Who knew that a single letter to the editor could start a movement?

With one letter to Town Topics, Bob Geddes did just that, opening up the discussion about the future of Princeton's downtown and galvanizing hundreds of citizens into participating in public dialogue. Bob suggested in that letter that as long as the Borough was going to build a garage, it ought to think about the larger possibilities for the downtown. Why not build a park, for example, and call it Madison Square? (Or, as I prefer to think of it, Madison Garden Square.)

The reaction was enormous and positive. Several volunteer groups were formed at the start: a financial consulting group, a professional group of planners, architects, and landscape architects, a downtown business group, several formidable advisors like Bob Goheen and Barbara Blumenthal and Sheldon Sturges, as well as representation from the University.

Two of the board members of the Sandra Starr Foundation, Elyse Pivnick and Louise Schiller, suggested a Neighborhood Task Force, which grew to involve nearly four hundred citizens meeting in s mall groups in homes around town. These discussions generated a list of more ideas for the downtown. And that was only the beginning!

Hundreds of people came to Frist Center last year, divided into small groups meeting on Sunday afternoons, and commented on architectural and landscape schemes. Sessions began with a talk by Bob and his colleagues on the critical issues for each area. The Princeton Future Neighborhood Task Force volunteers mounted a display and solicited comments at Communiversity a year ago.

Bob and the rest of the design team defined "zones" downtown, each with its own history and its own set of goals. Neighbors met in church basements and living rooms to discuss what they wanted to see--and didn't want to see-in their backyards. During 2002 these groups have made presentations to Borough Council for public comment, and Saturday morning meetings are continuing in each downtown "zone." Volunteers continue to garner opinions and ideas about physical change to the downtown.

Just recently the old library was torn down to make way way for a new library, and plans have moved forward on the design of the garage. Now that the library has been demolished, we can see the great space-and great opportunity-that Bob has helped the entire community re-imagine.

Bob has earned this award not only because of his creative ideas, but also because of his role in bringing so many citizens together to think about the design and development of our downtown. Some critics have said democratic planning was impossible. But here it is at work. In giving the Margen Penick Award to Bob Geddes, we are delighted to honor someone who has not only done the right thing, but done it the right way.