Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Teens Can Help Shape City’s Path

Debbie Polzin, Lewis & Clark

“I’m sick of Spokane. Besides having absolutely nothing to offer a 16 year old, no one seems to care what we think. I mean, adults are so out of touch with the issues that affect us. They don’t comprehend that transportation, good shopping, money and the environment are lacking significantly in this ghost town…

What? Spokane Horizons?

What’s that? With our air quality, Spokane’s horizons aren’t even distinguishable…”

OK, enough pushy satire. Please read the next line with no satirical interpretation: Spokane Horizons is a big group of big people with big ideas to make Spokane a big place. Before you pass this off as sweet talk, take a closer look at what people are actually doing.

Spokane Horizons has established 10 topics of interest to everyone, including teens. They are: land use, transportation (hmm, driving), city utilities and facilities (schools, parks, roads, water, kind of important stuff), urban design and historic preservation (downtown Seattle, meet Browne’s Addition), housing, natural environment (take a walk, skateboard, bike, sprint, car, scooter anywhere on the South Hill at about 5:30 p.m.), economic development (money!) and leadership, governance and citizenship.

Instead of making decisions in a dark, smoky, corporate office building, the idea is to let real Spokanites decide what needs fixing. Now in its second phase, the process has gathered the input into one complete report identifying issues that will be resolved by the same work groups in phase three: Solutions.

The beauty of the whole thing is that with the community-developed solutions, we will have a planned a citywide path of travel complete with alternatives that have come from the people themselves.

Spokane Horizons is asking teens to get involved in topic groups (listed above) to help create solutions to issues that affect all of us. Really, this is awesome.

Call 625-6597. xxxx