The 52^nd National Session began with a tour of downtown Las Vegas, led by Flinn Fagg, AICP, Planning Director for the City of Las Vegas.  The tour showcased major downtown projects that are instrumental to the renaissance of the city of Las Vegas, including the Fremont East District, the Neon Museum and Boneyard, the Mob Museum, the Bonneville Transit Center, and the soon to open Symphony Park, Smith Center for the Performing Arts, and Las Vegas City Hall.  Later that evening, a reception and dinner were held at The Arts Factory, which is located in a burgeoning arts district in the city and showcased works by local artists.  At dinner, remarks were made by National Endowment for the Arts Design Director Jason Schupbach; Mayors’ Institute on City Design Director Story Bellows; American Architectural Foundation President & CEO Ronald Bogle, Hon. AIA; the United States Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran; Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman; and United Technologies Corporation Manager of Global Community Affairs Andrew Olivastro.

Denver Mayor Hancock initiated design discussions the following morning, presenting on his city’s efforts to capitalize on Denver International Airport as an aerotropolis.  The city wants to ensure walkability and implement sustainable design principles at potential transit stops near the airport along the FasTracks Eastern Line.  To achieve this, the resource team offered suggestions on how to promote regional cooperation and appropriate land uses that respond to existing context while complimenting the functions of the airport.

Tulsa Mayor Bartlett followed with a discussion of the Arkansas River development adjacent to downtown.  The city wants to attract development along the riverfront across from the city skyline while improving exiting trail and recreational amenities.  The resource team encouraged the Mayor to invest in public realm improvements, including strengthening pedestrian connections, which will engage the right developer for the land.

Maui Mayor Arakawa presented on his city’s effort to revitalize the Wailuku town center.  The city hopes to reinvent Wailuku town and improve complex existing parking conditions in downtown through a new parking structure.  As such, the resource team offered a mixed-use approach to programming the structure in tandem with flexible parking strategies to reduce congestion and promote walkability in the town center.

Raleigh Mayor McFarlane described her city’s initiative to develop the historic Union Depot and Warehouse District.  As this area transitions into a multimodal hub and becomes more attractive to developers, businesses, and residences, the city would like to maintain the character of the arts district while promoting new development opportunities.  The resource team responded with suggestions on how to prioritize key structures within the district and identify areas for future growth.

Aurora Mayor Hogan started discussions the final day of the Institute by presenting on his efforts to catalyze development on the north end of the Havana Street corridor and the Fan Fare development site.  The city is looking to incentivize development at the site to continue the retail success further south along the corridor.  The resource team offered alternative suggestions to adaptively reuse structures on the development parcels and promote public interest in the site’s development through programming strategies.

Las Vegas Mayor Goodman discussed her city’s efforts to improve Eastern Avenue, a major north-south arterial corridor in the city.  The Mayor focused her presentation on the Hispanic demographics of the area and the cultural strengths of the corridor.  The resource team highlighted civic engagement strategies to gain integral community input on corridor improvements to increase walkability and promote comfortable gathering opportunities along the avenue.

Cheyenne Mayor Kaysen concluded the Institute by presenting on his city’s planning efforts to revitalize the downtown.  The Mayor focused his discussion on the many opportunities for redevelopment in the city center, including adaptively reusing the strong historic building stock.  The resource team encouraged the Mayor to focus on a particular area of downtown to implement design and development efforts, which will catalyze future growth in the heart of the city.

Joining the mayors at this National Session was a distinguished group of resource team members: Steve Benz, PE, LEED AP, Director of Green Infrastructure at OLIN; Reese Fayde, President of RFA Investments; Gabriel Metcalf, Executive Director of San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association; Julie Snow, FAIA, Principal of Julie Snow Architects; Alma Du Solier, Principal at AECOM; William Wenk, FASLA, Principal of Wenk Associates; and Christopher Yake, Senior Development Project Manager at Metro.

