209 business Journal March 2018

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k e e p i n g

BUSINESS JOURNAL

b u s i n e s s e s

c o n n e c t e d ™

MARCH 2018

VOLUME 3 ■ ISSUE 3

NEWS

BRING IN THE FUN

Livingston Community Health Clinic Manager Yamilet Valladolid will be the next speaker in MJC’s Positive People Speaker Series on March 22. PAGE 7

NEWS

Great Wolf resorts cleared another hurdle to setting up shop in Manteca with a vote from the city’s Planning Commission. PAGE 8

DoMo Partnership hopes to see more whimsy BY SABRA STAFFORD

T

209 Business Journal

here are some basic services a city should provide for its residents and visitors, like functionality and safety. And while some needs, like fixing a pothole, definitely has a place in that functionality, so should the concept of fun. At least that’s the case in the opinion of Peter Kageyama. Kageyama is the author of “For the Love of Cities: The Love Affair Between People and Their Places” and the follow-up “Love Where You Live: Creating Emotionally Engaging Places.” Ha also was the keynote speaker at the second annual State of Downtown Modesto presentation given on March 1 at the Gallo Center for the Arts by the Downtown Modesto Partnership. Kageyama is a community development consultant who puts the focus on grassroot engagement and actions, rather than relying on city and county government. He is a TED Talks alumnus and a senior fellow with the Alliance for Innovation, a nationwide organization of city leaders working to improve local government practices related to development. His presentation in Modesto primarily focused on how other cities have incorporated fun into their community development and what that is an important concept. “When you ask where is the fun, you change the dynamic in the

room,” Kageyama said. “When have you ever seen fun stated as a project goal?” One example Kageyama provided on how a city brought in some fun was of Boston and how they turned a three-acre space next to a convention center into an adult playground. They brought in big Adirondack chairs, large swings, wine and beer tastings, yoga and Zumba classes and games like a giant Jenga. Within a short amount of time the park had become a popular attraction and helped book more conventions at the center, Kageyama said. “This is a small thing, but it has an outsized impact on how people feel about their city,” Kageyama said. Fun doesn’t always have to be about games or activities. It can also be a touch of whimsy or wonder, like the musical-themed crosswalks in front of the Gallo Arts Center, or the artistic creations on some of the utility boxes around downtown Modesto. Those are examples of what Kageyama calls “love notes” between a city and its residents. A great example of “love notes” was done by a young man in Greenville, South Carolina, said Kageyama. For $1,200 he made several bronze sculptures of cute little mice and gave them permanent homes around downtown. The art project not only brought SEE DOMO, PAGE 10

CANDY PADILLA/209 BUSINESS JOURNAL

Things like the musical-themed crosswalk and the painted utility boxes in downtown Modesto are examples of “love notes” that DoMo Partnership hopes to see more of in the area.


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