DAnelle plaza

A community engagement event

Academic │ Fall 2019 │E. Rocchi , J. Tsepal │Arizona State University

Located at the gateway between north and south Tempe, AZ, Danelle Plaza is one of the few lasting retail plazas in Tempe with a rich history and organically grown arts culture. The Plaza was constructed in 1963 and with its age, has needed maintenance attention and renovations. However, due to the complexity of store and land ownership, the plaza has not received the proper care and attention it deserved. This has caused a lack of space activation. Yet, the vibrant arts culture and buildings that hold the plaza’s history remain. There are a few small local businesses still located at the plaza that keep the community together.

This project’s objectives were to design a community engagement event that would; one, gather the opinions and values that the community members have concerning the plaza; two, raise awareness about the plaza to the greater public and city officials; three, bring the Danelle Plaza community closer together.

Approximately, 65 community members came to the event and shared with us their values and opinions that were written on these value boxes. The structure of the information gathering allowed the community member to anonymously and freely express themselves on a topic that was significant to them. We wanted this community engagement event to be different than others before. Therefore, this event was coupled with free food, live music, art displays, and craft tables.

During the Spring 2020 semester, we will continue to work with the Plaza community to act on the information gathered during the event.

“ I find green spaces to be growing importance in my life. As a child I was outside even more often than I am now. However the value of being outside and the access to green space is no less important. People everywhere connect to Nature in similar … — “ I find green spaces to be growing importance in my life. As a child I was outside even more often than I am now. However the value of being outside and the access to green space is no less important. People everywhere connect to Nature in similar ways. Let’s get Tempe to continue to improve green space accessibility and make people happy”

“We know history is so important in contributing to the culture and personality of any place at present. Architecture is part of that history, narrative, memories, appreciation and love. The future of Delle must carry the architectural history of th… — “We know history is so important in contributing to the culture and personality of any place at present. Architecture is part of that history, narrative, memories, appreciation and love. The future of Delle must carry the architectural history of the hill so that what has grown here so organically is not displaced, replaced and forgotten.”

“More events/performances utilizing the vast amount of space in the Danelle plaza. Having a large community focused space, that brings people together, will have a long lasting positive change in the city we live in.”