The Mayors’ Institute on City Design is a National Endowment for the Arts leadership initiative in partnership with the American Architectural Foundation and the United States Conference of Mayors. The 52^nd National Session was sponsored in part by United Technologies Corporation.  Since 1986, the Mayors’ Institute has helped transform communities through design by preparing mayors to be the chief urban designers of their cities.  The Mayors’ Institute conducts several sessions each year. For a list of upcoming events, past attendees, or for more information, visit www.micd.org.

The 51^st National Session began with a tour of downtown Charleston, led by Michael Maher, Director of the City of Charleston’s Civic Design Center.  The tour showcased major downtown sites that have been instrumental to Charleston’s transformation as a destination city, including King Street, the waterfront park, and the historic preservation efforts of many of the city’s residences.  Later that evening, a reception and dinner were held at City Gallery, which prominently features Charleston’s waterfront revitalization.  Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. presented on the role of design in Charleston’s transformation after remarks were made by the National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman, Mayors’ Institute on City Design Director, Story Bellows; American Architectural Foundation President & CEO Ronald Bogle, Hon. AIA; and the United States Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran.

Lexington Mayor Gray initiated the design discussions the following morning, presenting on his city’s efforts to re-imagine an area of downtown called the Arena, Arts, and Entertainment District. The City wants to ensure connectivity and accessibility of the district to adjacent neighborhoods, Town Branch Creek, and the University of Kentucky and has organized an extensive civic engagement process to inform the urban design of the district. To achieve this, the resource team offered suggestions on how to activate surrounding areas with arena-related activities.

Anchorage Mayor Sullivan followed with a discussion of Ship Creek, a natural resource amenity adjacent to downtown. The City wants to improve the trail system along the Creek as well as improve overall connectivity of the waterfront to downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods. The resource team encouraged the Mayor to pursue low-cost alternatives to trail development that can be upgraded over time while enhancing the historical and ecological context of the Creek.

Detroit Mayor Bing presented on his city’s efforts to revitalize the Coleman A. Young Municipal Airport. The City hopes that airport improvements will increase local economic development, particularly in the surrounding neighborhoods. The airport is city-owned and is required to stay operable by the Federal Aviation Administration.  To maximize the assets of the airport, the resource team focused their comments on how to diversify the usage of the airport through mixed uses and programming.

Fort Worth Mayor Price described her city’s efforts to encourage revitalization of the West 7^th Urban Village.  This area has been successful in attracting several new mixed use developments but they are disconnected from each other and, at times, from the nearby museum district.  As such, the resource team focused their suggestions on how to create better accessibility within the Urban Village by unifying the vision and urban design of the area.

Louisville Mayor Fischer started discussions on the final day of the Institute by presenting on his initiative to create an education district south of downtown and north of Churchill Downs.  The Mayor highlighted the numerous institutional assets located within the district and it’s potential to be the innovation heart of the City.  The resource team offered suggestions on how to create a common vision for the district to guide transportation, housing, and public realm improvements in the area.

Providence Mayor Taveras discussed his city’s efforts to redevelop land that has opened up as a result of the Interstate 195 realignment.  The Mayor focused his presentation on six acres of land on the east side of the Providence River that maintains excellent views of the waterfront and downtown.  The resource team highlighted the need for new development to be contextually appropriate and responsive to the fine grain of the adjacent neighborhood, including the street connections and block sizes.

Tampa Mayor Buckhorn presented his city’s efforts to redevelop the Old Federal Courthouse, which resides on the Zack Street Promenade of the Arts in the downtown area.  Although the Courthouse has been vacant for several years, the Mayor recognizes its historic significance and ability to energize the Promenade if put back to use.  The resource team offered advice on how to fund rehabilitation of the Courthouse while also engaging local stakeholders and institutions in the process of developing the Promenade as an asset for the City.

