The main Conference Program will span three full days with optional pre-conference events scheduled for Wednesday, January 28, and Sunday, February 1. The main program will kick off on Thursday morning (Jan. 29), and continue through Saturday afternoon. The schedule includes a dynamic mix of plenaries, breakouts, implementation workshops, focused trainings, experiential learning activities, peer-to-peer learning opportunities, and coordinated networking activities. It will also feature exciting tours of local model projects in the greater Baltimore region.
Please visit the Healthy Food Systems and Local Policymakers pages for information on optional workshops scheduled for Wednesday, and visit the Conference Tours page for information on optional tours scheduled for Thursday and Sunday. Please visit the Special Features page for information on other exciting special events and conference features.
Learn more about our dynamic speakers.
| Wednesday | |
|---|---|
| 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM | Early Onsite Conference Check-In Optional Pre-conference Workshops |
| 11:00 AM – 5:30 PM | Advancing Local and Regional Food Systems: Opportunities to Grow Resilient, Equitable Communities (Pre-registration and $45 fee required) |
| 12:00 PM – 5:30 PM | Light after the Storm: Strategies for Revitalization after the Recession An Event Specifically for Local Policymakers (Free / Pre-registration required) |
| Thursday | |
| 7:00 AM – 6:00 PM | Conference Registration / Morning Coffee |
| 8:00 AM – 12:30 PM | Morning Concurrent Optional Tours of Local Model Projects (Pre-registration and nominal fee required) 
View the Morning Tours
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| 8:00 AM – 1:30 PM | Equitable Development: Tools and Strategies for Making a Visible Difference in Communities Workshop (Pre-registration and $28 fee required) |
| 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM | All Day Tour — Growing Local: A “Shore” Recipe for Smart Growth (Pre-registration and nominal fee required) |
| 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM | Networking Lunch for Health Professionals
Description
Location: Key Ballroom 1-2, Come meet your colleagues working on health and built environment issues around the country!
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| 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM | Lunch Break |
| 2:00 PM – 5:30 PM | Concurrent Focused Training Sessions
Understanding the Challenge: A Poverty Simulation Experience
Location: Holiday BR 6 Level: Intermediate FacilitatorsMichelle Bland, Manager, Education Theatre, Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic StatesMeg Brannon, Creative Education Specialist, Education Theatre, Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States Damion Perkins, Creative Education Specialist, Education Theatre, Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States SpeakerScot Spencer, Associate Director for Advocacy and Influence, Center for Community and Economic Opportunity, The Annie E. Casey FoundationPresentations → More than 45 million Americans – and one in five children – live in poverty. While at the conference, join trained facilitators, other attendees and several volunteers to simulate the daily challenges those in poverty experience. Step into the shoes of low-income families, and try to provide food, shelter and basic necessities while dealing with “community resources.” Feel poverty from a new perspective in this eye-opening experiential setting, and take home with you a deeper understanding that can make you more effective in your work. This unique, 3.5-hour experience will run twice during the conference, and is made possible through support by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, and the University of Maryland School of Nursing Shady Grove Campus.
Lean Urbanism: Restoring Common Sense to Get Things Done
Location: Holiday BR 4 Level: Advanced Accredited by:CM 3.0PDH 3.0 ModeratorJudith Corbett, Founder, Local Government CommissionSpeakerAndres Duany, Principal, DPZ ArchitectsPresentations → Our diminished circumstances and financial, bureaucratic and regulatory impediments call for a return to common sense in the processes of building, incubating small businesses, community engagement and acquiring the necessary skills. The Project for Lean Urbanism will provide tools for entrepreneurs who need help navigating complex requirements and governments seeking to streamline their processes. The focus is not on national reform, but on enabling people to get things done in the short term, by reducing the time, resources and hurdles of community building.
Building Blocks Training Academy Road Show: Focus on Transportation Tools
Location: Peale Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 3.0PDH/HSW 3.0 ModeratorKevin Nelson, Senior Policy Analyst, US EPA, Office of Sustainable CommunitiesSpeakersElizabeth Schilling, Senior Policy Manager, Smart Growth AmericaRoger Millar, Vice President, Smart Growth America Presentations → After several successful years of providing technical assistance through the Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program, the EPA is now focusing on training practitioners to use tools developed through this program. The Building Blocks Program stimulates discussion about growth and development and strengthens local capacity to implement sustainable approaches. This training will focus on transportation-related tools developed under the Building Blocks Program that are geared toward local implementation. Participants will learn about the Building Blocks Program technical assistance delivery process and the core content of these tools featuring walkability audits, parking audits, green streets strategies and a visioning exercise called “Preferred Growth Areas.” Training resources for participants will include materials about each tool and how practitioners can put this information into place in their local jurisdictions. This overview will empower attendees to determine what tools best fit their needs and thus to chart a course of action for developing solutions based on the Building Blocks model.
The Path to Implementation: Innovative Tools to Make Your Plans Happen
Location: Key BR 1-2 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 3.0PDH/HSW 3.0 ModeratorSunaree Marshall, US HUD, Office of Economic ResilienceSpeakersDylan Mullenix, Principal Transportation Planner, Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning OrganizationSandrine Thibault, Comprehensive Planner, City of Burlington, VT Jeff Davis, AICP, Principal Planner, Rhode Island Division of Planning Amy Cotter, Director, MetroFuture Ken Snyder, CEO, PlaceMatters Critter Thompson, Program Director, PlaceMatters Ian Wolfe Ross, Co-Founder & CEO, OppSites Presentations → How do some communities put their plans into motion and effectively redevelop sections of town, change land use rules, and attract compact new development? Why do other plans languish and sit on shelves? The secret’s in the planning process. Learn about creative and interactive planning approaches, web tools, and living documents that can help engage the community and bring your plans to life. This session covers approaches developed by Partnership for Sustainable Communities grantees, which have helped towns gain public and political support and implement their programs. Hear from Dwayne Marsh of HUD’s Office of Economic Resilience and get stories from planners in Des Moines, Burlington, Rhode Island, and Austin. Then participate in an interactive training session led by PlaceMatters with hands-on demonstrations. You’ll explore tools and techniques highlighted by the panelists, including new apps for crowdsourcing data on transit connectivity, interactive design platforms, and tools for collaborative decision-making. |
| 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Concurrent Afternoon Breakouts
Fast and Cheap: Implementing Change from the Grassroots
Location: Key BR 4 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorJosh Meyer, Program Director, Community Design, Local Government CommissionSpeakersToody Maher, Executive Director, Pogo ParkMatthew Ridgway, Principal, Fehr and Peers Dan Burden, Director of Innovation and Inspiration, Blue Zones, LLC Presentations → What happens when you bring together the country’s top walkability and place-making experts, design engineers and leaders from one of the most economically disadvantaged communities in the San Francisco Bay Area? This session will present inspiring stories of transforming the crime-stricken “Iron Triangle” neighborhood of Richmond, Ca. into an inviting, safe and flourishing place for youth and families. Speakers will share tools and strategies for direct community participation in design and construction of streets and parks, including temporary installations to demonstrate, test and experience change. Participants will learn about creative partnerships to implement quick transformation, from locally produced street furniture and traffic calming improvements to conversion of streets, parks and trails into active play areas. Turning community-identified solutions into local policy and capital improvement projects will also be addressed. At least 30 minutes will be allocated for open floor exchange of questions, ideas, and experiences among the panel and session participants.
After the Coal Plant Closes: An Environmental-Justice Approach to Redevelopment & Economic Opportunities
Location: Key BR 11 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorMustafa Ali, Acting Senior Advisor to the Administrator of the Office of Environmental Justice, U.S. EPASpeakersJean Pogge, CEO, Delta InstituteKim Wasserman, Organizing and Strategies Director, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization Presentations → Our nation’s energy system is undergoing a major transition. While the retirement of coal plants across the country represents a win for the environment, it’s important that local governments and community leaders understand the full community and economic impacts and plan for the future. In 2012, after years of community and environmental justice organizing, two major coal plants were decommissioned in Chicago. Chicago’s Mayor appointed a taskforce with representation from government, business and community leaders to develop a shared vision for redevelopment of both sites, which were located in predominantly low-income, Latino communities. This session will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the stakeholder facilitation process. Speakers will discuss the role of environmental-justice organizing around community and brownfield redevelopment, and strategies and best practices for constructive stakeholder engagement. As more coal plants retire, the community-driven processes used in places like Chicago will become a critical tool for many other communities.
The Dollars and $ense of Smart Growth
Location: Holiday BR 1 Level: Beginner Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorLee Sobel, Director of Public Strategies, RCLCOSpeakersDena Belzer, President, Strategic Economics, Inc.Joseph Minicozzi, Principal, Urban3 LLC Christopher Zimmerman, Vice President of Economic Development, Smart Growth America Presentations → Smart growth has been engaged as an apologetic or alternative form of development, to the perceived “market driven” sprawl that most communities face. Innovations in financial and policy analysis are demonstrating that smart-growth development is not only more beneficial from an environmental standpoint, but it is also more fiscally responsible form of growth at a municipal level. This session explores analytic tools, property policy exploration and leadership strategies that are applicable in any size municipality, from a public, private and advocacy perspective. These methods will be explained as case studies, as well as a walk through of the communication tools that will help planners and policymakers explain the municipal effect of smart-growth decisions. Panelists will present ideas and examples for creating great places with durable local economies. To steal the line from Jerry McGuire, we’re going to “Show you the money!” as well as how to show others the money.
