Downtown Alliance launches community visioning series

A new interactive community engagement series from Downtown Austin Alliance, conducted in partnership with KAZI 88.7 FM, is focused on creating “a community vision for the I-35 project through downtown Austin.” Called Our Future 35, the series of conversations with local leaders, national experts and artists is intended “to help build a coalition to advance community values and priorities for I-35 alongside TxDOT’s formal schematic design process that will launch this fall. While the two efforts are completely separate, coordination between the Downtown Alliance and TxDOT is taking place.” Dewitt Peart, president and chief executive officer of the Downtown Alliance, said in a news release announcing the project, “This series is a crucial step in helping our community heal and reverse damage from highways and policies that have long divided our city and deepened inequality. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come together as a city and community to transform I-35 into a valuable regional asset for generations to come, and this community input will be integral to the project’s success.” The next installment of the series, “Facing the Past to Co-Create Our Future,” is on Aug. 22, from 4-6 p.m. on KAZI 88.7 FM. Find more details on the series and the schedule for upcoming installments at OurFuture35.org.