Tucson is a terrific place to live, but are we a great city? In all great cities, the development of an educational system that produces educated and prepared citizens is a critical component of their success. Recently, I was introduced to an initiative called "Tucson Values Teachers." Their slogan is "Education is Everybody's Business," and they are right. To become a great city, education should be every Tucsonan's business.
If we really believed that education was key to our future, we could trigger a boom downtown and make Rio Nuevo a huge success. Consider what would happen if we identified an Elementary School, a Junior High and a High School within the boundaries of downtown or Rio Nuevo and then offered every child that attended one of those schools and graduated with a 3.0 or better a four year scholarship to the University of Arizona.
Almost overnight, families would want to move within those boundaries. Parents would be very interested in the education process with a scholarship for a reward for their child's diligence. The designated schools would become excelling schools. To qualify families would need to move into the designated boundaries and the demand for housing would increase. Along with it, the need for stores and shops and restaurants would increase immediately. There would need to be recreational facilities - soccer fields, baseball fields, parks, and bike trails that supported families.
How much would it cost? About $50,000 per student for a full scholarship. Students that moved in at 6th grade would get a 1/2 scholarship and if they moved in at 9th grade they would get a 1/4 scholarship, etc. It could be funded with part of our Rio Nuevo tax money, some with private and business donations.
The result - a downtown with people on a waiting list to move in, business thriving and a fun place to go on the weekends if you live in the burbs. It has been done in other cities. Some have become great cities.
If you are interested in a good example you may want to check out a recent USA Today story that has tracked its progress in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The link is: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-07-01-kalamazoo-inside_N.htm
If we took quality education seriously, it could propel our city into a great city.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tucson's God
Tucsonans worship the creation rather than the Creator. The god we worship in this city is the Environment. The great outdoors is the church of choice in Tucson and we make regular sacrifices to it by voting to buy up more and more land to prohibit its future use by people. Tucson has a history of passing and enforcing restrictive personal property laws. Many of the city reports spend a large portion of their text giving very detailed land and water use guidelines.
Tucson's blind worship of a false god is comparable to a situation found in the Bible in book of Acts chapter 19:21-41. The passage says:
When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome." So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time. And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: "Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship." Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's travel companions. And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: "Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus? Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess. Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. For we are in danger of being called in question for today's uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering." And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
The Bible calls us to be stewards of the creation not worshipers of it. Stewardship means that we manage it for God and for the benefit of people. The various reports conducted by our city leaders hint strongly that people moving to Tucson are the problem. By worshiping the creation rather than the Creator it causes our city to make decisions that remove large tracts of land from future development. This is not demonstrating love of our neighbors who are hurt by artificially high housing prices that exceed their ability to afford them. It will increase the tax burden on existing families to maintain Tucson's infrastructure. There is always a high price on the residents of a city that worships a false god.
Tucson's blind worship of a false god is comparable to a situation found in the Bible in book of Acts chapter 19:21-41. The passage says:
When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome." So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time. And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: "Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship." Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's travel companions. And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: "Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus? Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess. Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. For we are in danger of being called in question for today's uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering." And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
The Bible calls us to be stewards of the creation not worshipers of it. Stewardship means that we manage it for God and for the benefit of people. The various reports conducted by our city leaders hint strongly that people moving to Tucson are the problem. By worshiping the creation rather than the Creator it causes our city to make decisions that remove large tracts of land from future development. This is not demonstrating love of our neighbors who are hurt by artificially high housing prices that exceed their ability to afford them. It will increase the tax burden on existing families to maintain Tucson's infrastructure. There is always a high price on the residents of a city that worships a false god.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Tucson - What Do We Want To Be When We Grow Up?
I have lived here for 15 years. When I ask people what they want Tucson to look like 10 years or 20 years from now, most say, "We don't want to be like Phoenix." Well ok, we don't want to be like Phoenix, so what do we want to be like?
I was directed by some business leaders to read Tucson’s Town Hall Report,
TREO’s Securing Our Future Now: An Economic Blueprint For The Tucson Region, Tucson General Plan, Pima County Comprehensive Plan, AIA’s Sustainable Development Assessment and the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan for ideas about Tucson's future.
Through reading those reports, it became obvious that Tucson does not have a comprehensive vision for the future. We do not have one unifying theme to guide our priorities as a city. We do not have a collective dream for what we want to be when we grow up.
There are over a million people in our metro area. That number will likely double in the next 20 years. We are no longer a small cow town. We have grown into the 70th largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in the United States. There will not be a better time than now to determine what unique benefits Tucson will offer to the rest of the world. Tucson has always had a reactive response to the problems we face as we grow. A unifying vision statement for our city would go a long way toward helping us become proactive in addressing everything from infrastructure, to education, to health care, to water, to housing, to budgeting and taxes.
The first thing we must do is define what it is that we are really working toward. What is our preferred future? What do we want Tucson to look like 10 years or even 20 years from now?
I am advocating that we form a vision around becoming a family friendly city.
Do we want our children to stay in Tucson after college or move to a more progressive city with career opportunities? If we want our children to raise their families here and attract the best the brightest from other cities, we must decide now to manage our natural resources to attract opportunity for those who will be living here 20 years from now.
A clear vision for our city is the first step for Tucson to take her place as a world class city.
I was directed by some business leaders to read Tucson’s Town Hall Report,
TREO’s Securing Our Future Now: An Economic Blueprint For The Tucson Region, Tucson General Plan, Pima County Comprehensive Plan, AIA’s Sustainable Development Assessment and the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan for ideas about Tucson's future.
Through reading those reports, it became obvious that Tucson does not have a comprehensive vision for the future. We do not have one unifying theme to guide our priorities as a city. We do not have a collective dream for what we want to be when we grow up.
There are over a million people in our metro area. That number will likely double in the next 20 years. We are no longer a small cow town. We have grown into the 70th largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in the United States. There will not be a better time than now to determine what unique benefits Tucson will offer to the rest of the world. Tucson has always had a reactive response to the problems we face as we grow. A unifying vision statement for our city would go a long way toward helping us become proactive in addressing everything from infrastructure, to education, to health care, to water, to housing, to budgeting and taxes.
The first thing we must do is define what it is that we are really working toward. What is our preferred future? What do we want Tucson to look like 10 years or even 20 years from now?
I am advocating that we form a vision around becoming a family friendly city.
Do we want our children to stay in Tucson after college or move to a more progressive city with career opportunities? If we want our children to raise their families here and attract the best the brightest from other cities, we must decide now to manage our natural resources to attract opportunity for those who will be living here 20 years from now.
A clear vision for our city is the first step for Tucson to take her place as a world class city.
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