TulsaNow Annual Meeting - Monday, 1/29

[perspicuity85]

quote:Originally posted by Hawkins
Is it anywhere near that hardware store where the clerk got beat to death? Or is it closer to the drive-by neighborhoods?

Hawkins, you are truly a diamond in the rough.  And I'm not being sarcastic.  You define perfectly my pupose for working on my Tulsa marketing tool.  You probably live in a suburban Tulsa neighborhood, where downtown is mostly thought to be synonymous with Transylvania. There are many people in Midtown Tulsa that don't believe you exist.  Read this:

http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5613

[USRufnex]

Gotta work Monday night...

love the sweet potato fries... only thing missing is a good "Irish Breakfast" on the menu...

Otherwise, the place is better than Ginger's Ale House in Chicago...

Two thumbs up.

***got paranoid when parking there once, thinking I couldn't possibly get a space this close to the front door... without it being illegal. [8D]

[Breadburner]

Upstairs is the smoking section.....

[PonderInc]

We're going to be in the meeting room upstairs.  We're hoping that by closing the door, we can avoid the smoke.

[TheArtist]

quote:Originally posted by perspicuity85

quote:Originally posted by Hawkins
Is it anywhere near that hardware store where the clerk got beat to death? Or is it closer to the drive-by neighborhoods?

Hawkins, you are truly a diamond in the rough.  And I'm not being sarcastic.  You define perfectly my pupose for working on my Tulsa marketing tool.  You probably live in a suburban Tulsa neighborhood, where downtown is mostly thought to be synonymous with Transylvania. There are many people in Midtown Tulsa that don't believe you exist.  Read this:

http://www.tulsanow.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5613

This Hawkins persons response does place the issue of people not knowing anything about downtown and mid-town front and fore.  I have said it many a time, even people who live in Tulsa have no idea about the great treasures in their own backyard.  I am willing to bet you that probably half my clients have never been to Philbrook for instance.  Many of them don't even know what it is. If Tulsa attractions can't even attract local people, or get the local people to know they exist, well thats just sad. Course the next question I may start asking those clients is, what is it they like to do?  Is it just me, but when I go to a different city one of the first things I look  to visit are the different museums, art museums, planetariums, aquariums, natural history museums, the historic areas, the best dining and shopping areas, etc.  Am I just odd that way?  But even if I did that here in Tulsa, would I be able to find brochures on these places here?  Perhaps this is something to bring up in the Tulsa Now meeting.

[Rico]

I'm sorry Arteest....  The posts made by Hawkins are far too pretentious to be taken seriously..

This is starting to read like a Metro Chamber Commercial..

Perhaps it is just the exposure to valley girls at a young age or something..

More importantly, I am not saying your idea is not Great... Just do not let this Hawkins person be the reason for it.

[perspicuity85]

quote:Originally posted by TheArtist
This Hawkins persons response does place the issue of people not knowing anything about downtown and mid-town front and fore.  I have said it many a time, even people who live in Tulsa have no idea about the great treasures in their own backyard.  I am willing to bet you that probably half my clients have never been to Philbrook for instance.  Many of them don't even know what it is. If Tulsa attractions can't even attract local people, or get the local people to know they exist, well thats just sad. Course the next question I may start asking those clients is, what is it they like to do?  Is it just me, but when I go to a different city one of the first things I look  to visit are the different museums, art museums, planetariums, aquariums, natural history museums, the historic areas, the best dining and shopping areas, etc.  Am I just odd that way?  But even if I did that here in Tulsa, would I be able to find brochures on these places here?  Perhaps this is something to bring up in the Tulsa Now meeting.

No, you are not odd, I think most people enjoy doing the same type of activities.  But now we must ask ourselves why thousands of our own citizens are so poorly educated about their "home city."  Tulsa set a self-fulfilling prophecy of mediocrity for itself that continues on many levels today.  So, what can we do about it?  First off, I think the Vision 2025 is probably the biggest step in the right direction we've ever had.  However, I think its obvious we still have a long way to go.  Most importantly, we need to get to the root of the problem, i.e. the general lack of knowledge about Tulsa.  Here are a couple of important questions that shed light on the situation:

a) Where do people that move to Tulsa live?
- Most likely, suburban areas.  South Tulsa, Jenks, Bixby, Owasso, Broken Arrow, etc.  These are the areas with the best public school systems, the most home construction, and usually low crime rates.  That being said, it would be in the best collective interest of small business owners and national franchisees in Downtown and Midtown to participate in a marketing campaign aimed at bringing in customers from suburban Tulsa.  Believe me I'm all for the loft projects in Downtown and Midtown, but they alone will not bring in enough people to support something like the East End, for example.

b) What is the opportunity cost to Tulsa of not marketing its unique cultural regions?

I think the answer to that is already clear to many people.  Just look at the regional surveys conducted recently that have been published in the Tulsa World.  Only about 8% of people (check me on the exact figure, but I'm pretty close) perceive Tulsa as a big city with skyscrapers and lots of culture, etc.  Why would the other 92% ever come to Tulsa?  Why don't any business leaders in Tulsa think it's necessary to market their products to the hundreds of thousands of people in the regional trade area?  Residents of NW Ark, Wichita, and Springfield would definitely come to Tulsa if they knew just a little bit more about the city.  I have friends in Fayetteville, AR that drove to Memphis to go to the same stores we have in Utica Sqare.  Wouldn't they rather drive 2 hours to Tulsa instead of 5 hours to Memphis?  The answer is yes, because I told them about Utica Square.