Place, Race and Equity: From the Frontlines of the PLACE MATTERS Initiative
Location: Holiday BR 2 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorBrian Smedley, Ph.D., Executive Director, National Collaborative for Health EquitySpeakersCeleste James, Director, Community Health, Kaiser Permanente, Mid-Atlantic StatesZorayda Moreira-Smith, Senior Manager, Place-Based Initiatives & Community Development, CASA de Maryland, Inc. Joni Podschun, Senior Advisor on Strategy, Bread for the City Michael Scott, Chief Equity Officer, Equity Matters, Baltimore Presentations → Many people of color have poorer health than national averages. These health inequalities affect all Americans: A study found that between 2003 and 2006, health and health-care inequalities cost the nation $1.24 trillion in health-care expenses and economic impacts. Many believe that underlying these inequities is residential segregation, which powerfully shapes health resources, risks and life opportunities. People of color are more likely to live in segregated, high-poverty communities that have historically suffered from a lack of health care and investment, with concentrated environmental hazards – pollution, fast food restaurants and liquor stores. Conversely, there are few health-enhancing resources, such as grocery stores, fresh foods or safe parks. This session – using maps and data – will show what your zip code indicates about your health, and how 19 PLACE MATTERS teams across the nation are addressing conditions in the natural, built and social environments that lead to poor health.
Smart Growth 101
Location: Key BR 3 Level: Beginner Accredited by:CM 1.5 ModeratorPaul Zykofsky, Associate Director, Local Government CommissionSpeakersJohn Frece, Former Director, Office of Sustainable Communities, U.S. EPAPresentations → This session is geared towards first-time attendees to the conference or for participants who are new to the practice of implementing smart-growth solutions. The session will cover general topics, such as the ten principles of smart growth, the basics of planning and zoning for smart growth and how smart growth is being implemented at the state, regional and local level. The session will provide a good working background for a multi-disciplinary audience on smart growth and prepare participants for more in-depth sessions during the main conference.
The New Faces of Economic Resilience: Immigrants Revitalizing Distressed Communities
Location: Holiday BR 3 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5 ModeratorMegan McConville, Program Manager, National Association of Development OrganizationsSpeakersRuben Chandrasekar, Executive Director, International Rescue Committee, BaltimoreCarolina Quezada, Executive Director, Latino Center of the Midlands Catalina Rodriguez Lima, Director, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and Multicultural Affairs Jayme Trusty, Executive Director, Southwest Regional Development Commission Presentations → Across the country, foreign-born immigrants are moving into former industrial cities and once-shrinking small towns, stemming population declines that have been ongoing for decades. Attracted by job opportunities, affordable housing and livability, these new residents are starting businesses on Main Streets, filling vacant buildings, buying homes, revitalizing historic downtowns, and bringing rich cultural diversity to their new hometowns. With their entrepreneurial spirit and their contributions to the manufacturing industry, immigrants are also helping long-struggling economies recover, diversify and adapt to 21st-century realities. This session will feature communities that are embracing these new arrivals and will highlight strategies local governments and nonprofit organizations can use to increase immigrants’ chances of success, build connections between them and native-born residents, and leverage their presence to support smart growth and economic resilience. It will place special emphasis on small towns, where immigrants are counteracting the outmigration and economic decline impacting many rural places.
Reinvesting in Maryland: Infill, Redevelopment and Community Revitalization Strategies
Location: Key BR 12 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorKristen Mitchell, Director of Smart Growth Design & Development, Maryland Department of PlanningSpeakersJon Laria, Esq., Partner, Ballard Spahr LLPArsh Mirmiran, Partner, Caves Valley Partners Evan Morville, Partner, Seawall Development Company Presentations → Marylanders want to live in vibrant communities with good schools, a safe and healthy environment, and a range of housing, jobs and transportation options. While many stories of community revitalization exist in Maryland, the state can do more to limit sprawl and focus resources within existing communities. Recognizing that, Governor Martin O’Malley and Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown asked the Maryland Sustainable Growth Commission to recommend ways to accelerate quality infill, redevelopment and community revitalization. In response, the commission developed dozens of recommendations to create a new vision for reinvestment in Maryland communities. Staff will explain the comprehensive “Reinvest Maryland” initiative, highlighting its groundbreaking recommendations, and focus on community revitalization successes in the state. Developers working in Towson and the Central Baltimore neighborhood of Remington will explain why and how they created successful redevelopment projects, as well as the positive spin-off benefits.
Highways and Health: How Communities are Leveraging Transportation Investments for Healthy Communities
Location: Key BR 9 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorMartha Matsuoka, Associate Professor, Urban & Environmental Policy Institute, Occidental CollegeSpeakersAzibuke Akaba, Policy Associate, Regional Asthma Management and PreventionAmy Goldsmith, State Director, Coalition for Healthy Ports; Clean Water Action & Clean Water Fund Angelo Logan, Policy Director Director, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice; Moving Forward Network Penny Newman, Executive Director, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice Presentations → Join a conversation with environmental justice, public health and green economic development advocates who are advancing the use of zero-emissions technologies in transportation projects. The panel will discuss best practices that inject zero-emissions approaches in major transportation infrastructure planning and policy. Examples will include a successful campaign to require a community developed alternative in the proposed I-710 expansion project, one of the largest public works projects in the country; advancing zero emissions and health protective measures in the construction of the Bayonne Bridge, a critical piece of infrastructure for the Port of New Jersey/New York; a state campaign to advance cleaner freight policies in California; and efforts of the California Freight Advisory Committee established in collaboration with MAP-21. Lessons from frontline community-based organizations provide lessons for communities and agencies to advance the use and implementation of zero-emissions technology to eliminate air pollution from transportation projects. |
| 2:00 PM – 5:30 PM | Afternoon Concurrent Optional Tours of Local Model Projects (Pre-registration and nominal fee required)
View the Afternoon Tours
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| 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM | Coffee Break |
| 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM | Concurrent Late Afternoon Breakouts
Incorporating Smart Growth into Disaster Recovery: Local implementation after Superstorm Sandy
Location: Key BR 9 Level: Advanced Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorRabi Kieber, Sustainability and Smart Growth Coordinator, U.S. EPA, Region 2SpeakersJonathan Halfon, Deputy Field Coordinator, Community Planning and Capacity Building, FEMA Region 2, Sandy Recovery Office, Federal Disaster Recovery CoordinationSean Sallie, Planning Division Supervisor, Nassau County Department of Public Works, Planning Division Sara Lansdale, Director of Planning, Department of Economic Development and Planning, Suffolk County, NY Presentations → Following Superstorm Sandy, a loosely networked partnership was formed that included Nassau and Suffolk Counties, USEPA, FEMA, NYSDOS and the MTA (and recently NYSDEC). These partners came together to examine recovery options to help Long Island rebuild. Using the National Disaster Recovery Framework as a starting point, and building on New York State’s innovative, community-based NY Rising Community Reconstruction Plans, the Long Island Smart Growth and Resiliency Partnership started working to creatively integrate smart growth, equitable development and resiliency principles into long-term recovery, and incorporate environmental and health data into planning and decision-making support tools. This session will examine the process undertaken to develop an inter-governmental partnership that supports a sustainable, resilient recovery; review the importance of interagency agreements; showcase successes to date; highlight scientific we are using in the recovery planning process; and engage communities in a process that considers economic, social and environmental equity throughout recovery.
Regenerating Legacy Cities: Creating Opportunity, Fostering Inclusion
Location: Holiday BR 3 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorArmando Carbonell, AICP, Senior Fellow and Chair, Department of Planning and Urban Form, Lincoln Institute of Land PolicySpeakersAlan Mallach, FAICP, Senior Fellow, Center for Community ProgressWilliam Gilchrist, Director of Place-Based Planning, City of New Orleans Teresa Lynch, Principal, MassEconomics Presentations → Regeneration without gentrification – is it possible, desirable, or even an apt description? Many of America’s struggling post-industrial Legacy Cities are in the midst of an encouraging renaissance. Pittsburgh, Baltimore, St. Louis and others are making advances, whether attracting technological innovation or small-scale urban manufacturing. Yet the revival is uneven: downtowns may be thriving, but adjacent neighborhoods remain blighted; or the new jobs are going to commuters, while the city’s workforce diminishes. The session will examine the contours of how such regeneration has increased, rather than diminished, spatial, economic, and in particular, racial inequities – and how multiple stakeholders might better align to achieve greater equity.
The Good, Bad and the Undiscovered: An Insider’s Look into Successful Public-Private Partnerships Across the Country
Location: Holiday BR 2 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorZachary Smith, Associate, LOCUSSpeakersEmeka Moneme, Deputy Executive Director, Federal City CouncilJay Corbalis, Development Associate, Federal Realty Investment Trust Calvin Gladney, LEED AP, Managing Director, Mosaic Urban Partners, LLC Presentations → Across the country, communities want more mixed-use, infill developments, but generally lack the capital to finance them. A successful public-private partnership (P3) allows the public sector to leverage funds from the private sector to fund these types of projects to advance smart growth on the ground. This “off-the-record” session will explore examples of where P3s have succeeded and failed in a nothing-is-off-limits style conversation between panelists and participants that will result innovative and actionable solutions for structuring successful P3s in the future.
When Violence and Crime Hinder Smart Growth: Combating Threats to Improving Community
Location: Holiday BR 1 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorRandall Keith Benjamin, II, Street Scale Campaign Manager, Voices for Healthy Kids: Active Places, Safe Routes to School National PartnershipSpeakersChris Bryant, Executive Director, Street Wize FoundationCurtis Jones Jr., Councilmember 4th District, City of Philadelphia Jamecca Marshall, MPP, Program Manager, Prevention Institute David Chipman, Senior Vice President, Public Safety Solutions, ShotSpotter, Inc. Presentations → In communities all over the country, the danger of violence and crime discourages children from walking and biking in their neighborhood and keeps people off the street, limiting physical activity and restricting errands and trips. Preventing violence goes hand in hand with community betterment, public engagement, street-scale enhancements and improved economic opportunities. Protecting our youth is an issue that cannot be ignored. If we believe that every child should be able to freely live, walk, work and play in their neighborhood, then community safety advocates must become fluent in the language of healthy community design, and built environment advocates can no longer be afraid to hold hands with community safety advocates. This session, organized by Safe Routes to School National Partnership, will bring together experts to unwrap tactics, resources, and funding, learn how to engage priority populations and understand how addressing violence and crime enables more equitable smart growth.