Minneapolis Mayor Rybak concluded the Institute by presenting on his city’s planning efforts in North Minneapolis, particularly after a spring tornado caused significant property and tree damage.  The Mayor focused his discussion on Penn Avenue, an important north-south arterial connection in the City.  The resource team encouraged the Mayor to focus on an identity for Penn Avenue that considers the context and demographics of the area to guide appropriate transit and housing development.

Joining the mayors at this National Session was a distinguished group of resource team members: Deborah Berke, FAIA, LEED AP, Principal at Deborah Berke & Partners Architects; Mark Dawson, FASLA, Principal at Sasaki Associates; Daniel Hernandez, LEED AP, Managing Director of the Planning Practice at Jonathan Rose Companies; John Inglish, Chief Executive Officer of the Utah Transit Authority; Michael P. Kelly, Administrative Receiver at the Philadelphia Housing Authority; Nicholas de Monchaux, Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of California at Berkeley; Kennedy Smith, Principal at the Community Land Use and Economics Group, LLC; and Peg Staeheli, LEED AP, Principal at SvR Design Company.

The Mayors’ Institute on City Design is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the American Architectural Foundation and the United States Conference of Mayors.  Since 1986, the Mayors’ Institute has helped transform communities through design by preparing mayors to be the chief urban designers of their cities. The Mayors’ Institute conducts several sessions each year. For a list of upcoming events, past attendees, and for more information, visit www.micd.org.

Chicago, April 27-29, 2011

Event Brings Together Mayors, Obama Cabinet Members, Top Design Professionals, and Special Guests To Examine the State of U.S. Cities and the Power of Arts & Design

Key sessions to be live webcast**

Washington, D.C. — Mayors and design and development experts will convene at the Chicago Hilton April 27-29 for a National Summit on City Design to identify challenges, opportunities and funding sources for cities that work well. Participants will examine the power of arts and design to transform cities while celebrating the Mayors Institute of City Design (MICD) – a collaboration of the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), and the American Architectural Foundation (AAF) – and honoring the design legacy of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.

For 25 years, MICD has been the only organization that provides mayors an opportunity to learn how smart design can help to holistically solve problems in communities to create livable cities. Smart design is, fundamentally, a language of problem solving and through MICD, mayors learn to use smart design to identify ways to creatively reduce costs through innovation in areas such as public transit, downtown development infrastructure and sustainability.

During the two-day summit, mayors and design professionals will come together to discuss the successes and lessons from MICD, as well as the topics key to the future of American cities. The highlight of the session will be on its final day, April 29, where more than 40 mayors and 80 design professionals and scholars will honor Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley as he receives the Joseph P. Riley Award for Leadership in Urban Design. As Chicago’s longest serving mayor, Daley is described by UCSM’s CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran as a “Mayor’s Mayor.”

On the first day, April 28, the mayors and design experts will discuss design in relationship with struggling budgets and growing demands for transportation, development, and other challenges. On April 29th, Former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and Charleston, South Carolina Mayor Joseph Riley, along with Marilyn Taylor, Chris Leinberger, Toni Griffin, and other design professionals, will present their joint conclusions to a panel of federal officials, including NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and U.S. Department of Transportation Under Secretary Roy W. Kienitz.

Also on April 28, summit participants will release an NEA Research Report that measures the economic impact of performing arts institutions on local economies and details the degree of citizens’ investment in the arts. Among the report’s findings is that the U.S. performing arts industry is supported by the nearly 8,840 organizations and generates nearly $13.6 billion in annual revenues.

The opening keynote address, titled “Culture Now: The Contemporary American Condition,” will be given by Thom Mayne, of Morphosis Architects and President Obama’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Through his work, Mayne seeks to spark transformative change on struggling U.S. cities.

SUMMIT SCHEDULE

** Indicates live webcasting of key sessions. Please join the Twitter conversation at #MICD50 and watch the daily mini interviews with mayors at www.usmayors.org.