The local and regional market is in place for Tulsa to really take a giant leap forward.  Unrealized potential is the same thing as un-marketed potential.

[Hawkins]

Everyone here is very professional in their responses and I appreciate that.

I've been downtown several times... to the Schwab office, the Brady, and the building where business licenses are sold.

But each time I go I have to research how to get back to these places (except for the Schwab office).

I am directionally impaired to some extent, and I don't understand the downtown area or like trying to drive there, with one-way streets and stoplights every 40 feet or so.

Someone mentioned Philbrook. That sounds like a great place. But I have no idea where it is.

Been to the Oklahoma Aquarium and Riverwalk in Jenks several times, but anything towards Downtown/Sand Springs is a total jumble in my mind.

The times that I have been downtown have been pretty dissapointing. At the State offices, no one wants to be there, its just people that have to go there to pay fines or buy licenses, or those that have to work there.

At the Brady, it is SOOOooo run down and ancient. Yes it has history, but that's all its got, folks. Seating there is quite uncomfortable.

I was told by a construction worker once that some of the downtown buildings, when the walls are removed, are flooded with roaches from end over end. And I'm not just talking about the Towerview.

So that's what I've got in my head on the issue of downtown right now. Hope this helps you guys figure out how to promote it better, but I'm not a fan of it, and am one of 'those people' who are completely baffled at the fact that a multi-million $ stadium is being built there.

I would have built the stadium near 71st & Garnett, right off of 169, perhaps back there where the new Mathis Brothers development happened.

[perspicuity85]

^
Downtown has that impression on a lot of people, but there is so much more to it than that.  The principle reason for investing in downtown is to preserve that which is unique to Tulsa.  Just think what would have happened if no one had ever redeveloped large sections of cities like Baltimore, Portland, OR, or Washington, DC.  Their slums would have eventually extended over greater and greater geographic regions of the city, until property values plummeted.  The older regions of most cities are also the most historic regions.  Tulsa is certainly no exception, with the third highest concentration of art deco architecture in the US (behind NYC and Miami Beach).  The culture unique to Tulsa is found in its historic regions, which are not just downtown.  Brookside, Cherry St., Uptown, and the Utica district are all important historic districts within the Midtown area.  Within these areas, you will find many unique locally owned shops, restaurants, and bars, as well as some national chains that fit nicely too.

Areas like 71st and Memorial are ok, they offer many shopping and dining options, but there is nothing unique about them.  There is a 71st and Memorial in hundreds of metro areas throughout the US.  Areas like these are suburban landscapes, which mainly means they do not promote a lot of pedestrian activity.  Tulsa's unique identity is found in its urban landscapes, i.e. the regions I mentioned previously.  Urban Tulsa is what makes Tulsa Tulsa.

[RecycleMichael]

Awesome meeting!

I counted 58 people there, mostly due to the story by Michael Bates.

I saw Kiah, waterboy, sgizzle, pmcalk, ponderinc, the artist, carlton place, dshuttler, david arnett, rbryant, and jamie all there as well as many others.

I saw members of the city planning department, engineers, media people, downtown property owners, students, business people and a few assorted drunks all get together and brainstorm on what we can do as a city.

The updates on the comprehensive plan, form-based codes and the new public murals were good conversations. The public input section filled all three sheets of notes and the priorities of the group was very interesting.

Thanks to all who participated. It is exactly this kind of dialogue that will lead Tulsa to be a better place.

[waterboy]

quote:Originally posted by recyclemichael

Awesome meeting!

I counted 58 people there, mostly due to the story by Michael Bates.

I saw Kiah, waterboy, sgizzle, pmcalk, ponderinc, the artist, carlton place, dshuttler, david arnett, rbryant, and jamie all there as well as many others.

I saw members of the city planning department, engineers, media people, downtown property owners, students, business people and a few assorted drunks all get together and brainstorm on what we can do as a city.

The updates on the comprehensive plan, form-based codes and the new public murals were good conversations. The public input section filled all three sheets of notes and the priorities of the group was very interesting.

Thanks to all who participated. It is exactly this kind of dialogue that will lead Tulsa to be a better place.

I came late. No surprise there. I was surprised by the turnout and the good discussion for such a large group. The after meeting talks were even better.

[carltonplace]

Welcome to the forum Hawkins. Just wondering how long you've lived in Tulsa.

The folks on this forum are all hardcore Tulsans. Many of us are even a little obsessed. If you're curious about the city you live in, its history, cool things to do and unique things to see, just ask. These guys can give you a list as long as your arm.

[sgrizzle]

See here for more information about what came out of the meeting.

[RecycleMichael]

I also enjoyed all the conversations after the meeting. It was good to make new friends too.

Sometimes, it is all about relationships.

We should do it again and not make it an annual thing.

[TheArtist]

quote:Originally posted by carltonplace

Welcome to the forum Hawkins. Just wondering how long you've lived in Tulsa.

The folks on this forum are all hardcore Tulsans. Many of us are even a little obsessed. If you're curious about the city you live in, its history, cool things to do and unique things to see, just ask. These guys can give you a list as long as your arm.

Oooh now that sounds like an idea for a new Tulsa t-shirt.  "Hardcore Tulsan"[8D]