Out of 100 Cities Nationwide Mesa Parks Ranked In The Bottom 10

So, how’s our city’s park system, if it’s one of the 100 to appear in the index, rank? Better or worse than you expected? Where was there room for improvement?
Just released is a report for urban park systems in the country per the Trust for Public Land (TPL)’s annual ParkScore rankings, an index that ranks urban recreational spaces belonging to the 100 most populous American cities.
Residents of Mesa will have to scroll way down - to the bottom ten - to see how the city gets ranked.
The ParkScore® index measures how well the 100 largest U.S. cities are meeting the need for parks
http://parkscore.tpl.org/

The ParkScore methodology is based on three key criteria. Park Access uses advanced GIS mapping technology to determine how far a city’s residents must walk to access the nearest public green space. Park Size takes into consideration both the median size of a unit within an individual park system and the total amount of land within a city that’s dedicated to parks.

Finally, the Facilities and Investment category combines both a city's park spending per resident and the availability of a quartet of aforementioned park amenities: dog parks, playgrounds, basketball hoops and recreation/senior centers
.
Take a look at around 7 o'clock - for Mesa it's $28.6 Millions of dollars.

Mesa = 91 out of 100

While it’s true that a low ParkScore may yield a fair amount of hand-wringing for park officials in the cities that place close to the bottom of the list, the TPL sees the rankings — described as “the most comprehensive rating system ever developed to measure how well the 100 most populous U.S. cities are meeting their residents’ need for parks” — as a tool that poorly-ranked cities can use to help better themselves in key areas and, in turn, move up the list.
Link for Mesa >> http://parkscore.tpl.org/city.php?city=Mesa

Explore an interactive map from this link

Park Facts:
Park acreage: 2,521 acres
People served per park acre: 183
Oldest municipal park: Pioneer Park, est. 1947
Largest municipal park: Red Mountain Park, 582 acres
Most-visited municipal park: Riverview Park


City Stats

• City area: 83,578 acres
• Median park size: 2.6 acres
• Park land as % of city area: 3.0 %
• Spending per resident: $69.96
• Basketball Hoops per 10,000: 2.6
• Dog Parks per 100,000 Residents: 0.4
• Playgrounds per 10,000: 1.4
• Recreation / Senior Centers
  per 20,000 Residents: 0.2
• Population density: 5.5 per acre

You can download Maps and tables here >> Access to Parks by Age and Income http://parkscore.tpl.org/ReportImages/Mesa_AZ.pdf

VIEW FULL RANKING ANALYSIS HERE
Using mapping technology and demographic data, we determined how well each city is meeting the need for parks.
You can learn more with in-depth city profiles …
… or compare multiple cities.
We scored cities in three categories. Learn more about the ParkScore^® methodology.

OTHER RESOURCES AND LINKS


New tool: http://gis.mesaaz.gov/ParkFinder/

http://www.mesaaz.gov/things-to-do/parks-recreation-commercial-facilities/parks

http://www.mesaaz.gov/city-hall/office-of-management-budget/major-funds

Heads Up! City Council Study Session Tomorrow > Big Buck$ + A Tax increase

Public Safety and Higher Education Funding Recommendation
City Council Study Session May 19, 2016
City of Mesa
Meeting Agenda - Final





Mayor John Giles
Vice Mayor Dennis Kavanaugh - District 3
Councilmember Dave Richins - District 1
Councilmember Alex Finter - District 2
Councilmember Chris Glover - District 4
Councilmember David Luna - District 5
Councilmember Kevin Thompson - District 6
7:30 AMCouncil Chambers - Lower Level
Roll Call (Members of the Mesa City Council will attend either in person or by telephone conference call)

1 Presentations/Action Items:
16-0575 Hear a presentation, discuss and provide direction on funding options including sales taxes for the following:
1.  Public safety staffing and equipment needs, and the associated costs
2.  Higher education projects and the associated costs
1-a
16-0593 Information pertaining to the current Job Order Contracting projects.2
3 Hear reports on meetings and/or conferences attended.
4 Scheduling of meetings and general information.

