Dream City 2020

Amber Coté wrote an article for the Gazette on her ideal Dream City. The article was edited and changed a bit before publication, but here is the original article as she intended for it to run.

My Dream City2020
by Amber Coté

As everyone is aware, we are in the midst of great transformation, locally, nationally and globally. It certainly makes for an exhilarating time to write about my vision for this city in the year 2020! I was born and raised in Colorado Springs; leaving from time to time but always returning to see what adventures were still awaiting me here. When I returned the last time in 1995, the only adventure I found was in the wilderness or an hour north on I-25. Nonetheless, over the last decade or so, I have participated in and observed our fair city’s progression and expect it will only continue to get better. The wild is still at our back door but there is certainly a lot more “to do” right here where General Palmer’s vision is alive, flourishing and, no doubt, evolving.

When I think of what is possible in the next twelve years, I think of a new Great Society; emerging from LBJ’s 1965 agenda inspired by the notion that “equality for all” meant fair and consistent access to education, medical care (preventative and on-going), the arts and open space for all people. It meant developing or revitalizing depressed regions and urban renewal. It meant a concerted wide-scale fight against poverty.

I see many similarities in our current situation and from my purview it looks like fertile ground, from which the fodder for a thriving economically, socially and environmentally responsible community is grown.

I can see a city that is no longer bound by the hindrance of crippling tax restrictions, where the local municipality can adequately build and maintain infrastructure while keeping everyone safe and providing opportunities to prosper.

As the incoming executive director for FutureSelf, an organization whose mission is to invite transformation through the arts, I have the absolute honor and privilege of working with some of the most creative young minds in our community. These are people who come from a wide range of backgrounds often with remarkably difficult challenges, who think very much “outside the box.” Frequently, they are visual-spatial learners who do not necessarily fit into the mainstream, finding themselves disenfranchised and “on the fringe.” These extraordinary young people have profoundly compelling contributions to share with their community, but not necessarily the means to even see their talents, let alone know what to do with them once they do.

My Dream City is a place of belonging for these innovative thinkers. It is a city that sees the value in “right brain” qualities-inventiveness, empathy, emotional expression and synthesis, and by valuing these qualities it will then prioritize accordingly.

It will start by abolishing TABOR once and for all, opening up the possibility for a very small tax increase to fund arts and culture ventures for all our citizenry but particularly our kids. We will then have resources to create community arts centers that offer classes, performances, cultural exchanges and permanent studio space in every area of town, reaching all our urban and rural neighborhoods. When you provide these experiences where people live it strengthens their own communities and builds curiosity to explore art experiences outside their niche. These centers will also provide a place for young people to be when they’re not at home or in school, learning new ways to express themselves, making friends, mentoring and being mentored.

All children will receive access to a balance of top-rate, well-paid teachers, cutting edge technology; time outside to explore (forming a connection and commitment to nature and natural resources) and constant opportunities to play, imagine, create and express themselves from early childhood through their higher education careers.

We will provide job training and educational counseling for our youth, specific to the new era of “the creative class” and “the green economy,” combining artistic trades with environmental protection. We will yield a progressive generation of workers who create an awareness of ecological issues using the universal language of art as a catalyst for individuals, communities and leaders to focus on values that impact our natural resources, wilderness and animal life.

We will not only recover and expand our reputation as a city that values diversity, arts and culture; we will become known and sought after for our distinct way of infusing this everywhere! We will cultivate a local economy that supports and advances itself by keeping our dollars in the region, utilizing that robust market to encourage further entrepreneurial ventures through prudent risk-taking by people who want to contribute their unique artistic gifts to the community through performance, visual art, music, urban gardening, spiritual/religious practice and on and on.

This culturally rich atmosphere will draw more business to the region and expand our financial and human capital, ensuring an exceptional quality of life for all our citizens.

Essentially, this will be a city founded on the core value of respect- for ourselves, our kids and neighbors and the world we live in. We will prosper together by honoring our differences and strengthening our common ground. Through that powerful step forward, we will be redeemed from our once loathsome standing as the “Hate Capital of the Hate State,” to a beacon of safety, acceptance, wise progress and creative self-expression. Colorado Springs will be a place in which my child and the young people I work with, will always want to return to- to see what adventures still await them.

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