THURSDAY, APRIL 28

9:00 –10:45 a.m. **OPENING PLENARY

Welcome

• Jason Schupbach, NEA Design Director & Summit Moderator
• Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley
• Rocco Landesman, Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts
• Elizabeth Kautz, Mayor, City of Burnsville and President, U.S. Conference of Mayors
• Ronald Bogle, President and CEO, American Architectural Foundation

The Legacy of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design

• Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Mayor, City of Charleston

Video Presentation: 25 Years of the Mayors’ Institute of City Design

Keynote Address: Thom Mayne, Morphosis Architects

“Culture Now: The Contemporary American Condition”

11:00—11:45 a.m. PRESS CONFERENCE

Release of NEA Report that Shows the Tremendous Economic Impact of the Arts on Communities – “Time and Money: Using Federal Data to Explore the

Value of Selected Arts Activities.”

12:00 – 1:30 p.m. **LUNCH

How Design Has Shaped Chicago

• Lee Bey, Executive Director, Chicago Central Area Committee
• Gerald Adelmann, President and CEO, Openlands
• Barbara Gaines, Artistic Director, Chicago Shakespeare Theater

2:00 – 4:15 p.m. AFTERNOON FORUMS: The following forums take place simultaneously.

Design and Transportation: Parking, alternative transportation, transforming old transportation infrastructure, greenways and blueways. Panel includes:

• Manny Diaz, Former Mayor, City of Miami, USCM Past President (moderator)
• Gabe Klein, Transportation Expert
• Jeff Tumlin, Principal, Nelson\Nygaard
• Peter Park, Manager of Community Planning & Development, City of Denver

Roundtable Facilitator: Marilyn Taylor, Dean, University of Pennsylvania School of Design

Design and Development: Transit-oriented development, downtown development, historic preservation and adaptive reuse, creative placemaking, leveraging waterfronts. Panel includes:

• Michael A. Nutter, Mayor, City of Philadelphia (moderator)
• Mary Margaret Jones, President/Senior Principal, Hargreaves Associates
• Richard Baron, Co-founder/Chairman, McCormack Baron Salazar
• Mitchell Silver, Director, Department of City Planning & Urban Design, City of Raleigh

Roundtable Facilitator: Chris Leinberger, Visiting Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program, Brookings Institution

Design and 21st Century Challenges: Sustainable infrastructure, aging in place, smart cities, climate adaptation, safety and security. Panel includes:

• Joseph P. Riley, Jr. (moderator)
• Teddy Cruz, Estudio Teddy Cruz
• John Tolva, Director of Citizenship and Technology, IBM
• David Burney, Commissioner, Department of Design and Construction, City of New York

Roundtable Facilitator: Toni Griffin, President, Urban Design and Planning for the American City, Adjunct Associate Professor, Harvard GSD

FRIDAY, APRIL 29

9:00 – 11:30 a.m. **PRESENTATIONS AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS

Refining the Message: Working Session on Key Challenges and Opportunities in

Creating Complete Communities

• Jason Schupbach (moderator)
• Manny Diaz
• Marilyn Taylor
• Michael A. Nutter
• Chris Leinberger
• Joseph P. Riley, Jr.
• Toni Griffin

Forum Recommendations and Federal Response

• Rocco Landesman
• Shaun Donovan, Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• Roy W. Kienitz, Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation
• Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Mayor, City of Los Angeles, USCM Vice President

11:30 a.m. PRESS AVAILABILITY

Participating Mayors to Honor The Design Legacy of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley

12:30 – 2:30 p.m. **LUNCH: The Design Legacy of Mayor Richard M. Daley

Moderator, Tom Cochran, USCM CEO & Executive Director

Remarks of Appreciation of Mayor Daley:

• USCM President Elizabeth Kautz, Mayor, City of Burnsville
• USCM Vice President Antonio R. Villaraigosa
• USCM Second Vice President Michael A. Nutter, Mayor City of Philadelphia

Presentation of Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Award for Leadership in Urban Design to Mayor Daley (Annual Award Sponsored by USCM and AAF for Mayors who display leadership in City Design).

