Lipscomb’s small piece of Nashville was put in sharp focus for the community during the 2015 Mayoral Candidates Forum Tuesday evening in the Ezell Center.
The event allowed the seven mayor candidates to answer questions concerning quality of life issues. The event was presented by the Nashville Civic Design Center, a nonprofit organization that focuses on making Nashville a beautiful and functional city for everyone.
Lipscomb’s Nelson & Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership hosted the event. The institute — which was built on the legacy of great Nashville leaders — engages leaders in academic and community programs to create broader communities.
The institute did just that during this event — with over 200 filled seats with community members and faculty, and two separate rooms for overflow attendees and students.
The candidates were asked questions concerning neighborhood design, transportation, pedestrian safety, housing and parks. They also discussed some of what Mayor Karl Dean has done in Nashville already.
The candidates who have officially declared their intent to run for mayor are Megan Barry, Charles Robert Bone, David Fox, Bill Freeman, Howard Gentry, Jeremy Kane and Linda Eskind Rebrovick.
Sophomore Jay Klein said that allowing the candidates to speak on Lipscomb’s campus was a good way for students to become aware of the city’s issues.
“It was a great way to get our students involved in the election process, whether they are able to vote for mayor this upcoming August or if they’re just trying to get involved in politics in general,” Klein said.
Political science professor Marc Schwerdt said that students were mostly interested in issues relating to transportation and walkability.
“Walkability is very important — which includes bicycling — because a lot of our students do actually engage in [bicycling] and that’s kind of what our neighborhood is all about,” Schwerdt said.
But for senior Karla Chavez, hearing each of the candidates viewpoints on public housing was most beneficial.
As Chavez is approaching graduation, she said that she has started looking for housing in the area.
“The rent area in Nashville isn’t very affordable and so I think a lot of the mayor candidates really have a lot of plans that will help us,” Chavez said.
For Chavez, living in the city may mean working in the city. That is why the topic of transportation was also important to her.
“Also with transportation, working in the city — with traffic — can get really crazy, so the transportation plans were really great to hear,” she said.
In addition to housing and transportation, candidates discussed plans for more sidewalks and bicycle lanes not only in the downtown area but also in the city’s outskirts.
Candidate Jeremy Kane proposed a creative sidewalk solution for Nashville that Lipscomb has already implemented.
“Lipscomb is a great example with the sidewalks they have used,” Kane said. “It’s hard packed concrete that doesn’t require curb cuts.
“We [Nashville] should think of those creative solutions as well.”