5 Convene an Executive Session.
 
ES-003-16 Discussion or consultation for legal advice with the City Attorney. (A.R.S. §38-431.03A (3)) 
Discussion or consultation with designated representatives of the City in order to consider the City’s position and instruct the City’s representatives regarding negotiations for the purchase, sale, or lease of real property. (A.R.S. §38-431.03A (7)) 
Discussion or consultation with the City Attorney in order to consider the City’s position and instruct the City Attorney regarding the City’s position regarding contracts that are the subject of negotiations, in pending or contemplated litigation or in settlement discussions conducted in order to avoid or resolve litigation. (A.R.S. §38-431.03A(4))
  
1. Intergovernmental Agreement with Arizona State University for a Mesa campus on City-owned property.

Higher Education Projects
Phase 1
 •ASU Buildings $68.2 to 78.9 million
•Civic Plaza $20 to $25 million
•Parking $10 to $12 million
•Benedictine Buildout $6 to $7.5 million
•Off Site Improvements $4 million
Total $108.2 to $127.4 million
Phase 2
Building C Total Area:     60,000 square feet No. of Floors: 4 –New Construction
Building D Total Area:     18,800 square feet No. of Floors: 2 –Existing IT Bldg.
Total Estimated Cost $32 million

Next Steps
•May 26, 2016 -Council Action on Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA)
•June 8-10, 2016 –Arizona Board of Regents Action on IGA
•June 20, 2016 –Council Call for E

Yes, A Charming Town > What's Missing? Clue = PEOPLE

Mostly MainStreet Images: People Seen: Mimes@MAC, teens on the sidewalk, lunch@ Margarita's

PICTURES ARE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
 Upper Left-hand Corner: Mesa Tribune Headline: TRUTH

An Important Part of A Downtown Vision = People

re·vi·tal·ize

verb: A verb is used to signify the performance of an action. 
Every verb needs a noun to perform its action.

One noun and one verb are the minimum needed to make a complete sentence—for example:

• People left.
• Committees plan.
• Sidewalks wait.

verb: revitalize; 3rd person present: revitalizes; past tense: revitalized; past participle: revitalized; gerund or present participle: revitalizing; verb: revitalise; 3rd person present: revitalises; past tense: revitalised; past participle: revitalised; gerund or present participle: revitalising

imbue (something) with new life and vitality

"a package of investments to revitalize the economy"

synonyms

:

reinvigorate, re-energize, boost, regenerate, revive, revivify, rejuvenate, reanimate, resuscitate, refresh, stimulate,   breathe new life into: LIKE THIS WITH PEOPLE  . . . Light Rail, no cars, green zone, people on the streets, activities, mid-rise buildings with vertical gardens, water-harvesting, urban gardens, solar roof panels: THAT'S A VISION for The New Downtown Mesa

Q2 2015 Economic Development Report

The City of Mesa Office of Economic Development has just released an eight-page quarterly newsletter for Q2 of this year.

Some of the investment and expansion initiatives highlighted in the report are:  
See the whole newsletter after clicking on Read More

+ Morphing of vacant-in-2014 retail giant Macy's Fiesta Mall location into an office center for 1,300 employees to be developed by Verde Fiesta I LLC. It didn't take long for the city to plan and to regenerate a vacancy that was ripe for development - and find a developer .Construction of the remodel is scheduled to begin in Fall 2015.
Old shopping malls are regenerated into corporate campuses.

+ A $25 million dollar manufacturing expansion is planned at one of two AeroTropolis inside

the Mesa Micropolitan Area at the Mesa Falcon Field Economic Activity Area (FFEAA). The company, SDI, manufacturer of initiators used in the production of airbag inflators, broke ground last month on a 64,000 sq. ft. expansion of its facilities and acquired an additional 19.6 acres adjacent to its existing facility - Anybody else curious for what developments those extra 19.6 acres will be dedicated to??

An old World War II-era training site is regenerated into an AeroTropolis as an economic engine. Mesa has not just one but two!  EXCELLENCE IN AEROSPACE Click on Plaque

AEROTROPOLIS: 
"One of the ten ideas that will change the world "
                                             -Time Magazine 2011  


According to what's said on this 2008 plaque mounted on the City Hall Plaza Heritage Wall, in 2011 over 100 companies adjacent to Mesa's two "airports" employed more than 10,000 high valued jobs.  Now, just four years later, the two Aerotropolis in Mesa are propelling the growth of more than just jobs . . . stay tuned-in for a look at a report here on MesaZona blog