Tapping the Power of Youth in Urban Greening: Innovations from the Mid-Atlantic
Location: Key BR 4 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorJulie Mawhorter, Ph.D., Mid-Atlantic Urban and Community Forestry Coordinator, USDA Forest ServiceSpeakersAutumn Saxton-Ross, Ph.D., Program Director, Place-Based Initiatives, National Collaborative for Health EquityDon Tsusaki, Project Director, READY Program, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Stephanie Greenwood, Sustainability Policy Advisor, City of Newark, NJ; Program Officer, Victoria Foundation Presentations → The fate of the smart growth movement lies in the hands of the young generation that will carry it forward. This session shares innovative examples from the Mid-Atlantic region of how to engage and empower youth in creating greener communities. In Washington DC, a youth-led photovoice project with the theme \"if trees could talk\" builds awareness of the value of urban trees and gives youth in underserved neighborhoods tools to engage. The READY program in Howard County, MD trains and employs a diverse group of young adults in building and maintaining green stormwater infrastructure projects to meet watershed restoration goals. The Green Ladders Initiative in Newark, NJ connects youth from distressed neighborhoods with urban forestry training, paid work experience, and job placement support. Learn from these initiatives and join in the discussion on other strategies for tapping the power of youth in urban greening.
Urban Waters Federal Partnership: Catalyzing Redevelopment Opportunities for Thrivable Communities
Location: Key BR 11 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorDana Coelho, Program Waters, Urban and Community Forestry, Rocky Mountain Region, US Forest ServiceSpeakersDevon Buckels, South Platte River Urban Waters Partnership Ambassador, Colorado State Forest ServiceMike Galvin, Baltimore Field Station Project Coordinator, US forest Service Northern Research Station Michael Rains, Director, USFS Northern Research Station and Forest Products Laboratory Roy Simon, Supervisory Branch Chief for Prevention, US EPA Presentations → Urban Waters Federal Partnerships across the country are creating an entrepreneurial environment in which diverse partners can bring together ideas to revitalize urban waters and the communities that surround them, transforming overlooked assets into treasured centerpieces and drivers of urban revival. The first pilot projects, including Denver and Baltimore, were launched in 2011 and are now yielding valuable lessons. The sharing of information among UWP sites is critical to success and the continued use of national and local partnership resources for action. Join us in this session and the associated tour to explore how federal, state, and local collaborators have grown the space for innovative conversations, implemented restoration projects, and developed design guidelines to make urban waters resilient and accessible community assets.
Transforming Suburbs into Economically Vibrant Communities with Opportunity for All
Location: Key BR 12 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorJames Corless, Director, Transportation for AmericaSpeakersRobert Dallari, Commissioner, Seminole County, FLConan Smith, Commissioner, Washtenaw County, MI; Executive Director, Michigan Suburbs Alliance Allison Lasser, Executive Director, Congregations Organizing for Renewal Presentations → America’s suburbs are experiencing rapid demographic shifts as racial and income diversity increase. Suburban jurisdictions are facing increasing pressure to provide economic, educational, and social opportunities to a broader mix of residents. Creative thinking is needed to help suburbs adapt to their new role within metropolitan regions, and new investments in suburban transportation options are required as 21st-century demands are placed on 20th-century infrastructure. This session will provide attendees with innovative strategies for retrofitting and redesigning suburban communities. Local leaders and practitioners will provide real-life examples of successful new approaches to addressing suburban challenges through coordinated planning and targeted investments. Using case studies from around the country, the session will address planning for inclusive development around suburban transit, achieving regional consensus, partnering with anchor institutions, redeveloping underserved suburban neighborhoods, and creating transportation solutions for suburban areas.
Singing and Dancing on Main Street: Building a National Practice for Creative Place-Making
Location: Key BR 3 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 SpeakersChris Beck, Senior Projects Manager, U.S. Department of AgricultureShana Berger, Co-Director, Coleman Arts Center Tim Lampkin, Community Development Officer, Southern Bancorp Community Partners Mark Stodola, Mayor, City of Little Rock, AR Nia Umoja, Lead Organizer, Cooperative Community of West Jackson Lyz Crane, Deputy Director, Artplace Nathan Purath, Co-Director, Coleman Center for the Arts Presentations → ArtPlace America continues its leadership in developing a national practice around creative place making – essentially integrating arts investments and smart-growth policy as a way of energizing neighborhoods, downtowns and rural main streets. Since 2011, the ArtPlace philanthropy consortium has invested nearly $60 million in more than 150 communities across the country. Federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Endowment for the Arts, and other private investors have joined in the mix too, supporting complementary investments in many of these cities and towns to support revitalization. Success will take longer in some places than others, but the process is rewarding in itself. As in past years, this will be a provocative session hearing about some truly inspiring efforts and testament to the way public and philanthropic funds can work together. |
| 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM | Dinner Break - Participants on their own |
| 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM | Conference Welcome |
| 7:30 PM – 8:45 PM | Conference Welcome & Kick-off Plenary
Making Development Work for All: From Promise to Practice
Location: Key BR 5-8 Accredited by:CM 1.5 FacilitatorScot Spencer, The Anne E. Casey FoundationSpeakersDawn Phillips, Program Co-Director, Justa Causa / Just CauseDavid Bowers, VP & Market Leader, Enterprise Community Partners Thibault Manekin, Co-Founder, Seawall Development Company Andre Leroux, Executive Director, Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance William Cole, President, BaltimoreDevelopment Corp., MD Presentations → Smart growth seeks to improve communities and the quality of life for residents. Unfortunately, the key elements of smart growth don’t always provide equal benefits and opportunities to community members. Transportation investments and community amenities don’t always serve residents most at need, and revitalization efforts can have the unintended consequences of displacing residents and gentrifying neighborhoods. To make smart-growth development work for everybody, it must be equitable, accessible and affordable, not just economically and environmentally viable. In short, we must practice what we promise – to improve communities for all residents. This solutions-oriented plenary will feature a provocative conversation among leaders who will share diverse perspectives on the housing affordability crisis and how to create public dialogue to develop promising solutions. The discussion will focus on what proactive steps several communities are taking – and what lessons might be applied in yours. The panelists will explore the connections that can deliver on our promises – integrated investment and planning practices that combine equitable strategies for affordable housing, economic development, access to transit, schools and community amenities, and preservation of the community character.
Watch this plenary online |
| 8:45 PM – 9:45 PM | Hosted Networking Reception |
| Friday | |
| 7:00 AM – 8:30 AM | Conference Registration / Morning Coffee Networking Opportunities
Smart Growth in Rural Communities and Small Towns: A Marketplace of Ideas
Location: Key BR 3 Rural communities and small towns across the country are implementing approaches that help their communities strengthen their economies, protect the environment, and enhance quality of life. Do you already work on smart growth issues in a rural region or small town, and want to know what others are doing? Are you interested in learning more about implementing smart growth in your town? Are you an urban dweller interested in rural towns near your city and the role rural places play in your urban economy? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then this networking session is for you. The session will be a “marketplace of ideas,”with small group discussions on economic diversification, demographic change and rural-urban connections, and will build on the themes discussed in many of the rural/small town sessions taking place during the conference. Please join us to contribute and learn from these rich conversations, and to connect with others working in small town and rural contexts.
Making it Happen: Building Diverse Partnerships for Equitable Solutions
Location: Key BR 4 Grab your breakfast and take advantage of this engaging opportunity to network with other conference participants working on social equity and environmental justice issues across the country. To start things off, representatives from St.Louis, Baltimore and Sacramento will briefly describe some of the work that they are undertaking. Find out about challenges they’ve faced to create more sustainable and equitable communities, successes they have experienced through diverse partnerships, and future goals to take advantage of new opportunities moving forward. There will be plenty of time for a robust discussion, so don’t miss out! |
| 8:30 AM – 9:45 AM | Morning Welcome & Plenary
Building Resilience in the Face of Climate Risks
Location: Key BR 5-8 Accredited by:CM 1.25 SpeakersJoel Beauvais, Associate Administrator for the Office of Policy, U.S. EPAPam O’Connor, Councilmember, City of Santa Monica, CA Harriet Tregoning, Director of the Office of Economic Resilience, U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development Kate Dineen, Director, NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program, New York Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (invited) Presentations → The American economy will face significant and widespread disruptions from climate change. Our health, safety and prosperity are threatened unless policymakers and businesses take immediate action to respond to and reduce climate risk. This panel will highlight innovative public-private solutions and discuss how businesses, governments and communities can work together to become more resilient.
Watch this plenary online |
| 9:30 AM – 3:30 PM | Technology Fair: An Interactive Demonstration of Public Engagement Tools for Smart Planning |
| 9:45 AM – 10:15 AM | Morning Break |
| 10:15 AM – 11:45 AM | Concurrent Morning Breakouts
Deal Makers and Game Changers: Being Responsive to a Market for Equitable Development
Location: Key BR 1-2 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5 ModeratorSarita Turner, Senior Associate, PolicyLinkSpeakersSteve Dubb, Research Director, The Democracy CollaborativeTony Salazar, President, West Coast Operations, McCormack Baron Salazar Steve Callahan, Multifamily Housing, Self-Help Credit Union and Ventures Fund Kimberly Dowdell, AIA, NOMA, Sheila C. Johnson Leadership Fellow, Harvard University Presentations → Equitable development is an innovative idea, and it is gaining traction. Continued success will require understanding consumers and how they adopt innovations. Learn what the business community thinks of equitable development. Learn who are the early adopters of equitable development, and what is motivating them to get onboard. Learn what factors may affect the pace of adopting equitable development within an expanding market of place-based options. Learn how to turn businesses into allies for equitable development?
