Monday, August 24, 2015

Visualization of Data Will Shape The Future of Culture, Business + Politics

What you see is what you get > THE POWER OF NETWORKS

"This really shows the transition from hierarchical thought to networked thought. These thoughts will shape the future of culture, and redraw the power structure of our businesses and politics.

As the world becomes more networked, hierarchies will become obsolete (already happening) and so stifling that ever more people will seek to shedthem. . . . I look forward to the day that elected officials, monarchs, and oligarchs are nothing but vestigial limbs of ancient cultures - and we instead vote on ideas through networks which enable true democracy for the first time in history."
- Adam Martin on TEDTalk website link below

Clip from video

How does knowledge grow?
Sometimes it begins with one insight and grows into many branches; other times it grows as a complex and interconnected network.
Infographics expert Manuel Lima explores the 1000-year history of mapping data - from languages to dynasties - using trees and networks of information. It's a fascinating history of visualizations and a look into humanity's urge to map what we know.

Manuel Lima

Data visualization researcher

Manuel Lima studies how information can be organized — into elegant and beautiful diagrams that illustrate the many unexpected twists of big data. Full bio
Link to TEDTalk video can be found below: Watch It!
http://www.ted.com/talks/manuel_lima_a_visual_history_of_human_knowledge

Lima begins with a brief survey of how systems have been represented throughout time. Going as far back as early depictions of the tree of life as knowledge systems to early diagrams of hierarchies and lineages, Lima proves that visualization of connected information and knowledge and ideas is not exclusive to modern times. But soon, Visual Complexity becomes a collage of images that are both high-design and data-rich. Most importantly, Lima's curation and narrative demonstrate that by presenting relational data in innovative formats, completely new relationships and insights into the information become available to us...not to mention that the results are often distinct works of art in themselves. Lima finishes the book by reflecting on how we see the world through data, how our relationship with data will change in the future (cybernetics for example) and, more importantly, how data visualization can be used to solve some of the pressing challenges facing our planet by engaging audiences in completely new and compelling ways.

One thing is for sure...data geeks will not be able to let this book out of their hands. They will take this book with them everywhere....to coffee shops, on camping trips, to the bathroom. And yes, they will sleep with it under their pillow.
from a review of "Visual Complexity" http://www.future-ish.com/2011/12/visual-complexity.html

Saturday, August 22, 2015

NOW IN SERVICE: Valley Metro Light Rail Central Mesa Extension > Open Today 22 August 2015

Image courtesy from Valley Metro Public Information & Communications Office

OPENING WITH A RARE SITING OF GLITTER IN THE NEW URBAN DOWNTOWN MESA

Here's a link to Valley Metro Press Release today http://www.valleymetro.org/pressreleases/detail/valley-metro-rail-mesa-open-new-extension

This extracted from NextCity: Mesa Mayor John Giles, addressing the crowd gathered in front of the Mesa Community Arts Center for the formal ribbon-cutting, called the opening “one of the biggest and best days in the history of Mesa” and predicted that the LRT line would transform the city center into a “great living room” ? that would draw visitors from all over metro Phoenix.

Your MesaZona blogger doesn't get the reference to Disneyland in some reportings, but here we go again: The opening had more than a touch of Disney about it: Giles and other Mesa officials formally opened the ceremonial train by pressing a large “magic” button that opened the train doors while showering the crowd with glittering confetti, and the news story described “lines that rivaled Disneyland attractions” forming at each of the new extension’s three stations.

https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/mesa-light-rail-london-victoria-upgrade

Yes it was hot at 8 o'clock in the morning . . . here's a change-up for visuals on the make-over On/Off Main Street

Pictures in a mosaic with the sites on Main Street in and around the opening ceremony.
PLEASE NOTE: image in top left center: green bikes for rent on Main Street?

Opening Ceremonies: too many speeches for this blogger even in the cool zone mist.
[altho the early morning "fog" was a very welcome comfort]

Panoramic view of the turnout for opening with "The Cone" at center middle ground.

No doubt a sight you won't see in mainstream media, but readers of this blog might recognize residents of Mesa Royale who kept the focus on the human cost of redevelopment.

