Web site is forum on issues facing downtown Helena

Someone in the Big Apple has an eye on Helena’s walking mall.

Former Helena resident Jordan Anderson, now of Brooklyn, N.Y., created a Web site dedicated as an "open forum for the discussion of downtown Helena’s future."

By Jason Mohr – IR Staff Writer

http://helenair.com/articles/2004/02/20/helena/a12022004_03.txt

Anderson spent his first 14 years in Helena. He’s now pursuing a master’s degree in urban planning at New York University, so the fate of the walking mall is sort of an academic pursuit.

"The topic was really interesting," Anderson said Thursday. "I never knew a Last Chance Gulch without a walking mall."

The Web site isn’t an advocacy site, according to Anderson, but is meant "to encourage and facilitate discussion among people and organizations with defferent viewpoints and backgrounds."

Other than reading newspaper articles or attending public meetings it’s hard to find public information on the process, Anderson said.

The site features a photo gallery and past IR reports. Visitors can offer comments and exchange ideas with others.

The Web site is http://www.helena.placesproject.org.