Leveraging Impact Investing to Support a Community Transformation in Baltimore
Location: Holiday BR 4 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorDavid Bowers, Vice President and Mid-Atlantic Market Leader, Enterprise Community PartnersSpeakersRachel Reilly Carroll, Investing Marketing Manager, Enterprise Community Loan FundThibault Manekin, Co-Founder, Seawall Development Company Matthew Gallagher, President and CEO, Goldseker Foundation Presentations → Join us for a conversation on how Enterprise Community Loan Fund, a national Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, is using impact investing to drive new sources of capital to communities. The session will provide an overview of the Enterprise Community Impact Note, and highlight the Baltimore neighborhood of Remington as a case study for leveraging impact investing to support community transformation. Remington is an emerging urban neighborhood where families are putting down permanent roots and small business owners are opening new shops. The panelists will highlight both the work being done in Remington in partnership with Enterprise, and how individuals, foundations and organizations can support local efforts by purchasing an Impact Note targeted to their community. Make sure to join us if you participate in the optional Remington tour on Thursday afternoon (Tour 12, 2:00-4:00 p.m.).
Meet the Grantmakers
Location: Holiday BR 3 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorPaula Dressel, Ph.D., Vice President, Just Partners, Inc.Michael Marcus, Ph.D., Program Director, Older Adult Services, Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation SpeakersColin Pekruhn, MPP, Program Director, Grantmakers in HealthRegina Gray, Ph.D., Coordinator, Sustainable Communities Research, U.S. HUD Mary Leary, Ph.D., Division Chief, Rural and Targeted Programs, U.S. DOT, FTA Brigett Ulin, MPH, Director, Office of the National Prevention Strategy, Center for Disease Control and Prevention Kathy Sykes, Advisor for Aging and Sustainability, U.S. EPA Vivian Vasallo, Vice President, Impact Programs-Housing, AARP Foundation Sandy Markwood, Executive Director, National Association of Area Agencies on Aging Chris Kochtitsky, Associate Director for Program Development, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Presentations → Have you ever been on a date with a grantmaker? Then you won’t want to miss this intimate session with federal grantmakers, private funders as well as leaders from the networks of Grantmakers in Aging, and Grantmakers in Health. To get us warmed up there will be an ice breaker survey that will delve into your previous dating experiences with funders. If you have never been on a date that is ok too. Based on your experiences our eligible funders will perform skits role-playing the good, bad and ugly grantseekers. You will learn about foundation types and the “ten commandments” of grantmaking. Do you want to know what funders are looking for? Grantmakers will share their intimate secrets about getting that first date and the words to open doors. You will learn to find successful courtship topics for that first date. You will have the chance to “speed-date” our funders.
Equity (k)NOW! – Collaborating on Equity in the Context of Transit-oriented Communities
Location: Holiday BR 2 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorHilary Franz, Executive Director, FuturewiseSpeakersMichael Brown, Vice President, Community Leadership, The Seattle FoundationMiguel Maestas, Associate Administrator, El Centro de la Raza Hayley Bonsteel, Community Engagement Manager, Futurewise Presentations → Like many jurisdictions, King County, WA, is challenged by growing disparities in household income, health outcomes and education attainment – driven in large part by unevenness in foundational community conditions that are the building blocks of opportunity. At the same time, light rail and bus rapid transit are expanding, triggering transit-oriented development that can have transformative value in remedying inequities. Lead by Futurewise, a statewide public interest group promoting smart growth, the Equity (k)NOW! program is seeding communities with pro-equity ingredients that include spatial data that portrays baseline conditions equity, participatory engagements to identify community priorities for pro-equity development, and capacity improvements that allow communities to advocate for priority improvements. In 2013, the baseline equity conditions for King County were mapped and analyzed with guidance from the STAR Community Rating System’s Equity in Services and Access objective. Transit-oriented communities are now being convened through different outreach and engagement tools to (1) learn about variations and deficits in foundational community conditions, (2) encourage and enhance partnerships, and (3) begin to establish work plans for collective impact at the neighborhood, city, county and regional level.
Displacement is Preventable: Community Land Trusts Preserve Land for the Community
Location: Holiday BR 5 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorMark Perlman, Policy Associate, National Community Land Trust NetworkSpeakersSelina Mack, Executive Director, Durham Community Land TrusteesJeff Washburne, Executive Director, City of Lakes Community Land Trust Malcolm Harris, Director of Programs and Organizing, T.R.U.S.T South LA Presentations → The benefits of growth do not accrue to all households equally. As cities pursue smart-growth policies to revitalize communities, they often fail to plan for and mitigate the harm that these improvements inflict on low-income residents who are priced out of the neighborhoods they once called home. Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are a flexible and effective tool to create permanently affordable homes, providing successful rental or homeownership opportunities for generations of lower-income families and ensuring they are not displaced. In addition to affordable housing, CLTs develop urban agriculture projects, energize commercial spaces, and conserve urban green spaces. Through live examples, stories and data from three community land trusts, this session will examine the specifics of how CLTs work, how they can prevent displacement, and what cities can do to support these organizations to ensure that rising property costs do not displace current residents.
A Debate: Who Will Drive Suburban Transformation – The Millennials or the Boomers?
Location: Holiday BR 1 Level: Advanced Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorJune Williamson, RA, LEED AP, Associate Professor of Architecture, The City College of New YorkSpeakersJennifer Wallace-Brodeur, Strategic Advisor, Livable Communities, Education & Outreach, AARPChristopher Leinberger, President, LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors Arthur Nelson, Ph.D., FAICP, Professor of Planning and Real Estate Development, University of Arizona Kathryn Lawler, Manager, Aging and Health Resources, Atlanta Regional Commission Presentations → The two largest demographic groups in the country are the Millennial and Baby Boom generations. Both have demonstrated an increasing preference for walkable urban living and have the potential to drive the market for the transformation of our suburban communities into walkable urban places. If you’re a suburban community trying to change a neighborhood, which demographic do you target? You decide! Two experts representing each position will present demographic analysis, business financial assessments, regional fiscal analysis, and case studies to persuade you that the group they represent will most influence suburban transformation. You will vote before and after the debate. The side that gets more votes in the second round than in the first round will win the debate! Communities looking attract either demographic to their suburban redevelopment will also win by learning the positive and negatives of attracting each demographic group to their community.
Growing Innovation: Leveraging Service Programs to Build Smart-Growth Capacity
Location: Key BR 4 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorKristin Brubaker, Project Manager, Local Government CommissionSpeakersKaren Nelson, Chief Operations Officer, American Leadership Forum, Mountain Valley ChapterKif Scheuer, Climate Change Program Director, Local Government Commission Marc Schlossberg, PhD, Professor, City and Regional Planning, Co-Director, Sustainable Cities Initiative, University of Oregon Liz Delaney, Senior Manager, Operations, Environmental Defense Fund, Climate Corps Presentations → Building climate responsive communities requires a deep level of engagement by people of all ages. Increasingly, there is individual interest in taking action, but a lack of structured outlets. Local governments are natural sites for this engagement, as they are well positioned to pilot solutions, but are limited by a lack of resources. In this session, participants will learn about four innovative service programs – Sustainable City Year, CivicSpark, EDF Climate Corps and Encore Fellowships –built around connecting individuals at different life stages with local governments to catalyze action. Participants will learn about how these service programs are not only producing positive community outcomes, but also are growing a workforce of sustainability and urban planning leaders. Panelists will briefly outline program models, share lessons learned, and describe available opportunities. Participants will then engage in an open discussion about ways to tap individual service interest to build more sustainable communities.
The Teacher Is In: School Siting Tools You Can Use!
Location: Key BR 10 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorRegina Langton, Senior Policy Analyst, U.S. EPA, Office of Sustainable CommunitiesSpeakersKatherine Moore, Sustainable Growth Program Director, Georgia ConservancyBill Michaud, Senior Technical Advisor, Land and Sustainability Programs, SRA International, Inc. Nick Salmon, Educational Facility Planner, CTA Architects Engineers Presentations → Schools are a major community investment and their location influences where people live. Join us for a lively discussion and learn about two resources created by the U.S. EPA to drive well-informed decisions on community school siting. The Smart School Siting Tool builds off the EPA’s School Siting Guidelines and training workshops. Both resources help communities evaluate whether new schools are needed and where to place them, as well as whether candidate school sites are well-located, coordinated with community planning priorities, and foster active lifestyles and community health. The session will use case studies to launch an exchange with participants about the “good, bad and ugly” of school-siting decisions. You’ll also have an opportunity to schedule an on-site conversation with panelists about these school-siting tools and your community.
Rethinking Detroit: Tools, Partnerships and Strategies to Re-envision a Quintessential American City
Location: Key BR 12 Level: Advanced Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorTom Woiwode, Director, Greenways Initiative, Community Foundation of Southeast MichiganSpeakersDiana Flora, Project Manager, Detroit Revitalization Fellow, Data Driven DetroitWendy Lewis Jackson, Deputy Director, Community Development, Detroit, Kresge Foundation Linda Smith, Executive Director, U-Snap-Bac, Inc. Presentations → How do you rebuild a city where one-third of it is blighted or abandoned? How do you rethink a city’s future? Using lessons from failed game plans, with unprecedented collaboration among public and private stakeholders, and hands-on resources at the federal, state and local levels, Detroit is developing innovative strategies that promise long-term opportunities for older industrial cities everywhere. Join this conversation to stretch your thinking about how to deal with long-term blight and how persistent commitment is turning a worst case scenario into a melting pot of innovative, cutting-edge ideas for building resilient communities.
Anchor Institutions: Harnessing their Power for the Good of Community Change
Location: Key BR 11 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorScot Spencer, Associate Director for Advocacy and Influence, The Anne E. Casey FoundationSpeakersMacKenzie Garvin, Special Assistant, Economic and Neighborhood Development, Office of the Mayor, City of BaltimoreEllis Brown, Director, Community Related Economic Development, Morgan State University Yariela Kerr-Donovan, Director, Department of Human Resources, Project REACH/Community Education Programs, The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System Calvin Keene, Reverend/Pastor, Memorial Baptist Church; Senior Leadership Team Member, BUILD Presentations → Anchor institutions – eds and meds, government, faith-based institutions and utilities – are central to the health and prosperity of places like Baltimore. They provide some of the strongest opportunities to advance economic inclusion and positive economic growth for local citizens and small business owners. They are a catalyst to attract and retain residents, create jobs, and support economic growth. Similarly, the economic vitality of neighborhoods around anchor institutions is critical to attract and retain students, boost institutional reputation and national rankings, and further develop institutional endowments. Efforts to strengthen these mutual community and anchor interests is moving forward in Baltimore through efforts like the Baltimore Integration Partnership and the Baltimore City Anchor Plan and East Baltimore’s BUILD/TRF partnership. This facilitated discussion will explore the partnerships, strategies and lessons learned from institutional, civic and community leaders to improve opportunities for residents and communities.