After Six:
MAIN STREET
Night Market

Thursday, August 20, 2015

More Main Street Make-Over > A Work-in-Progress [Just Add People]

Happy to see DDG design lab open again after a short summer vacation and even William Barhart's horses on SWC of Main & Center Street are getting in the mood . . . Check out second row @ far right dude's really in the mood! Images of more color along the shaded verandas and those Valley Metro People - some of my favorite - put art on the move. Yeah!

[Click on or touch to enlarge image and view on a different screen]

Muralist Lauren Lee gets a hydraulic lift applying oil to the wall

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Money Mag: Mesa = Best Big City in The Southwest

THE 5 BEST BIG CITIES Ian Salisbury @salisburyian

In addition to the usual list of top towns, Time Inc-owned Money Magazine this year crunched the numbers on urban centers with more than 300,000 residents—63 in alll. Mesa has 461,000.

Phoenix New Times has this to say: "This population requirement quickly rules out the majority of Arizona's 91 cities and towns, including Tempe, Gilbert, Glendale, Chandler, and even Scottsdale, . . . Speaking of people, here are a few associated with Mesa who are all too familiar to locals: Russell Pearce (the recalled ex-state Senate President who thought it would be cool to forcibly sterilize women on Medicaid), Ryan Giroux (the white supremacist who shot six people in Mesa last year), and Travis Alexander (the man Jodi Arias murdered in his Mesa home) . . . "

As with their Best Places list, big city rankings put a premium on a robust job market, affordable housing, and factors such as accessibility to health care, culture, and open space. they also gave extra points to places with low crime and strong public schools [or strong compared to Arizona standards]

Here's the news put out by the Newsroom for the City of Mesa yesterday:
Mesa ranked Best Big City in the Southwest
Post Date:08/18/2015 3:04 PMAccording to the press release, City Manager Chris Brady had this to say "“For those of us that have chosen to make Mesa our home, these rankings come as no surprise . . . However, it is always gratifying to receive third party endorsements and acknowledgement.”
Mayor John Giles was quoted as saying: “I agree, Mesa is the best big city in the Southwest and we are only getting better,” . . . Mesa is a great place to live and raise a family. Mesa Arts Center and our Parks and Recreation Department are national leaders while Apple, Inc. and the new light rail extension make our city attractive to the millennial workforce.”

Go to link >> http://www.mesaaz.gov/Home/Components/News/News/422/

Here's what Phoenix New Times had to say about that on Monday 24 Aug:

NO, MESA ISN'T THE SOUTHWEST'S BEST BIG CITY

Readers of this blog will note that affordable, transit-oriented and form-based zoning projects were the subject of a previous post back in March, as well as other posts on investment, smart growth, arts/culture, and creative place making on July 7, and August 1, 5 and 6.

Your MesaZona blogger isn't going to nit-pick over details and sources of stats or quibble with shortcoming - let's just call it some welcome good news that comes with other good news posted on this site.

Yours truly did want to get back to some 411 from last year with the source and a link to the article in the middle of the excerpt:

"Hands down, Mesa, Arizona, is the most conservative city in America, one of the last great holdouts in conservatism among American big cities, and life there is pretty good."

"Across the nation, conservative Republican cities are often beating Democrats at their own big-city game, finding innovative ways of funding public development projects and creating great places to live."

http://www.newsmax.com/US/Mesa-conservative-Republican-cities/2014/09/18/id/595529/

Mesa is on a growth trend, according to the Weekly Standard's Ethan Epstein, who writes of Mesa and other conservative-leaning cities:
"Across the country, Republican cities are building new infrastructure and even embracing trendy liberal ideas like NEW URBANISM all while managing to keep costs in line and municipal workforces small and cost-effective," Epstein said.

And while the big cities that have been run by Democrats, such as Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles, are having major money problems, "America's conservative cities are showing that there's another way."

