Illustration Arnie Bermudez

We're not in New York, Chicago or San Francisco.

This is Tucson. People come here to hike the mountains, ride horseback and find unlimited elbowroom. The desert southwest's charm is vested in the sprawling, horizontal nature of our lifestyle.

So it might seem strange that just a mile or two from campus, our city officials, with a helping hand from the UA, are in the midst of trying to turn downtown Tucson into a metropolitan fortress through a sophisticated plan called Rio Nuevo.

The plan is an impressive one, with a mix of public and private ventures. It relies on the UA's science center as one of several anchors to tie together housing with business and museums.

But the plan is just that, a plan ÷ not to mention, a major gamble. For Nuevo to work, ultimately the market must respond, and right now there's no evidence Tucsonans can support a cosmopolitan city center.

The project does not rely on the organic form of supply and demand. Instead, its governmental form of planning is carried out thanks to an approved sales tax hike. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, if the voters who gave the plan a "yay" four years ago turn out to buy condos and visit museums once the infrastructure is in place.

If not carried out effectively, however, Rio Nuevo might turn out to be more like "Rio Viejo."

You might be asking yourself: Why would those who have emigrated here from the great concrete cities of the eastern seaboard be interested in shedding their one acre lots nestled in the mountains surrounding town for an urban loft five stories above an Italian restaurant?

They lived that life; in fact, that's why they're here. Tucson is an oasis for the jaded Yankee city slickers who've traded Wall Street for Main Street. It's no surprise that the city has grown so fast in the last 30 years.

Nevertheless, there's got to be some demand for this ambitious plan. Taxpayers wanted it, and for some odd reason those of us born west of the Mississippi have a highly romanticized image of city life.

The history of downtown redevelopment, however, is a twisted one. The plight of downtown began in the 1960s. The area had been a major hub of activity, with Congress Street the heart of the action.

The eastward venture of Broadway Boulevard, which had once hit a chain-link fence around today's mid-town and simply ended, coupled with the destruction of the old El Conquistador and construction of El Con Mall, brought people out of downtown.

Tucson was expanding like a wildfire. So, over the course of several decades, downtown emptied out and the demographics changed.

Leftover hippies and struggling artists replaced close-knit families and wealthy business owners.

Tattoo parlors and dive bars took the place of jewelry stores and restaurants.

But there was effort to bring downtown back to life. Time, money and effort were spent, the results fruitless.

La Palacita Village, the now multi-colored business cluster on Church and Broadway: a bomb. The Tucson Convention Center, billed as a major draw for big groups and meetings heading to Tucson but out-done by the stunning foothills resorts developed in the Î80s: A major bomb.

Soon we can add Rio Nuevo to the list, and we don't know yet if the project will be disastrous or advantageous.

But this isn't just an overzealous, taxpayer-funded project perpetuated by leftist, elitist liberals.

It's quite the opposite. Rio Nuevo really could change downtown. In fact, it could change Tucson.

Yes, it's a major risk. The whole thing could be a bomb, with or without the UA's science center plan. Tucson could become the laughing stock of the western United States.

It was only a few years ago that Tempe, which rarely does much of anything right, spent valuable time and money on a disastrous re-development project of its own.

But John Updike, the guy steering the wheel of Nuevo, promises that, "Tempe Town Lake will stay in Tempe."

Still, Updike is not na•ve. He realizes that this is untested territory. Rio Nuevo could be a hit or a miss.

Of course, it's ironic that, as Tucson and the university prepare for a major redevelopment project, the UA is on the verge of cutting the School of Planning, the very place where the elements of urban planning and design are taught.

Let's just hope the planners, architects and creative geniuses mapping out Nuevo know what they're doing and the tens of millions of dollars raised from the tax hike don't go down the drain.

If the plan does go south, Tucson will be the butt of jokes and one more shot at revitalizing downtown will have been lost.

Daniel Scarpinato is a journalism and political science senior. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.