Creative Placemaking and Transit: Community Engagement, Lasting Neighborhoods and Cultural Celebration
Location: Key BR 9 Level: Beginner Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorRochelle Carpenter, Deputy Outreach Director, Transportation for AmericaSpeakersRenata Soto, Executive Director, Conexión AméricasHeidi Guenin, Policy Manager, Transportation and Land Use, Upstream Public Health Kathleen Ferrier, AICP, Director of Advocacy, Circulate San Diego Presentations → Community groups in Nashville, San Diego and Portland are designing placemaking projects around upcoming bus rapid transit corridors that connect many communities of color to job centers, health care centers, higher education and other essential destinations. This session will feature an expert panel and discussion of specific creative placemaking projects in the three cities. Topics will include the definition and examples of creative placemaking, community engagement, lasting neighborhoods, cultural celebration, ownership and long-term community involvement in the transit corridor and transportation planning. |
| 11:45 AM – 1:30 PM | Lunch Break – Participants on own Networking Opportunities |
| 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM | Concurrent Afternoon Breakouts
Rising from the Storm: Turning Devastation into Opportunity for All
Location: Key BR 4 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorHarriet Tregoning, Director, Office of Economic Resilience, U.S. HUDSpeakersLinda Langston, County Supervisor, Linn County, IowaBill Gilchrist, Director of Place-Based Planning, City of New Orleans Jeff Davis, Principal Planner, Rhode Island Statewide Planning Program Presentations → Communities are discovering their economic and social wellbeing is inextricably linked to the ways they build and prepare for increased storm events and climate change. Floods and natural disasters can have devastating effects on the economic wellbeing of a community, with many businesses never reopening and the most vulnerable groups most hard-hit. In 2008, Linn County, Iowa, was devastated by a flood that displaced 10,000 people, with the greatest impacts being felt among among socially at-risk groups. New Orleans has a unique history and has taken steps to become a vibrant, resilient city that serves all its residents. Rhode Island has discovered its future economic health depends on its ability to integrate climate change into its economic development plans. Learn about the ways in which these and other communities are seizing the opportunity to recover from major storms and increase resilience to future disasters, strengthen their economies, and protect their most vulnerable residents.
Where’s the Money: 2015 Smart Growth and Philanthropy
Location: Holiday BR 4 Level: Advanced Accredited by:CM 1.5 ModeratorBenjamin Starrett, Executive Director, Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable CommunitiesSpeakersCheryl Casciani, Director of Neighborhood Sustainability, Baltimore Community FoundationErin Coryell, Program Officer, Relief and Resilience Program, Margaret A. Cargill Foundation Jasmine Hall-Ratliff, Program Officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scot Spencer, Associate Director for Advocacy and Influence, Annie E. Casey Foundation Orson Watson, Program Advisor, Garfield Foundation Presentations → This always-popular session will offer multiple perspectives on the changing world of funding – changes in foundation capacity, new opportunities and areas of focus, and direction and trends for the future. This interactive, facilitated session has become an annual New Partners tradition that provides an opportunity for participants to hear directly from funders about their work and engage in face-to-face conversations about funding for the various aspects of a smarter growth agenda. The panelists will discuss diverse perspectives on the funding environment and participate in substantial question and answers. Come early to get a seat!
We Really Are Getting Older! Discover how Communities Are Preparing for Us
Location: Key BR 11 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorJeanne Anthony, Senior Project Manager, Education and Outreach, AARP Livable CommunitiesSpeakersArt Rodriguez, Public Health Director, City of Brownsville, TXMyrtle Habersham, Executive Council Member, AARP Georgia; Key Volunteer Leader, Macon-Bibb County Yogesh Shah, MD, Associate Dean, Department of Global Health; Board Certified Geriatrician, Attending Physician, Memory Clinic, Des Moines University Gail Kohn, Age-Friendly City DC Coordinator, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Executive Office of the Mayor, Government of the District of Columbia Presentations → The aging of the U.S. population is one of the greatest challenges facing our society in the 21st century. People aged 65 will represent 19% of the population (72.1 million) by 2030. This demographic shift has widespread implications, affecting families, businesses, government, social services, public health, health care and the community at large. As America’s population ages, it is essential that cities and communities adapt to the needs of older adults. Making cities and communities age-friendly is one of the most effective approaches to respond to this aging demographic, and prepare for subsequent generations. Panelists from communities enrolled in AARP’s Age-Friendly Network will describe the strategic framework which supports and enforces accountability in community efforts towards sustainability; explain how the effort bridges sectorial, geographical and political boundaries; review partnerships created with a wide variety of stakeholder groups; and demonstrate the engagement of older adults in undertaking substantive community change.
Striving for a Resilient Future Through High Performance Landscapes
Location: Key BR 1-2 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorDanielle Pieranunzi, Director, Sustainable Sites InitiativeSpeakersBarbara Deutsch, Executive Director, Landscape Architecture FoundationRobert Goo, Environmental Projection Specialist, U.S. EPA Presentations → As the focus of the sustainability movement evolves from efficiency to resiliency, the often-overlooked potential of landscapes has become a critical component of the built environment. Rather than simply minimizing damage, a landscape can improve the environmental and social quality of a place by providing flood protection, temperature regulation, and other ecosystem services, which are often underestimated or ignored when making land-use decisions. This session will provide insight into leading-edge tools and projects. Modeled after the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Program, the SITES Rating System will be introduced as a framework for sustainable land design and development. Next, case studies and tools from the Landscape Architecture Foundation will illustrate the measured environmental, social and economic benefits of these high-performing landscapes. Lastly, a regulatory perspective will share government’s role in using landscapes in development projects. The speakers will reflect on their experiences in optimizing landscapes and their role in creating in a resilient future.
Relying on a Foundation: The Case for Community Foundations as Placemakers
Location: Key BR 12 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorJen Horton, Program Manager, Community and Economic Development, National Association of CountiesSpeakersDion Cartwright, Program Officer, Baltimore Community FoundationTimothy Lampkin, Community Development Officer, Southern Bancorp Stephanie Hyre, Program Officer, The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation Robin Hacke, Senior Fellow, The Kresge Foundation Presentations → Local community foundations across the country are moving beyond just providing financial support to local communities. Instead, local philanthropic organizations are acting as community organizers, policy advocates, conveners and capacity builders for local placemaking efforts. Often times, community foundations and local leaders engaged in place-based economic development have mutually beneficial goals, such as creating unique and quality places, revitalizing Main Street corridors and strengthening their asset-based economies. As a result, local leaders can take advantage of these mutual interests to more successfully achieve their economic and community development goals. This session will explore the many roles that local philanthropic organizations play to support quality asset-based economic development, and help local and regional development leaders learn about strategies to partner, engage and collaborate with community foundations to build on existing assets to enhance economic resilience for the future.
Redesigning Schoolyards for Community Resilience: Engaging Partners at All Levels
Location: Key BR 9 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorEllen Braff-Gujardo, Program Officer, W.K. Kellogg FoundationSpeakersJaime Zaplatosch, Education Director, OpenlandsMargaret Lamar, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Children & Nature Network Meg Kelly, Space to Grow Project Manager, Healthy Schools Campaign Presentations → Schools have a great advantage and opportunity to be community centers and partners. If the schoolyards are well-designed they can provide much-needed green space in heavily urbanized neighborhoods; increase academic performance; bring public art into communities; serve as gathering places for other community programs, including fresh vegetable delivery and other healthy food programs; and, significantly contribute to a reduction in stormwater runoff and urban heat islands across cities and towns. This session will present a macro-level view of school-community partnership models from innovative green schoolyard implementations across the U.S. with a map of the critical promising practices in partnership development that are keys to success. A case study initiative, Space to Grow: Greening Chicago Schoolyards, will demonstrate a multi-sector, public-private partnership that has the active involvement and leadership of municipal agencies, non-profits and schools committed to the shared vision of what a schoolyard can be.
Growing Pains: Brownfield Reuse and Creating New Food Connections
Location: Holiday BR 1 Level: Beginner Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorAnn Carroll, MPH, Policy Analyst, Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, U.S. EPASpeakersAbby Cocke, Environmental Planner, Baltimore Office of SustainabilityDennis Chestnut, Executive Director, Groundwork Anacostia River DC Dwane Jones, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Sustainable Development, College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences, University of the District of Columbia Presentations → This session will introduce participants to the brownfields program and how technical assistance and brownfield grants for assessment and cleanup can support community efforts to create healthier, more livable communities. The diversity of grant and technical tools will be discussed using different community garden and urban agriculture examples as well as other reuses that support increased food access. These include farmers’ markets, food wholesalers, food production and food banks as reuses that strengthen local food systems. Local innovators from Washington, DC, and Baltimore will discuss projects on urban agriculture and sustainability that are contributing to improved local food production and locally expanding food access. In recounting their first-hand experiences, these innovators will also touch on gaps in information, resources and services, and propose area for further attention to support efforts in creating healthier communities, small businesses and sustainable brownfield revitalization.
Saving the World through Zoning: Small-Town Success Stories
Location: Holiday BR 2 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorRoger Millar, Vice President, Smart Growth AmericaSpeakersSandy Ballard, Township Board Member, Derry Township, PAHildy Kingma, Director of Economic Development and Planning, Village of Park Forest, IL David Tennent, Town Supervisor, Town of Campbell, NY Presentations → Small cities and rural areas often have very different growth and development issues from their big city cousins – but their zoning codes are often drawn from the same templates. Smart Growth America offers a workshop for local governments to help them tailor their zoning codes to promote smart growth at the small city and rural scale. The workshops have focused on a number of topics, including economic development, resilience, housing and transportation choice, energy conservation, stormwater management and green infrastructure. Workshops in small communities like Derry Township, PA, Park Forest, IL, and Campbell, NY, have resulted in substantive change in those communities in a relatively short period of time. This session will explore recommended strategies through presentations by the instructors and leaders from the three communities. The panelists will then engage one another and the audience in a discussion of lessons learned and their applicability to other communities.
