The 83rd National Session of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design took place in Nashville, TN from June 23-25, 2026, hosted by Mayor Freddie O’Connell.
At this collaborative workshop, mayors engage with design leaders to find solutions to the most critical planning and design challenges facing their cities. Sessions are organized around case study projects: each mayor selects a project or challenge from their city that the mayor is actively working to address. At the session, mayors introduce their projects with a 15-minute presentation, and the attending mayors and design leaders identify important issues, offer suggestions, and discuss potential solutions. The interchange sparks lively debates, generates new ideas, and inspires creative thinking. Between these discussions, a Resource Team of design leaders from around the country also delivers presentations on their areas of expertise.
Mayors
Nashville, TN Mayor Freddie O’Connell (Host)
Albany, NY Mayor Dorcey Applyrs
Cincinnati, OH Mayor Aftab Pureval
Dayton, OH Mayor Shenise Turner-Sloss
New Bedford, MA Mayor Jon Mitchell
Richmond, VA Mayor Danny Avula
Roanoke, VA Mayor Joseph L. Cobb
Santa Monica, CA Mayor Caroline Torosis
Resource Team
Tom Balsley | Founder/Design Principal, SWA/Balsley, New York, NY
Toni L. Griffin | Founder, Urban American City, New York, NY
Eric Kronberg | Founder, Kronberg Urbanists + Architects, Atlanta, GA
Bryan C. Lee, Jr. | Founder/Principal, Colloqate Design, New Orleans, LA
Mukul Malhotra | Principal/Chief Innovation Officer, MIG, San Antonio, TX
Regina Myer | President, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, Brooklyn, NY
Breeze Outlaw | Deputy Commissioner of Policy and Administration, City of Boston Parks Department, Boston, MA
