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Mayor Riley Leads MICD Special Session in Gulf Coast
NEW ORLEANS AND BILOXI, MS — The Mayors’ Institute on City Design recently hosted mayors from New Orleans, Biloxi, Gulfport and other Mississippi Gulf cities impacted by Hurricane Katrina during two special design institutes on November 14-15, 2005.
The first Mayors’ Institute on City Design session was held in Biloxi on Monday, November 14 for the mayors from impacted communities in the Gulf Coast area. The following mayors attended: A.J. Halloway, Biloxi; Brent Warr, Gulfport; Matthew Avara, Pascagoula; Pete Pope, Gautier; Rusty Quave, D’Iberville; and Connie Moran, Ocean Springs
The second event was held in New Orleans on November 15 and was attended by Mayor C. Ray Nagin, City Council President Oliver Thomas,Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu, and members of the Bring New Orleans Back Commission.
The local mayors had the opportunity to discuss design principles, priorities and strategies for rebuilding their communities with a nationally-renowned team of experts headed by Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., who founded the Mayors’ Institute on City Design in 1986 and led his city’s revitalization following the devastation of Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
“The mayors of the Gulf Region have tremendous responsibilities for overseeing the design decisions that will shape the direction of their cities,” said Mayor Riley. “We have assembled a resource team of other mayors, architects, urban designers, engineers and landscape architects to listen to the mayors’ chief rebuilding concerns and help them think through design considerations for the work ahead.”
The Mayors’ Institute on City Design resource team for the Gulf Region institutes consisted of the following individuals:
Joseph P. Riley Jr., Mayor of Charleston, S.C., a founder of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design and leading expert on urban designJaquelin Robertson, Partner, Cooper Robertson & Partners, former Dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture, and founder of the Mayors’ Institute on City DesignMaurice Cox, Associate Professor at the University of Virginia's School of Architecture and former Mayor of Charlottesville, Va.Mary Margaret Jones, President, Hargreaves Associates and noted landscape architect.Maxine Griffith, Vice President for Government and Community Affairs, Columbia University and former head of city planning for PhiladelphiaStan Lowe, Vice President of Community Revitalization, National Trust for Historic PreservationRick Chellman, Principal, TND Engineering, expert on traffic and transportation issuesHarvey Gantt, Founder and Partner, Gantt Huberman Architects and former Mayor of Charlotte, N.C. (New Orleans only)Kimberly Brown, Assistant Professor, Mississippi State University College of Architecture and Director of the Carl Small Town Center (Biloxi only)Grover Mouton III, Director, Tulane Regional Urban Design Center (New Orleans only)
“We understand that the Gulf Coast mayors are not in need of any more design proposals; they are getting them from every angle,” said Jeff B. Speck, director of Design at the National Endowment for the Arts, who oversees the program. “Rather, what they need is the opportunity to revisit the basic principles of design and the fundamentals of good city-making so they can wisely interpret and weigh all the advice they are receiving.
"The United States Conference of Mayors has been working closely with the mayors of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The nation's mayors are in full support of these cities as they begin to regroup and rebuild. The Mayors' Institute on City Design is a valuable resource that can benefit the mayors and their cities during their rebuilding efforts." said Tom Cochran, executive director of the U.S. Conference of Mayors."
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