Boasting a new Arts Center, the largest in Arizona; a light rail system connecting Mesa to Phoenix and Tempe; a new Chicago Cubs spring training center, and new parks and improvements to its downtown area, Mesa has avoided heavy debt by paying for these projects not with classic Democratic property tax increases as the city has no primary property tax.
Rather, the improvements are being paid with project-specific bond issues — $100 million in 1998 for the Arts Center, $170 million for infrastructure repairs, $70 million for parks, and $130 million for public safety and streets.
These measures leave Mesa with an enviable Aa2 credit rating from Moody's. The city had only a $1.5 billion debt, that's now increased times with the last voter-approved bond issue.
Mesa City Council members work part-time, making about half the salaries Fresno or Phoenix city council members make.
City Councilman Dave Richins told Politico, "People are OK with investing in their communities. . . They trust tangible results.
We look to the voters to say what they would like to see done in the city."
"Across the country, innovative mayors are showing that Republicans can govern urban areas effectively and innovatively — and indeed, that oftentimes they can execute traditionally 'liberal' policies with greater discipline and efficacy than Democratic-run cities can manage," Epstein wrote.

http://time.com/money/3996659/best-places-outdoor-lovers-2015/

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

FIESTA MEXICANA DE BEISBOL: AQUI EN SEPTIEMBRE

Promoting Bi-National Sports Tourism between Mexico and Arizona

4th ANNUAL MEXICAN BASEBALL FIESTA
RETURNS TO THE VALLEY
WITH A NEW HOME AND A TITLE SPONSOR
“Mesa has a rich baseball history and an even richer Latino history and today we celebrate this combination in our city with the announcement of this event,” said Visit Mesa President and CEO Marc Garcia. “The Mexican Baseball Fiesta celebrates so much more than the talent of these incredible professional athletes. This event will truly be a cultural showcase as we welcome the players, friends and families, and the visitors that come to watch the action both on the field and off.”

The Mexican Winter Baseball League’s version of “Spring Training” will come to the valley with our new home in Mesa at Sloan Park.
Tickets to the general public go on sale in early September online. Ticket prices are box seats - $15 and general admission - $8.
Fans will be able to purchase tickets at www.MexicanBaseballFiesta.com, Restaurant Sinaloa, 2601 E. Bell Road in Phoenix, or at Sloan Park the week of the games. Fan giveaways and other activities are planned.

On September 18 & 19 two of the top teams from the Liga Mexicana del Pacifico, Los Naranjeros de Hermosillo and Águilas de Mexicali, will play two “Spring Training” games.
Mike Feder, President of the Mexican Baseball Fiesta, said “We are extremely excited to announce the move to the Cubs tremendous new Spring Training facility in Mesa, AND introduce our new Title Sponsor - Visit Mesa”.

"The Mexican Baseball Fiesta is a rare opportunity for baseball fans in the U.S. to experience authentic Mexican baseball games, which feature a festive atmosphere including live music and authentic regional Mexican cuisine.
The Mexican Baseball Fiesta is not just a baseball game; it's a party,” said Feder. "It’s quite an experience. The pitcher is warming up, ready to pitch and the music is still playing. It's the way it's done in Mexico. Mascots are on the field for most of the game”.

For Immediate Release August 13, 2015
Contact: Mike Feder (520) 954-8803
mike@mexicanbaseballfiesta.com
http://www.mexicanbaseballfiesta.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/4th-Annual-Mexican-Baseball-Fiesta-Returns-to-the-Valley-Press-Release.pdf

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Signs of the Times: Light Rail + Arts/Culture + Real Estate

Feel like shouting the news like this downtown newsboy used to do way back when :

VALLEY METRO LIGHTRAIL ARRIVES DOWNTOWN ON SATURDAY AUGUST 22, 2015

Main Street has always been "transit-oriented" in one way or another starting with streets wide enough for a 12-mule team to turn around, horses and buggies, horse-less carriages called automobiles/cars that need parking spaces and parking lots and more roads, more highways and more freeways creating more toxic emissions and air pollution and now hi-tech no-emission light rail public transit soon to glide noiselessly in two directions on Main Street connecting en route with Tempe and Phoenix.
Find your reasons to go, get on and get off [be safe] . . . We're all connected and can get more connected.
Main Street is a free Wi-Fi Zone from Country Club Drive to Centennial Street and from First Street to First Avenue [information update thanks to reader comment noted below] . . . Next step is to get cars totally off Main Street [deliveries and convenient parking just behind the stores], convert Main Street into a pedestrian-friendly Central Park/Greenwayand and who knows how good it gets?

