29 August 2016

Take This Test: YOU rate Mesa

We are constantly bombarded, be-dazzled and honestly bamboozled by all the hype and hoopla from the City of Mesa Office for Economic Development, interviews on Mesa Morning Live and by press releases produced by the City of Mesa Newsroom - after all it is their job to cast a positive image in the game of public relations . . .for example, Mayor John Giles bragging that according to Forbes "Mesa is the best city in the Southwest to live in" while not daring to bring up the shortcomings of that survey, repeating time-and-time again that "Everything is great", or anyone else on the taxpayer-dime grabbing any snatch of what passes for news.
Well, how do the real people rate where we live and work?

Greatest Hits: The Strong Towns Strength Test
Find it  here and publish your comments and results on that site.
It goes like this
Here are ten simple questions we call the Strong Towns Strength Test. A Strong Town should be able to answer “yes” to each of these questions.
  1. Take a photo of your main street at midday. Does the picture show more people than cars?
  2. If there were a revolution in your town, would people instinctively know where to gather to participate?
  3. Imagine your favorite street in town didn’t exist. Could it be built today if the construction had to follow your local rules?
  4. Is an owner of a single family home able to get permission to add a small rental unit onto their property without any real hassle?
  5. If your largest employer left town, are you confident the city would survive?
  6. Is it safe for children to walk or bike to school and many of their other activities without adult supervision?
  7. Are there neighborhoods where three generations of a family could reasonably find a place to live, all within walking distance of each other?
  8. If you wanted to eat only locally-produced food for a month, could you?
  9. Before building or accepting new infrastructure, does the local government clearly identify how future generations will afford to maintain it?
  10. Does the city government spend no more than 10% of its locally-generated revenue on debt service?
My hometown of Brainerd scores a 1 or a 2, but only because the biggest employer (the school district) can’t leave town and there are a couple of neighborhoods where multiple generations could technically live within walking distance of each other. We're getting closer on local food, and many the rest are doable with some modest change in thinking. 
How does your town stack up? 

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