Rose: Why great ideas for Scottsdale can come from far away
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Eye of the Beholder
Running from Tempe Town Lake all the way to the northern reaches of the city it was and is Scottsdale at its most innovative, and best. Few recreational amenities in the state and country can compare, if only we would allow ourselves to think of it more that way.”
Some people are homebodies. Some are wanderlusters. I fall into the latter category. It is through travel that we satisfy curiosities, generate new ones, and, when done right, intellectually voyage too.
So it happened just days ago in La Paz, Mexico. Two hours north of the far more famous Cabo San Lucas, La Paz and its Sea of Cortez is where and what deep-sea denizen Jacques Cousteau described as “the world’s aquarium.”
We, like most, went for the underwater discoveries. But it was a surprise above ground that serves as the reason for writing about Scottsdale now.
Amongst its McDowell Sonoran Preserve, bustling Entertainment District, world-class golf courses, resorts, mega-events, and thriving employment corridors something often gets overlooked and underappreciated: the Indian Bend Wash. The “Greenbelt.”
Running from Tempe Town Lake all the way to the northern reaches of the city it was and is Scottsdale at its most innovative, and best. Few recreational amenities in the state and country can compare, if only we would allow ourselves to think of it more that way.
These days it almost serves as an afterthought, nor longer a prophet in its own land. That’s a shame. How the Greenbelt came to be is one of the great municipal planning successes in America.
How it is today should be a primary point of emphasis for tourism and city leaders. Small steps have been taken. Some projects of late have wisely emphasized it. But more, far more, should and needs to be done.
And that brings me back to my recent trip to La Paz. There its “Malecon” runs the length of much of its oceanfront.
There, this boardwalk for the people not just the privileged animates the setting. It is inspiration for how a city devoted to the arts like Scottsdale can do more with its Greenbelt. Because the Malecon isn’t just a continuous path of asphalt. Every quarter mile or so notable, whimsical and Instagrammable public art activates space for joggers, walkers, tourists, families and photos.
Besides the ocean, it’s the first thing you often hear people say to check out in La Paz.
With the Center for the Arts undergoing an important and impressive overhaul thanks to the 2019 passage of the city’s bond and infrastructure package, the Greenbelt could be the next canvas on which Scottsdale deploys its paintbrush.
Art and the Indian Bend Wash.
It could be Scottsdale’s next big thing, if only we could see it. Or be inspired to do so by a Mexican beach town 1,500 miles to our south.
Editor’s note: Rose is the founder and president of Rose+Allyn Public & Online Relations, a Scottsdale-based communications company specializing in public relations, public affairs, crisis communications, political consulting and events celebrating its 25th Anniversary.
