Richmond Free WiFi Blog

I just got back from attending the Richmond Downtown Master Plan Charrette which is being held throughout the week at Plant Zero. More info on the Buttermilk & Molasses blog site.

Looks like the city is taking this seriously as it has hired some top-notch professionals and is making a sincere effort to heavily involve the public and citizens.

I’m particularly interested in this process as some of the stats I’ve learned tonight have confirmed my idea that Richmond, specifically the downtown area, is heavily attracting young singles and couples (roughly 52%) followed by “baby boomer” and empty nesters (roughly 32%) with families with younger children to teenagers rounding out the percentages.

The presentation showed a picture of young singles and couples (actually two pictures) sitting on their front porch stoop, working with a laptop. This definitely gives me the inspiration to continue to market Richmond Free Wireless as I believe this demographical group would appreciate, use and help spread the word about this project, particularly with their landlords and home owner associations.

I’m hoping to attend tomorrow’s sessions for a bit where they’ll break out into small groups and start making notes of the public’s ideas and suggestions. I’m planning on mentioning the city’s benefit for a regional wireless freenet and how it could entice young professionals such as, for example, having the ability to check email and/or read the news while sitting alongside the Canal Walk.

Photo courtesy of the Richmond Metropolitan Business League

On Thursday, the large group will wrap up and make their presentations.

Sounds like an exciting week for Richmond planning efforts!

This entry was posted on Friday, July 20th, 2007 at 8:18 pm and is filed under Marketing Efforts.