THE DOWNTOWN PLAN: A TALE OF TWO CITIES

It's not much of a secret that I wish the City of Richmond would get its act together when it comes to keeping residents informed -- and engaged -- about significant news and events. Sometimes, I even toss out solutions.

The city's work on a new Downtown Master Plan is one example. Compare the Downtown Master Plan site for Richmond (Virginia) to the General Plan site for Richmond (California). Which one completely sucks when it comes to answering questions, updating residents, soliciting input, educating the public and generating excitement?

If Rachel Flynn's office got on the ball first thing tomorrow and pulled in the right people (read: Maybe not city staff), they could have a reasonably good site up by end-of-business. They could have a kick-ass site up by the end-of-the-week. And they could ensure that the residents of Richmond not only stayed informed, but potentially stayed engaged in the future of our city.

Or we could settle for malaise. Whatever.

Comments

[Don Harrison]

I noticed that a few of the area's most talented web designers were participating in yesterday's Charrette. It wouldn't be hard for Dover, Kohl and the city to get a site going if they really wanted to. It doesn't have to be loaded with fancy stuff - just the facts and daily updates. I agree: the difference between this Richmond's public outreach and Richmond, CA's public outreach is quite striking. Embarrassing even.