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ATTEND A WORKSHOP!
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Twin Peaks Elementary School, Marana
7995 W. Twin Peaks Rd
Monday, June 27
Vida Nueva Church
330 W. Nebraska
5:30 p.m. - Registration & Refreshments 6:00 - 8:15 p.m. - Scenario Building Workshop Please RSVP Attend a Workshop | |
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Volunteer!
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Find out about more ways to be involved at one of our volunteer orientation sessions. Tuesday, June 21 7:30 - 8:30 a.m., Ike's Coffee House, 3400 E Speedway Tuesday, June 28 11:30-12:30 p.m. IGT office in the Breckenridge Building, 700 N Stone Sign up to attend | |
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Greetings!
Hello and thank you for taking a moment to read the latest edition of the Imagine Greater Tucson newsletter (name forthcoming). Your support for this effort is absolutely essential to IGT's success and we genuinely appreciate your participation and interest in the Imagine Greater Tucson process. Please continue to share more thoughts and continue the conversation on our Facebook page and visit the website for more information www.imaginegreatertucson.org.
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Four Workshops Completed - Two More Added!  Imagine Greater Tucson recently held its fourth scheduled Scenario Building Workshop. At last count, well over 530 people have participated in the workshops producing more than 90 maps. These maps will serve as the source material for developing future alternative scenarios for our region. Each individual map is itself the rich result of a deliberate and collaborative decision-making process that occurred at a single table. The scenarios that they generate will reflect the themes that emerge from the collective wisdom of the community through an aggregation of those maps (See the process). The maps will soon be posted to the IGT website so that you can view the results of participants' efforts. Would you like to have your vision for the future included in this process? Have you missed the four previously scheduled workshops? Don't miss out on this unique opportunity again. Imagine Greater Tucson has scheduled two more additional workshops, so you can make sure your ideas are heard (we just couldn't permit ourselves to end such a good thing). See sidebar for details.  | |
Workshop participant drawing in a proposed transit line.
photo courtesy of Susan Kepler
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In addition to the high-level of participation and the number of quality maps that have been produced, those more unquantifiable elements of the workshops have been equally remarkable. Community members from all perspectives and geographies have come together to lay out their ideal vision for our future while engaging in conversations about those things that are most fundamental to our quality of life. Although the primary purpose of the workshop is to allocate jobs, development, open space and transportation in the region, each participant has done something more; they have provided a real example of what it means to make value-based decisions about our community. Of course, not everyone at every table may have agreed with each other on every topic (nor would we wish them to), but they have been more than able to demonstrate what it means to engage in civil dialogue as they worked through the exercise to produce satisfactory outcomes for their group. Thank you to everyone who has attended one of these workshops.  | |
photo courtesy of Kent Simpson
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Volunteer Update - Get Involved!
Have you attended a workshop, taken a survey, read the newsletter, talked about IGT with a friend, and yet still feel unsated? Would you like to be more involved? Join us and contribute your experience, expertise, creativity, and energy to building a stronger region.
Volunteer opportunities include:
- Administrative support
- IGT Ambassador
- Workshop Facilitation
- Videography/Photography
- Grant Writing & Research
- Communications/Public Awareness
- Outreach
- Values Stewardship
Please view Volunteer Descriptions for more details and/or sign up to attend a volunteer orientation.
Thank you so much to everyone that has already volunteered, participated, or helped out in some way. Your support is essential to the success of this effort.
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Name the Newsletter
Last month we asked you to submit your suggestions and ideas for the name of the Imagine Greater Tucson newsletter. Well, those submissions have been made and now it is time to put them to the vote.
We are currently hosting a poll on our Facebook page and we encourage you to choose the name that you best think captures the spirit of the effort.
We'll announce the results -and the new name- in next month's edition.
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Values in Focus
As part of our ongoing commitment to base our future work and efforts on the foundation of our Shared Regional Values, we will take an opportunity each month to highlight one of those values in this newsletter.
Since summer is approaching, let's take this time to reflect on one of our greatest regional assets: our unique desert environment.
WE VALUE...
The Region's Unique and Beautiful Weather and Natural Environment
WHAT WE'RE SAYING...
"This is a unique and interesting biological and geographical region. The landscape and bioscape is what makes living here worthwhile."
"Mountains, cactus, and nature; I like the beauty of the Sonoran desert, especially at sunset."
"As a landscape architect that has relocated here from the East, I find the environment of Tucson highly unique and worth protecting. I find the Tucson community generally understanding and respectful of the desert environment."
"The natural environment makes Tucson a sacred place to live."
DID YOU KNOW?
The Sonoran Desert covers an area of roughly 86,100 square miles encompassing parts of Arizona, Mexico, and California. It is the hottest of North America's deserts and has the greatest diversity of vegetation of any desert in the world. It is home to roughly 60 species of mammals, more than 350 kinds of birds, 20 amphibians, around 100 reptiles, over 2000 native species of plants, and an estimated human population of about 8 million. Within Pima County there are 23 threatened and endangered plant and animal species and the eastern portion of the county contains nearly 1,086 square miles of protected preserves and open space.
WHERE WE ARE HEADED
Our footprint of currently developed land in the greater Tucson region is 288 square miles. If trends persist, we can expect to bring an additional 338 square miles of primarily Sonoran Desert under development in the coming decades; an increase in built area of roughly 118%. Given our current urban form and predicted development pattern, it is projected that 133 square miles, or about 39%, of land needed for new development would be on some of the region's most environmentally sensitive land, disrupting high value habitat areas necessary to maintain the biodiversity of the region. While this projection is far from inevitable, it will require more effort and public debate to decide how much of - and in what form - our natural heritage is passed on to future generations, and what our legacy will be in that regard.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
First off, you can experience and appreciate this natural beauty and biodiversity up close by hiking on some of eastern Pima County's 1000 mile network of recreational trails. While it may be hot now, you can take advantage of the coming monsoon season to enjoy some of the region's seasonal water features. Also, don't forget that mountain peaks are only a short distance away and may offer you and your family a welcome reprieve from the elements.
If interested, you can take a more hands-on approach to protecting our desert by assisting in keeping it safe for the native species that belong here. Join the fight against invasive grasses by volunteering your time and energy with the Sonoran Desert Weedwackers. More information can be found on the Pima County website.
Not enough? Too much? Have another idea for protecting our local environment and natural heritage? Please share your ideas on our Facebook page.
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