J Magazine June 2017

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
By Mike Clark
Creating energy in
the urban core
Mike Field is more than an observer
of the successes and failures of
Downtown Jacksonville, he’s also
rolled up his sleeves to become
a catalyst for ideas and growth
M
ike Field, 38, proudly calls himself a
“dumpster baby.” He was born in Riverside
Hospital to a woman from North Carolina,
was taken in by Catholic Charities and later adopted
by his mother and father.
MIKE FIELD
LIVES IN:
Fairfax
FROM:
Jacksonville
WORK:
Senior analyst at JPMorgan
Chase, cofounder of
Moderncities.com
cofounder of Transform
Jax, founder of Jaxsons
Night Market, founder of
Jax Truckies
He graduated from Bishop
Kenny and earned
a bachelor’s degree in
economics from Florida
State. He has spent the
past 15 years in banking
and helped start Jax
Truckies, Jaxsons Night
Market (which worked
better than he thought)
and Moderncities.com, a
website about urban life
and innovations. In his latest venture, he and Jack
Shad opened a food truck park Downtown.
BRUCE LIPSKY
On a scale of 0 to 10, 0 being a ghost town and 10 being a
tourist destination, what score would you give Downtown
Jacksonville?
I’d give Downtown a 4. Not to be negative, but I think you
have to be honest about the challenges that Downtown faces
before you can agree on a way forward. Around the Super
JUNE 2017 | J MAGAZINE 63