into opportunities for people to actually enjoy the community they are present in.<\/p>\n
A vital part of the Canvas program is space activation.<\/p>\n
Residents and visitors need a reason to stay and play \u2014 an opportunity to shape the character that is their neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Canvas kicked off 2018 by hosting a free \u201cManis & Mimosas\u201d event, utilizing the premier space at Downtown Works in the Columbia District. Yes, you read that correctly \u2014 gratis<\/em> manicures and mimosas.<\/p>\n And you\u2019ll see more of these events throughout the year. Taste new cuisine with friends at a pop-up brunch event in Marina (we know San Diegans like to brunch), or take your kids to see their favorite movie in a cozy, outdoor, urban atmosphere.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t want to just talk the talk. We don\u2019t want the dreams and ideas of the 100 community members who joined us last fall to go undeveloped. We don\u2019t want the input of residents who have joined us at our Clean & Safe community mixers to go unheeded.<\/p>\n Downtown is a great canvas to start with.<\/p>\n We hope the community members, the ones who really shape the identity and character of our neighborhoods, participate with us as we continue to make San Diego America\u2019s Finest City.<\/p>\n Follow our Canvas Downtown Facebook page for upcoming events. We\u2019ll see you around.<\/p>\n![\"Introducing](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Untitled-1-copy.jpg\")
We also hosted a trivia and board game night at Mission Brewery in conjunction with Downtown game enthusiasts, Switchboard Games.<\/p>\n