Following the recent debate surrounding the Belmont Bridge, a discussion was held at The Bridge, Progressive Arts Initiative last week to talk about the future of downtown, reports Charlottesville Tomorrow.

“A community is a place where you encounter differences, and the place tends to socialize you,” said Maurice Cox, former city mayor and University of Virginia professor. “Charlottesville is very fortunate to have a downtown, a former main street, that became an even stronger place for people to encounter each other — the Downtown Mall.”

City Councilor Kathy Galvin talked about the “ecology” of a place, Holly Edwards said we need ways to “make different social classes, economic classes, feel welcome” downtown, and school board member Colette Blount said that downtown was not a success in terms of diversity and a variety of perspectives from the community.

Architecture Infrastructure