Open Space Technology is a simple, effective way of bringing people together to get important things done. Several people who trained in the practice of Open Space Technology meet on the third Tuesday of each month.
If you would like to find out more about Open Space, you are cordially invited to join us on March 16th at 6:00pm in the Belle Community Center which is located at 104 Maryland Street.
This is a Public presentation of the results of the RIT Design studio on the Broadway Market!
One of the first open space meetings was conducted on the Broadway Market at the Matt Urban Center.
Date/Time/Location:
Broadway Market
999 Broadway
Buffalo, New York
February 17, 2010
3:00 pm
RSVP:
http://tinyurl.com/broadwaymarket2010
Questions
broadwaymarketstudio@gmail.com
WHEN: 11:30 AM. August 11, 2009
WHERE: 78 Pearl Street
WHO: Mayor Brown
Commissioner Reilly
Earl Ketry of Pearl St. Grill and Brewery
Rocco Termini
Julie Padak
WHAT: Mayor Brown will personally thank Earl Ketry of Pearl St. Grill and Brewery for improving the area surrounding his business in Downtown Buffalo.
With help from the City, Ketry has planted trees, cleaned city property, and installed meters on Seneca Street.
Mr. Ketry’s upcoming waterfront planning meeting (scheduled from 6-9pm on August 12th) will also be discussed.
In two evening sessions this week, about 50 people gathered at the Matt Urban Center, just down the street from the Broadway Market, to discuss the future of the building, the businesses and the community around the Market. Invitation posted here and working notes posted here.
One attendee, close to the Market, observed: “More participation and input from Broadway Market tenants than I can remember in the last decade.” A majority of tenants, and many members of the new Market Task Force group, attended the meeting. A good (re)start.
Starting with a clean slate, a big open wall, in the first hour or so, the group posted about 20 major issues and opportunities related to the future of the Market. They made some combinations and organized them into a two-evening, four-round, working agenda. Then they broke out into small working groups to address the first round of issues.
The notes from the working sessions will be posted here. The notes from the second night will be posted as well. And many ancillary and continuing conversations will no doubt be taking place outside of these meetings. If there are notes from those sessions, they can be posted here as well — as the conversations and the Market continue and expand. mailto:notes4posting@invitingbuffalo.com
Significantly, there was interest in using this “open space” format for neighborhood crime meetings and a city-wide art conference. Inviting possibilities.
UPDATE: Kristin Donnelly, WGRZ Channel 2, reporting on second night of the meeting:
Brian Meyer reporting in today’s Buffalo News, City & Region section:
When an East Amherst couple told friends they planned to buy a decaying Fillmore Avenue building and spend up to $90,000 turning it into their new home, they faced dumbfounded stares.
“A lot of people think we’re crazy,” said Paul V. Harris, a mechanical engineer at Praxair Inc.
He and his wife, Anna J. Harris, grew up Clarence.
“We’re dyed-in-the-wool suburbanites,” she said. “But I’ve always liked the idea of living in the city. I don’t mind living in nitty-gritty surroundings.”
Here are some reports posted elsewhere following last week’s open forum on the future of housing and neighborhoods in Buffalo.
“My question was answered. That’s the most important thing, my question was answered. (laughs all around) I met a lot of people with whom I hope to create working relationships and… this is the first time I’ve really enjoyed working with the City in a long time!”
Thanks to Belmont Shelter Corp. for hosting and for everyone who made the evening a success with their passion, participation, and practical ideas.