• USCM President Elizabeth Kautz, Mayor, City of Burnsville, USCM President
• Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Mayor, City of Charleston, USCM Past President
• Ronald Bogle, President and CEO, AAF

Remarks by Richard M. Daley, Mayor, City of Chicago, USCM Past President

Keynote Address by Rocco Landesman, Chairman, NEA

Capital Public Radio Features Downtown Design

Date: Wednesday, February 16, 2011, 2:58pm PST – Last Modified: Wednesday, February 16, 2011, 3:02pm PST

Top thinkers on urban planning and design, who weighed in Wednesday on design options for a revamped J-K-L corridor, agreed that Sacramento’s top planning priority for the central city should be figuring out what to do about the Westfield Downtown Plaza.

The struggling mall would be, in the expert panel’s view, a good place to start — or “ground zero” — in planning efforts for downtown, said landscape architect Mark Dawson of Sasaki Associates in Boston. “It’s the right place to put a lot of energy.”

Read more: Westfield Plaza key to downtown renaissance | Sacramento Business Journal

Date: Monday, February 14, 2011, 9:08am PST

Urban design experts this week will work with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, city staff and the public to explore design options for a revamped J-K-L corridor.

Johnson is set to introduce the team of national experts in urban design and city planning Monday morning. The team is in Sacramento as part of a partnership with the Mayors’ Institute on City Design (MICD).

Read more: Urban design experts look at design options for J-K-L corridor | Sacramento Business Journal

The 49th National Session began with an afternoon charrette focused on three blocks of the Santa Fe River downtown. Mayor Coss, city staff, and consultants from local design firm Surroundings Studio led the charrette, which was a follow-up to the project he discussed at MICD 44 in Denver. Participants focused on generating ideas for implementing the master plan proposed along the site. After the charrette, participants began a tour of the Santa Fe Railyards led by Steven Robinson, President of the Santa Fe Railyard Community Corporation, and Richard Czoski, the Executive Director. The tour showcased the diversity of redevelopment within the Railyards and finished with a presentation of its storied development process. Later that evening, a reception and dinner was held at LewAllen Gallery in the Railyards and featured welcoming remarks by Mayor Coss; Story Bellows, Director of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design; Tom McClimon, Managing Director of the United States Conference of Mayors; Scott Jordan-Denny, Target Corporation Group Manager of Architecture; and Jason Schupbach, Director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts.

Saint Paul Mayor Coleman initiated the design discussions the following morning presenting on his city’s efforts to redevelop the Adult Detention Center and adjoining Ramsey County Government Center West adjacent to City Hall. The City wants to ensure appropriate development for the site that will take advantage of views of the Mississippi River and provide better access to it. This would add a significant public realm component to the downtown core. The resource team encouraged the Mayor to think of this proposed public realm plan for the site as a development tool as well.

Corpus Christi Mayor Adame followed with a discussion of Destination Bayfront, an initiative to redevelop the bayfront adjacent to downtown. By activating the bayfront with a variety of uses and programs, the City hopes to catalyze development in the downtown area and in its adjacent properties in particular. The master plan for Destination Bayfront seeks to provide a waterfront that is international in draw by showcasing what is unique to Corpus Christi. The resource team encouraged the Mayor to pursue a design for the bayfront that is unique and contextually sensitive to Corpus Christi.

Tacoma Mayor Strickland presented on her city’s efforts to revitalize its waterfront by increasing public access to segments of it, including the Thea Foss Waterway and Schuster Parkway. The City hopes that by creating a new recreational and transit corridor along the waterfront, various assets within the City can be connected. To achieve a strong link, the resource team suggested strategies to get residents engaged in the waterfront immediately.