And don't forget the original natural way to transit: it's called walking.
That way you'll see Amy de Castillo's stencil jobs on the sidewalks #iheartMesa

Light rail operations and safety testing today, heading east from the Country Club/Main Station.
In the left background you can see the monumental public art work installation - it will look super-fantastic at night.

On a usual Sunday-of-rest with excessive high heat it wasn't understandably exactly a bee-hive of activity downtown. In between walking all-around, changing sweat-soaked shirts twice, hydration constantly and recharging a Li-Ion Nikon battery two times, a few images were uploaded and edited, a group made into a collage you can see to the left, with some individual images for emphasis.

The biggest - and you'll see why - change in the visual landscape was on the side of a pocket-park fronting the south side of Main Street next to The Bank of America Building on the SEC of Macdonald where an earlier historic building used to stand with the location marked with a small bronze plaque, The Noonan Building.[see plaque for information] - first post office and butcher shop on Main Street
You can see a whole series of these informational and directional way-finding markers all around town only if you walk - and they point you in the next direction to find the places and people that were engaged and active downtown.

Here's another one marking the location of Chandler Court - way ahead of its time as a pedestrian walk-in shop arcade but unfortunately the inner courtyard was filled in at some point in time.
The colonnades and veranda revived a territorial form of architecture frequent before Arizona became a state, to provide overhead shade, used here prominently along Main Street and in central historic Chandler.

... and what to wandering eyes appeared turning the corner onto Main Street on Sunday morning?
A bright visual surprise artwork-in-progress by Kyllan Maney on one of the filled-in archways - see what it looks like on Saturday.
According to Kyllan who's working with the Downtown Merchants Association in advance of the arrival of lightrail, this location will be one of a number of "selfie-stations" where people can do their social media thing, promote themselves and promote arts/culture.
Here's a link to Kyllan's website: kyllanmaney.com

That being said, and now having more familiarity with decades gone bye-bye, here's a work in progress now by muralist/fine artist Lauren Lee, whose design was selected from three submissions made for consideration and approval by a panel going through the usual official procedures.It was a chance encounter and a pleasure to talk with the artist and her assistant when work was just getting started. According to plans it will be finished just ahead of Saturday, August 22 when Light rail glides into downtown.Lauren started out in Mesa as a volunteer with the Summer Art Camp organized by Mesa Arts Center. You may have seen other of her on-site works at Republican Empanada or on the walls in the Mesa Urban Garden, a well as projects in Phoenix.

In the image to the left, readers of this blog can see the final design that will take days to finish, even with having to rent a hydraulic lift to get the project up on the wall before Saturday.

[Regular paper size in protective page cover]

Artist Lauren Lee in the image to the right from meeting and talking with her on Sunday with the mural just getting started.
You can see she's not shy about color.

Website: laurenleefineart.com

A subtle change in the color palette of the shaded verandas on a pathway from/to parking lots and Main Street. Colors added as part of downtown make-over to enhance the original work done in 1967 recorded on the accompanying bronze plaque.

Heading east on Main past Robson

Smile! ... hang on Humpty

Visual corridor to a blank wall looking south

. . . leading north into Main Street

Green anyone? on shaded verandas

Green like this? [almost looks like a linear park, huh?]

Follow these tracks and you run into the posterior of a dinosaur [Ooops!]

OK We have Light Rail, we have Art, and we have Real Estate, advertised for sale or for lease with signs like these in the visual landscape . . . and in the right center background we have one of Mesa's biggest attractions, The Arizona Museum of Natural History - it's quite an impressive vision to see it in this context, huh?

Hey! What about these cracked oiled-asphalt heat islands called "parking lots" ????

IN A GRID: SELECTION OF AVAILABLE COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES
All within one of two blocks of Valley Metro Light Rail Stations

Vacant Commercial Space On/Off Main Street: Available @ What Price?

Individual pictures with signs - if you want to look into the properties and call for more information, just click on or touch to open in an expanded window.