This isnt Auckland. By Joel Cayford Its Austin, Texas. Population much the same as Auckland. Not one of the 25 cities that Greg Clark listed in his recent Auckland Conversations talk about making Auckland more business friendly.... Austins current official slogan promotes Austin as The Live Music Capital of the World, a reference to the many musicians and live music venues within the area.... In recent years, some Austinites have also adopted the unofficial slogan Keep Austin Weird. This interpretation of the classic, Texas-style sense of independence refers to: the traditional and proudly eclectic, liberal lifestyles of many Austin residents; a desire to protect small, unique, local businesses from being overrun by large corporations; and as a reaction to the perceived rise of conservative influences within the community. In the late 1800s, Austin also became known as the City of the Violet Crown for the wintertime violet glow of color across the hills just after sunset. Even today, many Austin businesses use the term violet crown in their name. Austin is known as a clean air city for the citys stringent no-smoking ordinances that apply to all public places and buildings, including restaurants and bars. I wrote here about the recent Lorde concert at Silo Park, and quoted from the last part of Greg Clarks talk, which you wont find in his slide presentation. In that post I quoted Greg Clark along these lines: He told us that Auckland rated high for quality of life, outstanding natural environment, highly effective governance institutions. BUT that Auckland has patchy global appeal, ranks weak in presence and is weak in liveliness. In fact he used the word anonymous to describe Auckland. He advised that Auckland needed to find its DNA, to expose its soul, to discover its inbuilt pattern, and work with that - not against it..... Greg Clark went on to advise that part of Aucklands DNA was its maori and polynesian culture. What are we doing about making Maori culture centre-stage in Auckland? Theres been some talk, and were certainly big on vision statements, but I wonder whether the words: World Class and Most Liveable City (most liveable for who? - as I asked in this posting), are running counter to Aucklands DNA? Cont reading: joelcayford.blogspot/2014/02/keep-auckland-wierd.html
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 23:47:00 +0000
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