By Lisa Halverstadt
On the campaign trail, Mayor Bob Filner pledged to prioritize neighborhood and community needs over downtown development.
That message was also the backbone of Filner’s first State of the City address, an expansive speech that touched on both the city’s potential financial woes and Filner’s broad, ambitious agenda.
The word “neighborhood” appeared nearly a dozen times in the prepared version of Filner’s speech; “community” appeared 15 times.
We turned Filner’s more than 4,000-word speech into a word cloud to visualize the areas he emphasized most. The larger the word is in the graphic, the more often the mayor used it.
Filner highlighted his focus on neighborhood revitalization and putting community concerns first on Tuesday night.
“When I was sworn in, I said it was unacceptable for a city that calls itself ‘America’s Finest’ to tolerate neighborhoods without paved streets and street lights,” he said.
Filner promised to work with other city leaders to make San Diego’s older neighborhoods more safe and attractive.
He also reiterated his vision for urban planning, drawing cheers from the crowd when he called for the restoration of an independent planning department and the reorganization of the city’s development and land use review functions.
Graphic Credit: Lisa Halverstadt