Safer Streets, Stronger Economies: Complete Streets Performance in the DMV and Beyond
Location: Key BR 10 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorLaura Searfoss, Associate, National Complete Streets CoalitionSpeakersBeth Osborne, Senior Policy Advisor, Transportation for AmericaDavid Patton, Bicycle and Pedestrian Planner, Arlington County Department of Environment Services and Transportation Stefanie Seskin, Deputy Director, National Complete Streets Coalition Sam Zimbabwe, Associate Director of Policy, Planning and Sustainability Administration, District of Columbia Department of Transportation Presentations → Leaders and advocates across America tout the benefits of Complete Streets policies, but what do communities implementing Complete Streets actually achieve with these investments? Are more people really riding bikes, walking or taking public transportation? How do the costs of these projects compare to conventional roadway projects? What role can Complete Streets play in catalyzing economic revitalization and meeting changing demographic needs and preferences? How are localities, regions and states measuring and analyzing their impact? Through a dynamic dialogue, this session begins to explore these questions and shares data-driven analysis of more than 30 built Complete Streets projects and concrete lessons from implementing and measuring Complete Streets projects in the Washington, DC, region. Practitioners and national experts will discuss strategies for improving performance-based decision making, particularly to advance equity.
Community Resilience to Natural Hazards: Approaches to Adaptation
Location: Holiday BR 3 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorRandall Schneider, Lead, Office for Coastal Management, Mid-Atlantic, National Oceanic & Atmospheric AdministrationSpeakersBreece Robertson, National GIS Director, The Trust for Public LandPete Wiley, Economist, Engagement, Training and Education Program NOAA Office for Coastal Management Hilarie Sorensen, Climate Change Extension Educator, Minnesota Sea Grant Celeste Novak, FAIA, Leed AP, Principal, Celeste Allen Novak Architect Presentations → With increased and more severe natural hazard events, drought and changing sea levels impacting communities across the U.S., there is a need to identify, examine and quantify the economic and social benefits of adaptation techniques that reduce negative impacts and provide sustainable solutions to these situations. Come learn about processes, practical tools and techniques for evaluating vulnerabilities and implementing adaptation measures related to increasing community resilience. Practitioners from the Trust for Public Land, NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management, Minnesota Sea Grant and an architectural firm working nationally will talk about how vulnerability assessments and adaptation measures, like green infrastructure and water conservation, can help increase communities’ resilience to natural hazards while simultaneously offering net economic benefits and improving the quality of life for residents.
Fair Development in Baltimore: Uniting Economic and Community Development
Location: Holiday BR 5 Level: Beginner Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorGreg LeRoy, Executive Director, Good Jobs FirstSpeakersRoxie Herbekian, President, UNITE HERE Local 7 BaltimoreTodd Cherkis, Leadership Organizer, United Workers Glenard Middleton, Executive Director, Maryland Public Employees, Council 67 Presentations → Baltimore\'s Inner Harbor was one of the first big downtown redevelopment projects, but it long predated the Community Benefits movement, leaving the city\'s neighborhoods to keep organizing to make the Harbor benefit them. In this panel, a human rights group United Workers, labor unions UNITE HERE Local 7 and Maryland Public Employees Council 67 (AFSCME), and Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD) will share their organizing and campaigns for Fair Development, to ensure that Baltimore prioritizes communities in need, benefits all, and is transparent, participatory and accountable. Panel members will share the success and challenges that each organization has encountered to date in growing the movement, persuading policy makers and building political leverage. A Union president will speak of the Campaign’s quest for decent jobs that ensure the right to organize, a community organizer will share the challenge of making housing permanently affordable, and other panel members will share their own campaign challenges. |
| 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Coffee Break |
| 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM | Concurrent Afternoon Implementation Workshops
Better Together: Collaborative Approaches to Catalyzing Climate-Adaptation Action
Location: Holiday BR 1 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH 2.0 ModeratorAaron Ray, Institute Associate, Georgetown Climate CenterSpeakersKif Scheuer, Climate Change Program Director, Local Government CommissionNancy Schneider, Senior Program Officer, US Climate & Environmental Programs, Institute for Sustainable Communities Kristin Baja, Climate and Resilience Planner, Baltimore City Department of Planning, Office of Sustainability Ashlee Grace, Project Manager, Great Lakes Adaptation Assessment for Cities Presentations → The scale and extent of climate-change impacts presents a planning issue for all levels of government that challenges existing scopes of responsibility. In many cases, land-use planning authority is highly localized, while impacts are best addressed regionally or at the state or federal level. Responding to climate change requires key stakeholders to coordinate across jurisdictional boundaries at a much greater level than ever before. Such coordination faces significant barriers, including funding, governance and institutional constraints. This session will present several adaptation-collaboration case studies. From California’s Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation to the Great Lakes Adaptation Collaborative to the South East Florida Climate Compact to the City of Baltimore’s own efforts to coordinate with the state of Maryland, local, regional, state and federal stakeholders are finding ways to move forward by building new relationships across jurisdictional and institutional boundaries.
Smart Growth Can Be Safe Growth: Resilience Lessons from Vermont and California
Location: Key BR 1-2 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH 2.0 ModeratorStephanie Bertaina, Senior Policy Analyst, U.S. EPASpeakersJoshua Schwartz, Executive Director, Mad River Valley Planning DistrictDana Brechwald, Resilience Planner, Association of Bay Area Governments Brent Butler, AICP, CFM, Planning Manager, City of East Palo Alto Noelle MacKay, Commissioner, Vermont Department of Housing and Community Presentations → Smart growth isn’t truly smart if it isn’t safe. Many communities are learning this lesson as they face the challenge of developing in locations that are compact, walkable AND are less vulnerable to floods, sea level rise, earthquakes, and other natural hazards. This interactive session will feature lessons learned from Vermont and California – two very different places that are working to become more resilient as they face the effects of climate change. Participants in this session will learn how communities in the Mad River Valley of Vermont are using a Flood Resilience Checklist to build back better after Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, and how regional organizations and communities in the San Francisco Bay Area of California are using strategies to reduce vulnerability to sea level rise and earthquakes in priority development areas. Participants will learn how to apply these tools and strategies as they seek to implement safe and smart growth back home.
Man Bites Dog: NIMBYs Become YIMBY’s in White Flint, MD
Location: Holiday BR 2 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0 ModeratorChristopher Leinberger, President, LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and InvestorsSpeakersRod Lawrence, Partner, Real Estate Development, JBG, Inc.Dan Hoffman, Director of Innovation, Montgomery County, MD; Former President, White Flint Community Coalition Evan Goldman, Vice President, Development, Federal Realty Presentations → A leading example of smart growth in Maryland has been demonstrated on the ground in White Flint, one of the prototypical Edge Cities of the late 20th Century. Over the last few years, community groups and the development community have come together to rezone and determine an infrastructure plan, including BRT, sidewalks, bike lanes, and road improvements, that is transforming this classic strip commercial into a regionally significant walkable urban place (WalkUP). Major projects are already being built following the new code. Learn about one of the first examples in the country about how NIMBYs became YIMBYs (Yes in my backyard).
The 2020 Leadership Strategy: Diversifying the Smart Growth Movement Now and in the Future!
Location: Holiday BR 3 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorsJoseph Schilling, LL.M., Senior Fellow, Metropolitan Institute; Professor of Practice, Urban Affairs & Planning, Virginia TechMariia Zimmerman, Principal, MZ Strategies, LLC SpeakersLynn Ross, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, U.S. HUDDon Edwards, CEO, Justice and Sustainability Associates, LLC Katherine Aguilar Perez-Estolano, Co-Founder, Estolano LeSar Perez Advisors Christopher Forinash, Program Director, National Sustainable Communities Learning Network, Institute for Sustainable Communities Presentations → At a 2013 Metropolitan Institute Forum, more than 50 leaders from the nonprofit, public and private sectors identified the dire need for developing a more inclusive leadership strategy for the smart growth movement. Our next leaders MUST better reflect the changing demographics and diversity of our communities. Building on this forum, session participants will roll-up their sleeves to share their strategies and examples of recruiting/retaining a more diverse generation of smart growth leaders. Using a blend of open forums and table top discussions, participants will develop a menu of strategies they can apply to their own organizations as well as set the stage for a national dialogue on diversifying the smart growth movement.
For Livable and Lovable Cities – Add Parks!
Location: Key BR 10 Level: Advanced Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorPeter Harnik, Director, Center for City Park Excellence, The Trust for Public LandSpeakersMark Focht, First Deputy Commissioner, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department; American Society of Landscape ArchitectsStephanie Murdock, President, Skatepark of Baltimore Jennifer Robinson, Director, Friends of Patterson Park Presentations → Smart growth means more than just walkability, great transit and plenty of live/work opportunities. It also means truly livable and lovable communities – places that include great neighborhood parks. This session will look at the nuts and bolts of creating and maintaining some of the most exciting new types of local urban parks, including special places for community gardeners, dog lovers, skateboarders and schoolchildren (and their parents). For many residents, these parks can literally make the difference between staying in town and moving out. Moreover, the city also gets measurable economic and health benefits – which will be described in detail in the session. Put them all together and you get something like Patterson Park, Baltimore\'s most successful example of smart growth and greenspace rolled into one.