Honolulu Mayor Carlisle described his city’s efforts to introduce rail transit into the downtown area. The Mayor focused discussions on one particular area, the Kapalama rail station, to generate ideas around transit-oriented development for the site and opportunities to work with local institutions on the development. The City hopes the revitalization of this area through the integration of rail transit will also spur better treatment of the adjacent Kapalama Stream. Resource team members suggested creating neighborhood precinct plans around each rail station to create site-specific development strategies.

Syracuse Mayor Miner presented her City’s efforts to develop the Onondaga Creekwalk, a 13-mile link between the Onondaga Nation and Onondaga Lake. Segments of the Creekwalk have been constructed already and are being used successfully. The City wants to ensure continued progress of this initiative by providing opportunities and strategies for the area to become healthier and more walkable. To bring more people to the Creekwalk, the resource team suggested strategically placing signage along the trail to identify streets, places of interest, and mile markers.

Colorado Springs Mayor Rivera discussed an initiative to enhance Academy Boulevard, a major north-south artery within the city that connects the Air Force Academy and Interstate 25. This auto-dominated corridor is home to many residents and businesses and is ideal for future growth. The City hopes that by making strategic investments in the public realm of the boulevard, the area will continue to experience growth and development. The resource team suggested using the boulevard’s name and its history as a connector the Air Force as design inspiration.

Augusta Mayor Copenhaver spoke of his efforts to implement the Augusta Sustainable Development Implementation Program, which was recently awarded a HUD Challenge Planning Grant and DOT TIGER II Planning Grant. The sensitive, transit-oriented development plan at the heart of the program focuses on adding affordable housing and updating building codes to foster sustainable development. With funding and a plan in place, the City is focusing on efforts to gain community-wide support for these new initiatives. The resource team offered that engaging local business owners, schools, and other stakeholders on clean-up and redevelopment efforts along the corridor is one way to gain support.

Joining the mayors at this National Session was a distinguished group of resource team members: Richard D. Baron, J.D., CEO of McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc.; Diane M. Dale, FASLA, J.D., Director of Community Design at William McDonough + Partners; Julie Eizenberg, AIA, Principal of Koning Eizenberg Architecture; Theodore C. Landsmark, M.Ev.D., J.D., Ph.D., Assoc. AIA, Hon. D.F.A., President of the Boston Architectural College; Jacinta McCann, FAILA, ASLA, Executive Vice President of AECOM; Michael Moule, PE, PTOE, Principal Transportation Engineer at Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates; John Syvertsen, FAIA, Senior Principal at Cannon Design; and Marilyn Jordan Taylor, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Design.

The Mayors’ Institute on City Design is a National Endowment for the Arts leadership initiative in partnership with the American Architectural Foundation and the United States Conference of Mayors. The 49th National Session was sponsored in part by Target.  Since 1986, the Mayors’ Institute has helped transform communities through design by preparing mayors to be the chief urban designers of their cities. The Mayors’ Institute conducts several sessions each year. For a list of upcoming events, past attendees, and for more information, visit www.micd.org.

Many of these Institute sessions are hosted by universities around the country. The MICD is currently seeking leading design institutions to host a select group of mayors and city design experts for the purpose of strengthening our nation’s communities. The Mayors’ Institute is accepting qualifications for institutions to host future institute sessions, including three regional sessions that will be held in 2011.

Interested universities should review the Request for Qualifications.

A list of past university hosts is also available here.

Proposals in response to this solicitation in original and four (4) copies will be received at the Mayors’ Institute on City Design National Office until 2:00 p.m. on December 20, 2010.

For more information, please contact Story Bellows, MICD Director.

The 48th National Session began with a tour of downtown Charleston, led by Michael Maher, Director of the City of Charleston’s Civic Design Center.  The tour showcased major downtown sites that have been instrumental to Charleston’s transformation as a destination city, including King Street, the waterfront park, and the historic preservation of many of the city’s residences.  Later that evening, a reception and dinner were held at City Gallery, which prominently features Charleston’s waterfront revitalization.  Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. presented on the role of design in Charleston’s transformation after remarks were made by the Mayors’ Institute on City Design Director, Story Bellows; American Architectural Foundation President & CEO Ronald Bogle, Hon. AIA; The United States Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran; and National Endowment for the Arts Design Director Jason Schupbach.

