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Bringing Isla Vista Together
Strengthen Soltopia and other community events while building lasting partnerships between IVRPD, UCSB Associated Students, and Isla Vista residents.
Isla Vista is more than a neighborhood next to a university. It is a community with its own history, institutions, and identity—and our parks should help bring that community together. Soltopia is an opportunity to celebrate that identity, but its future should be shaped by the people who attend it, live nearby, and help organize it. IVRPD should convene a public town hall as soon as possible to hear what residents and students want from Soltopia, what has worked, and what needs to change.
That town hall should be practical and open to everyone: students, longtime residents, nearby neighbors, performers, organizers, and local businesses. The District should gather specific ideas about programming, accessibility, safety, outreach, and neighborhood impacts, then publicly explain which suggestions can be incorporated into this year's plans. Community consultation matters most when it produces visible results. The same approach can help IVRPD support other events that bring Isla Vista together.
Community-building also means connecting students to the institutions that govern the place they call home. The Associated Students Future Leaders in Governance Fellowship is designed to give students hands-on experience in Associated Students and external government offices. IVRPD should work with UCSB Associated Students to become a participating local government partner, offering fellows direct experience with public meetings, policy development, community outreach, and park programming while strengthening cooperation between student government and the District.
More broadly, I want IVRPD to make it easier for students and other residents to understand District decisions and participate in them. Regular engagement with Associated Students, accessible public forums, and clear follow-through on community suggestions can make our parks, and the government responsible for them, more responsive to Isla Vista.
What I would do
Listen now, build stronger connections for the future.
- Convene a Soltopia town hall as soon as possible, in time for public input to improve this year's event.
- Invite residents, students, organizers, and nearby neighbors to propose concrete improvements, and report back on what can be implemented.
- Partner with UCSB Associated Students to establish IVRPD as a placement partner for the Associated Students Future Leaders in Governance Fellowship.
- Expand ongoing outreach and accessible opportunities for students and residents to participate in District decisions.
Get involved
Disagree with something here? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Good ideas get better through conversation. Whether you agree, disagree, or have a different suggestion, I welcome your questions and perspectives on Isla Vista's future.