Bike-Ped Safety Depends on Effective Partnerships Between Transit and Road Agencies
Location: Key BR 4 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorBarbara McCann, Director of Safety, Energy and Environment, U.S. DOTSpeakersAlyssa Begley, Chief of Community Planning, CaltransClarrissa Cabansagan, Community Planner, TransForm Shyam Kannan, Managing Director of Planning, WMATA Kim Lucas, Bicycle Program Specialist, District of Columbia DOT Leslie Meehan, Director of Healthy Communities, Nashville Area MPO Presentations → For those who walk or bike to public transportation, seamless sidewalks and bikeways can make the trip safer and more comfortable. Transit agencies own vehicles, shelters and benches, but they typically don’t own sidewalks, roads and highways that connect to their stops and stations. Things can get bumpy at the intersection of road and transit agency responsibilities. That\'s why the US Department of Transportation launched its Road Safety for Transit Patrons Effort as part of the Secretary’s larger Bike-Ped Safety Initiative. It is vital for transit agency officials to communicate and collaborate effectively with local, regional and state officials about preserving, improving and expanding networks of bike-ped infrastructure. These relationships are key. A panel of innovative leaders will share best practices in this arena. They will also facilitate small interactive breakout groups, and highlight equity aspects of this topic including disproportionate risk faced by persons with disabilities and low-income communities.
Leveraging New Transit for Better Communities: Transit-Oriented Development as a Catalyst and Stabilizer along the Red and Purple Lines
Location: Holiday BR 5 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorJessica Sorrell, Program Director, Enterprise Community PartnersSpeakersIlana Branda, Policy & Neighborhood Development Manager, Montgomery Housing PartnershipTing Ma, Ph.D., Assistant, National Center for Smart Growth, University of Maryland Klaus Philipsen, Principal, ArchPlan Inc. Lisa Hodges, Principal, Hodges Development Presentations → Community development practitioners will share their vision of how transit can leverage better communities and how affordable housing can serve as a catalyst for community stability and reinvestment. With proposed federal funding in 2015, construction will begin on two new light rail lines in Maryland. The Purple Line is a 16-mile, $2.2 billion project that will link two Maryland suburban centers in Montgomery and Prince Georges County. The 14-mile, $2.6 billion Red Line project links major Baltimore region employment centers and neighborhoods. Hear from a researcher and affordable-housing policy expert on their approach to map and analyze housing and demographic data along the Purple Line corridor. An architect and community development consultant will discuss how the transit provider and communities partnered to envision community-oriented development opportunities along the Red Line, and what is done to implement those visions.
Advancing an Equitable Economy through Community Food Projects
Location: Key BR 11 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH 2.0 ModeratorJudith Bell, President, PolicyLinkSpeakersLinda Jo Doctor, Program Officer, Food & Community, W.K. Kellogg FoundationTeleange Thomas, Program Director, Health, Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland Tynesha McHarris, Director of Community Leadership, Brooklyn Community Foundation Holly Freishtat, Director, Baltimore Food Policy Initiative, Office of Sustainability, Department of Planning, City of Baltimore Presentations → Access to healthy food can bring triple bottom-line benefits to communities: a revitalized economy, good jobs and better health. This session will give participants a glimpse into how enhanced food systems can advance an equitable economy, build sustainable communities, and promote smart growth. Leaders from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland and the Brooklyn Community Foundation will detail the nuts and bolts of implementing food projects at the state and local level and will share how an equitable food system brings investment to underserved communities, specifically low-income communities and communities of color. The speakers will also explain how state and local food-related projects can improve healthy food access and foster community economic development, and how philanthropic organizations are pursuing different models of community engagement while leveraging resources from nonprofits, public institutions and private-sector investors.
Equitable Development: Thorny Issues, Common Lessons and Leading Strategies for Places Large and Small
Location: Holiday BR 4 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorJulia Seward, Principal, Julia Seward Consulting; Program Consultant, The Funders NetworkSpeakersKaren Black, CEO, May 8 Consulting, Inc.David Cristeal, Housing Division Director, Arlington County Virginia David Fink, Policy Director, Partnership for Strong Communities Cheryl Cort, Policy Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth Presentations → As cities strive to build equitable places for all, seasoned stakeholders know that implementing effective strategies is a far cry from talking about what needs to be done. Join this session for a look inside current lessons that take rhetoric to successful practice. Using first-hand examples, seasoned experts and practitioners will lead participants in an exploration of local environments, key tools, what works, and what they have learned about opportunity and failure. Participants will be part of an interactive session that touches policy, use of data, advocacy, partnership building, internal organizing, gaining government support, and a rich toolkit of take-away information. Participants will leave with a clear sense of strategies that work and experience in how to put a toolkit in place.
Tools for Healthy Places: Putting Science into Practice to Inform Decisions
Location: Key BR 12 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorShawn McIntosh-Hasler, Program Manager, Center for Public Health Policy, American Public Health AssociationSpeakersSandra Whitehead, Ph.D., MPA, Director, Healthy Community Design, National Association of County and City Health OfficialsAnna Ricklin, AICP, Manager, Planning and Community Health Center Sara Hammerschmidt, MSCRP, Associate, Content, The Urban Land Institute Lisa Sturtevant, Ph.D., Vice President, Research, National Housing Conference Laura Jackson, Biologist, U.S. EPA Lawrence Frank, Professor and Bombardier Chair, Director, Health and Community Design Lab, Schools of Population and Public Health and Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia Presentations → Quality of place is increasingly recognized as a significant variable in public health – such as parks that invite activity, sidewalks that foster social connectivity, or urban food sources. However, relevant information on decision implications and an understanding of the connections between variables and health are needed to guide decisions that better foster community health. Tools, such as Health Impact Assessments, can enable the incorporation of health considerations into community decisions, and they are increasingly being used throughout the United States. This workshop will present an overview of Health Impact Assessments, the EnviroAtlas, the Eco-Health Relationship Browser, the Healthy Community Design Checklist and the California Urban-Footprint scenario-planning tool. These tools are evidence-based methods for ensuring that health implications are considered throughout the planning process. There will be an opportunity for participants to gain in-depth knowledge of at least two tools through 20-minute interactive sessions, followed by general questions and answers.
Building Youth Leadership for Stronger Communities
Location: Key BR 9 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH 2.0 ModeratorRobert Nixon, Youth Board Member, Youth As ResourcesAbby Cocke, Environmental Planner, Baltimore Office of Sustainability SpeakersKatie Arevalo, Youth Member, Baltimore Algebra ProjectLaShawn Jones, Youth Board Member, Youth As Resources Eddie Hawkins, Student Representative, Baltimore City School Board Presentations → Smart growth is about creating a better future for the next generation, yet too often members of that generation are absent from the conversation. Young people make passionate leaders, whose enthusiasm and fresh ideas can contribute greatly to building stronger communities. They are well-positioned to advocate to their peers, parents, and neighbors, and to deepen our engagement with issues on the ground. In this session, participants will hear directly from several dynamic youth leaders in Baltimore on how to work to break down assumptions, and brainstorm on why and how to better engage youth in our community-building movements. |
| Saturday | |
| 7:00 AM – 8:30 AM | Conference Registration / Morning Coffee Networking Opportunities |
| 8:30 AM – 9:45 AM | Morning Welcome and Plenary
Open Data + Civic Hackers = New Technology for Age-Old Problems
Location: Key BR 5-8 SpeakersLuke Norris, Director of Government Relations, Code for AmericaSteve Hansen, Councilmember, City of Sacramento, CA Thom Guertin, Chief Digital Officer, State of Rhode Island Denise Taylor, Communication Director, City of Somerville, MA Presentations → Cities across the nation are making city data available in an effort to catalyze innovative solutions to local challenges. This new openness of information has allowed entrepreneurial residents to create apps that track crime, map abandoned property, find the closest transit stop with real-time arrival predictions, identify city parks, and find real-time information on parking availability and prices. With limited cost to municipalities, local governments are employing the ingenuity and creativity to help improve the lives of community residents, visitors and businesses through use of technology. This plenary will feature local governments whose open-data initiatives have breed new community solutions and civic hackers who have seized on these community-innovation opportunities.
Watch this plenary online |
| 9:45 AM – 10:15 AM | Morning Break |
| 10:15 AM – 1:45 PM | Understanding the Challenge: A Poverty Simulation Experience
Description
Location: Holiday BR 6 Level: Intermediate More than 45 million Americans – and one in five children – live in poverty. While at the conference, join trained facilitators, other attendees and several volunteers to simulate the daily challenges those in poverty experience. Step into the shoes of low-income families, and try to provide food, shelter and basic necessities while dealing with “community resources.” Feel poverty from a new perspective in this eye-opening experiential setting, and take home with you a deeper understanding that can make you more effective in your work. This unique, 3.5-hour experience will run twice during the conference, and is made possible through support by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, and the University of Maryland School of Nursing Shady Grove Campus. Box lunch is included. Read more about the simulation |
| 10:15 AM – 12:15 PM | Concurrent Implementation Workshops
ILEAD! Tools for Communities to Drive Equitable Development
Location: Key BR 3 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH 2.0 ModeratorEmily Torres-Cullinane, Senior Community Engagement Specialist, Metropolitan Area Planning CouncilSpeakersRenato Castelo, Community Engagement Specialist, Metropolitan Area Planning CouncilJanelle Chan, Executive Director, Asian Community Development Corporation Shirronda Almeida, Director of Membership Initiatives, Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations Presentations → With communities growing more diverse, neighbors often differ in language and in level of civic engagement. That makes talking about local developments, let alone issues of equity, difficult; but the Institute on Leadership in Equity and Development (ILEAD) program got five different communities in Metro Boston to do just that. ILEAD teaches people about their role in influencing land use and development through an equity lens. It brings various players together: regional planning authority, city officials, non-profits, community development corporations, residents and other community members. It empowers participants and equips them with the tools to take an active role in the decision-making process. The speakers participated in the creation of the curriculum and facilitated the workshops. This hands-on session will show you how you can adapt ILEAD’s methods and make them work in your city or community.
