We\u2019re asking thought leaders, business people and creatives to talk about the upcoming new year and give us catalyzing ideas for making St. Pete a better place to live. What should our city look like? What are their hopes, their plans, their problem-solving ideas? This is Catalyze 2026. <\/p>\n
At the end of 2025, as St. Petersburg continues growing faster than most stakeholders anticipated, Aron Bryce finds himself returning to a familiar question: How do you welcome new energy without losing a city\u2019s soul \u2013 what drew people here in the first place?<\/p>\n
\u200bFor Bryce, the answer starts at the neighborhood level.<\/p>\n
\u200bAs a longtime community advocate and Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA<\/a>) leader, Bryce has spent the past several years focused on the connective tissue of the city \u2013 block by block, association by association. That doesn\u2019t always make headlines, but it shapes daily life in St. Pete in tangible ways: Cleaner streets, better communication between residents and City Hall, stronger civic participation and neighbors who actually know one another.<\/p>\n \u200b\u201cNeighborhoods are where the city really lives,\u201d Bryce said. \u201cIf we get things right at that level \u2013 if people feel heard, supported and invested \u2013 everything else becomes easier.\u201d<\/p>\n \u200bThat philosophy has also guided his broader work in the community. Bryce has consistently championed small businesses, local artists and grassroots initiatives that bring people together, regardless of backgrounds or zip codes.<\/p>\n \u200bWhether it\u2019s supporting neighborhood cleanups, honoring veterans through community events or helping address food insecurity through local partnerships, he strives for a practical and people-centered approach.<\/p>\n