Bridgeport Mayor Finch initiated design discussions the following morning by presenting on the City’s efforts to build a new train station along the Seaview Avenue Transitway.  The City, along with regional partners, recently was awarded a federal Sustainable Communities grant to being planning efforts along the transit corridor.  The City hopes to revive its waterfront, leverage its natural infrastructure assets, and increase density by building transit oriented development around this new station.

Houston Mayor Parker discussed the potential of the Washington Avenue corridor adjacent to downtown.  This area has steadily seen growth and investment in new housing, retail, and commercial uses.  The City would like to capitalize on this positive momentum by planning strategically for multi-modal transit and housing options, which will accommodate future projected growth in the area.

Ventura Mayor Fulton presented ideas for capping Highway 101 to better connect the downtown to its waterfront.  By creating a seamless connection to its waterfront, the City could create new development opportunities and foster increased waterfront accessibility for its residents.

Charlotte Mayor Foxx discussed a planned development south of downtown called Ballantyne, which features many different uses segregated by blocks with ample parking lots as opposed to mixed uses within a block.  The Mayor sought to understand how this area could become sustainable over time by creating new redevelopment guidelines that take into account complete streets, safe routes to schools, and suburban retrofitting.

Vancouver Mayor Leavitt presented a proposed bridge infrastructure improvement project that will create multi-modal connections between Vancouver and Portland, Oregon.  The Mayor received feedback on how critical the design of the bridge is, as its presence will have a significant impact on the experience of the waterfront, and it has the potential to become a new icon for the City of Vancouver.

Columbia Mayor Benjamin described his city’s efforts to bring new uses to Main Street in downtown through enhanced connections with the University of South Carolina.  The Mayor hopes to revitalize downtown’s Main Street by bringing in campus energy, creating new development that focuses on the after-work crowd, and provide traffic calming design for streets intersecting Main Street.

In addition to these discussions, Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa led a brief lunchtime presentation and discussion on Friday.  He discussed how his City has benefited from the Mayors’ Institute on City Design and the important role that mayors play in shaping the urban form of their cities.

The mayors and resource team members deemed the 48th National Session highly successful.  Mayor Stephen Benjamin of Columbia, South Carolina commented that, “A fundamental appreciation of design principals and good urban planning is essential to being a great mayor- Interaction with these skilled professionals helped me take it to another level.”  Mayor Annise Parker of Houston, Texas stated, “I got as much from seeing the [other mayors] presentations discussed as from my own.”

Joining the mayors at this National Session was a distinguished group of resource team members: Angela Brooks, AIA, LEED AP, Principal at Brooks + Scarpa Architects; James F. Charlier, AICP, President of Charlier Associates, Inc.; Cinda Gilliland, LEED AP, Principal at SWA Group; Peter Landon, FAIA, LEED AP, Founder and Principal at Landon Bone Baker Architects; Theodore C. Landsmark, M.Env.D. J.D. Ph.D. Assoc. AIA Hon. D.F.A., President of the Boston Architectural College; Brian M. Leary, President and Chief Executive of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.; Mitchell Silver, AICP, Director of Planning, Raleigh, North Carolina; and H. Ruth Todd, AIA, AICP, LEED AP, Principal at Page & Turnbull.

The Mayors’ Institute on City Design is a National Endowment for the Arts leadership initiative in partnership with the American Architectural Foundation and the United States Conference of Mayors. Since 1986, the Mayors’ Institute has helped transform communities through design by preparing more than 850 mayors to be the chief urban designers of their cities.  The Mayors’ Institute conducts several sessions each year. For a list of upcoming events, past attendees, or for more information, visit www.micd.org.