Just Mesa'n around…

There are several groups of business and civic leaders coming to town these days to check out San Diego. The word is out that our city is where it’s at. Many have 48 hours or less to understand San Diego’s major economic drivers and get a feel for the city’s culture. So in a town as cool as ours, where do they visit? Two places: downtown and the Mesa.

Over the past few days, MetroLab Network has been in town learning about our awesomeness. MetroLab is a group of 34 city-university partnerships focused on bringing big data, analytics, and innovation to city governments. I spoke with men and women from all over our nation who are involved in helping shape their own city’s infrastructure, public services, and environmental sustainability. While taking a tour Monday of East Village’s creative district I got to meet members from Minneapolis, Kansas City, Detroit… Members were blown away by this new part of town, with a walk past our ballpark and stops in front of the new building going up in the I.D.E.A. district, Fab Lab, and Moniker. Now this is a hip co-working space. When did downtown, East Village in particular, get so cool?

We followed the red trolley right to the front of the New School of Architecture for a fantastic presentation. Their new president, the very chic, cultured, and sincere Marvin Malecha pointed out that the “Real American Dream is to be entrepreneurial… to be innovative and to create and do something new.” YES! America is the land of opportunity and San Diego is the land of opportunity for startups. Malecha talked about the role his school plays in shaping the city. “Architecture serves that purpose. It creates the spaces for people to live, work, create.” Ultimately, it creates the spaces that drive innovation. And these days, people want to live in an urban area, with walkability, art, food, culture.

Malecha also explained our downtown’s reverse culture. People live downtown. Now we need to bring jobs downtown. “It’s a good problem to have.” Public transportation was also a hot topic. Malecha, like many others, including myself, who have lived abroad, recognize and understand the need for public transit to create a vibrant city. He so humbly stressed that we need to bring “dignity back to public transport as well.” Mass transit in cities around the world is not a symbol of the great class divide. I spent countless hours on the metro in Madrid, riding with all members of society. The new president concludes, “A city that commits to transportation is committing to the life of the city.” Amen. Can we get him up here on the Mesa?

And that’s just where the network headed Tuesday, up to the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, our Mesa’s first ever "collaboratory." There were presentations in the Roth Auditorium from the different city members and several breakout sessions. It was inspiring to see how engaged the groups were, sharing their own stories and working together to find solutions and come up with action items. Cruising around on the ocean view terrace I spotted Ramesh Rao, director of the Qualcomm Institute, in deep discussions with other city network members, former Governor Martin O’Malley and Vice Chancellor Sandra Brown, sharing their knowledge and experience. It will be very exciting to see what ideas have been shared and implemented in participating cities around our nation. You can check out some of the projects now. Got a great idea? Come sit by me at the Social Club, we’ve always got a great crowd that loves to brainstorm and would love to connect you with the MetroLab Network and UC San Diego.

 

Upcoming events on the Mesa (I'll be at the fun table…)

• Noon at Dusk, a new Chamber Opera by Stephen Lewis
  “Experimental Theater.” Hmmm. I believe that's what they coined the last opera I attended at the Conrad Prebys Music Center, Cuatro Corridos. It will be interesting to take another stab at “Experimental Theater” next week as UCSD’s Department of Music premieres their chamber opera, Noon at Dusk. Always good to try new things and expand those horizons. Will it get under our skin like Cuatro Corridos, pushing us to places we feel uncomfortable to confront? Let’s see where Noon at Dusk takes us this time. The storyline explores “the difficulties many couples face when juggling career aspirations and love.” Oh man, can I write a verse or two? An opera about love… and heartache? There’s got to be a pretty melodic song in this one, right? Will report back soon on UCSD’s latest creation.
  May 13 and 14, 7 p.m., Conrad Prebys Music Center
• Innovation Night at La Jolla Playhouse
  Last year’s host was the one and only J. Craig Venter. How do you top that? You bring in another local superstar, one Jay Flately, CEO of Illumina. (Oh man, I’ve got visions of Michael Flatley’s “Lord of the Dance.” Perhaps a few snake oil concoctions at this year’s LJP shindig will get San Diego’s Flatley dancin’ the jig.) Innovation Night is the perfect opportunity to mix business with pleasure. The reception allows one to make those key business connections and learn about the latest in technology, all the while sipping on a martini. The crowd then heads to the theatre to catch the world premiere play Hollywood, written by Joe DiPietro and directed by LJP’s very own Artistic Director Christopher Ashley. This is one event on the Mesa worth the ticket price. See you on the red carpet.
  May 17, 5 p.m., La Jolla Playhouse
• Smart Cities San Diego: How Smart Are We?
  We’ve already been coined a smart city by our nation’s president. So what comes next? Achieving global smart city status. San Diego, we got this. If I had a dollar for every event I go to these days that's focused on urban planning. Business and civic leaders are definitely buzzing about our unique opportunity to shape the future of San Diego, a city with so much growth potential and still undefined. Our pledge to incorporate cutting edge technology into our planning and operations is definitely at the forefront. Cleantech’s event will host a conversation about San Diego's “energy IQ.” Bet you will be blown away by San Diego’s plans. You might also be quite surprised to learn what we’ve already been doing. Guarantee you will walk away proud.
  May 18, 8-11 a.m., The Alexandria at Torrey Pines

Tags: Blogs, Life on the Mesa