Tools for Building Community Resilience to Coastal Hazards: An Implementation Workshop
Location: Key BR 1-2 Level: Advanced Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorKenneth Walker, Program Analyst, NOAA, Office of Coastal ManagementSpeakersSusan Fox, Project Manager and Training Specialist, TBG at NOAA, Office for Coastal ManagementJenna Gatto, Resilient Communities Specialist, Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve Catherine McCall, Coastal and Marine Assessment Division Director, Maryland Department of National Resources, Chesapeake & Coastal Service Presentations → Coastal flood hazards, including storm surge and sea-level rise, can impact people, places and natural resources in coastal communities. These communities face the challenge of identifying the degrees of risk posed by these hazards and determining where and how to accommodate new growth and development given those risks. Assessing a community’s risks and vulnerabilities to coastal hazards and climate change is an important process for creating a more resilient coastal community. This session will provide participants with instruction on using practical and innovative online tools to help their communities strengthen resilience to flooding. Local partners will discuss tailored implementation of these nationally available tools.
Reaping Benefits of New Transit: Ensuring Local Entrepreneurs Benefit from Rising Tides
Location: Holiday BR 1 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorMelissa Jones, Senior Program Officer, Boston LISCSpeakersDamon Cox, Director of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, The Boston FoundationJen Faigel, Executive Director, Crop Circle Kitchen Aaron Tanaka, Founder, Center for Economic Democracy Presentations → When there’s a rising tide, who is riding it? Across the country, new transit infrastructure is spurring investment in urban neighborhoods. Using examples of the Resilient Communities, Resilient Families entrepreneurship pipeline that has developed in Boston’s Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan neighborhoods and the California Bay Area’s programming to support businesses during the transit construction phase; this session will highlight strategies to ensure that existing businesses and emerging entrepreneurs are prepared to take advantage of the rising tide of investment in their neighborhoods. Specific focus will be given to strategies benefiting entrepreneurs of color and the low and moderate income, including models for start-up support, for business incubation and acceleration, and for connecting neighborhood entrepreneurs to regional networks. The session will examine the role of funders, intermediaries, and small business support programs. Participants will leave with strategies to assess their current entrepreneurial eco-system and fill gaps.
Local Food, Local Places: How Local Food Can Spur Downtown Revitalization
Location: Holiday BR 4 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorKate Ange, Principal, Renaissance Planning GroupSpeakersLeigh McClure, Special Projects Coordinator/Assistant Director of Community and Economic Development, Southeast Tennessee Development DistrictAndy SalmonsDirector, Downtown Corbin; Co-owner, You and Me Coffee and Tea; Co-owner, The Wrigley Taproom Mary Jennifer Russell, Owner, Sugaree’s Bakery Presentations → Communities across the country – large and small – have experienced a resurgence of interest in local food and its benefits for community health and farmland preservation. Many have also realized that local food can create an opportunity to revitalize downtowns. Through the Livable Communities in Appalachia program, communities in Appalachia have located farmers markets on vacant lots on main street; refurbished old school buildings and train depots to create community kitchens and food-based business incubators; and tied it together with trails, sidewalks, and street improvements. This session will feature stories from communities in Appalachia who have brought together federal, state, local, private, and nonprofit partners to enhance access to local food and create new economic opportunities for residents and businesses. Session participants will participate in an interactive food systems and downtown revitalization exercise to learn how to harness the power of local food in their own communities to enhance the place where they live.
Near-Highway Community Design: A School and Housing Charrette
Location: Key Ballroom 11 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorAnne Tate, Professor of Architecture, Rhode Island School of DesignSpeakersWig Zamore, Community Researcher, Somerville Transportation Equity PartnershipChin Lin, Architect, HMFH Architects, Inc. Lydia Lowe, Executive Director, Chinese Progressive Association Alex Bob, Housing Program Coordinator, City of Somerville Presentations → How do you think about school, multi-family and neighborhood design on real sites next to very busy roadways? In just two hours, this highly participatory session will re-create a recent two-day community design exercise. Our “charrettes” will focus on the design of a proposed high school in Boston and new multi-family housing in Somerville, Massachusetts. Both sites are in immigrant rich neighborhoods and next to major highways. After a brief review of near-roadway environmental and health issues, and a brief introduction of a practical list of mitigation tactics, we will conduct two condensed “mini-charrette” exercises that will fully engage participants in how to use a broadly inclusive approach to design healthier schools, multi-family housing and neighborhoods in their own cities and towns. We will bring key Massachusetts charrette participants from our grassroots groups, the professional design community and local government to relate and re-create our collaborative experience.
Build Schools, Build Neighborhoods: Connecting Smart Growth and School Improvement
Location: Holiday BR 3 Level: Advanced Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorDavin Hong, Founder and Principal, Living Design Lab LLCSpeakersJeffrey Vincent, PhD, Deputy Director, Center for Cities and Schools, University of California BerkeleyFrank Patinella, Advocate, ACLU of Maryland, Education and Reform Project Nicole Price, Director, Family & Community Engagement, Baltimore City Schools Presentations → The planning and design of neighborhood-centered, joint-use school facilities is emerging as an excellent opportunity to make cities more attractive places to live, while improving educational outcomes. New 21st-century schools designed with smart-growth principles in mind enhance the competitive strength of existing communities and create resiliency. Learn how a Baltimore coalition proposed alternative financing methods to modernize every city school facility, and won $1 billion for the first phase of a 21st-century schools modernization plan that has galvanized a city, from design professionals and urban planners, to workforce developers and educators. Explore the framework developed to implement the construction program and engage architects, school and community leaders to use the building of new schools to strengthen neighborhoods. Hear national models for building place-based, and neighborhood serving partnerships with public and private sector partners around educational facilities. Discuss challenges of working across sectors to accomplish these ambitious goals.
Making Good and Doing Well with Regional Planning: Direction, Tactics and Implementation Lessons
Location: Holiday BR 5 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorJulia Seward, Principal, Julia Seward Consulting; Program Consultant, The Funders NetworkSpeakersNaomi Friedman, Outreach Coordinator, Office of Economic Resilience, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentLisaBeth Barajas, Manager of Local Planning Assistance, Twin Cities Metropolitan Council Kendra Smith, Senior Planner, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Kevin Byrd, AICP, Executive Director, New River Valley Planning District Commission Marc Draisen, Executive Director, Metropolitan Planning Council (Metro Boston) Ben Bakkenta, Program Manager, Puget Sound Regional Council Chris Beck, Senior Projects Advisor, Sustainable Communities and Philanthropic Engagement, USDA Office of Under-Secretary for Rural Development Kate Dykgraaf, Program Analyst, Office of Economic Resilience, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Presentations → Regional planning agencies – large and small, vibrant and struggling – now lead broad multi-sector partners in implementing the next generation of regional strategies. Each is committed to a new way of thinking about equitable, interconnected places. But as they say, this play is still in the writing. What are we learning about crosscutting outcomes, inclusive solutions, fundamentally sound operating principles, replicable models and feasible long-term funding? Join this session to hear from practitioners deep inside these initiatives about what works, how you achieve success, overcoming obstacles, and amplifying impact. Participate in conversations with peers and experts with first-hand experience in conceiving visionary goals, bringing home tangible products, and managing dwindling resources. This is an opportunity to share experiences and walk away with new perspectives and tools.
Raising Expectations: Using Green Infrastructure to Improve Equity in Underserved Communities
Location: Key BR 9 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorRichard Dolesh, Vice President for Conservation and Parks, National Recreation and Park AssociationSpeakersRobert García, Founding Director and Counsel, The City ProjectIgnacio Bunster-Ossa, FASLA, LEED AP, Principal, WRT | Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC Robin Corathers, Executive Director, Groundwork Cincinnati Brad Buschur, Project Director, Groundwork Lawrence Presentations → Parks, public spaces and greenways offer extraordinary opportunities to advance equity in underserved and environmental-justice communities through green infrastructure projects. Many cities and metropolitan areas are beginning to realize the potential that parks, public spaces and green corridors have to contribute lower-cost solutions for stormwater management, resiliency and environmental health. This session will provide participants practical knowledge on how to infuse equity principles into new green infrastructure and greenway projects; promote community-driven engagement and environmental health; encourage connectivity and active transportation choices; facilitate community-defined visions for the built environment; leverage green infrastructure spending for enhanced open space and recreational benefits; provide funding for projects from non-traditional funding sources; and reduce costs of traditional gray infrastructure through innovative design. Examples will be provided from both large and small-scale green infrastructure and greenway projects. If you’re developing greenways or green infrastructure solutions, don’t miss this informative and practical workshop.
Better Bike Share: Smaller Cities, Suburbs and Equitable Availability
Location: Holiday BR 2 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorDena Kennett, Landscape Architecture Practice Leader, Toole Design GroupSpeakersStefanie deOlloqui, Associate Director, Active Living and Transportation NetworkKatie Monroe, Bike Share Outreach Manager, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia Lindsey West, Deputy Director of Operations, Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham Mauricio Hernandez, Transportation Planner, Toole Design Group Presentations → Bike-share systems are increasing in popularity in the U.S. While large systems, like those in Chicago and New York, have received significant of attention due their sheer size and economic impact, there is a growing effort around the country to bring bike share to communities that look different than the urban, dense, downtown core. The speakers will share details from program implementation across the country including Chattanooga, TN, Birmingham, AL, Howard County, MD, and the Better Bike Share Partnership – an innovative national program to bring increased social, geographic and economic equity to bike share. They will also describe lessons learned from their experiences, with a focus on how different bike-share programs define and evaluate success in their communities, which may look different than the definition of success in an urban core.
Greater Baltimore Wilderness: Green Infrastructure for Regional Resilience and Equity
Location: Key BR 12 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH/HSW 2.0 ModeratorErik Meyers, Vice President, The Conservation FundSpeakersDavid Rouse, Managing Director of Research and Advisory Services, American Planning AssociationKristin Baja, Climate and Resilience Planner, Baltimore City Department of Planning, Office of Sustainability Christine Conn, Director, Integrated Policy and Review Unit, Maryland Department of Natural Resources Genevieve LaRouche, Field Office Supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Chesapeake Bay Field Office Presentations → The Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition is a group of local, state and national organizations working to conserve, restore and enhance a regional green infrastructure network, delivering multiple benefits for the people and wildlife of central Maryland. In 2014, the coalition received a Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Grant to focus on the role of green infrastructure in promoting resilience and equity. This session will provide a hands-on opportunity for participants to learn from representatives of a diverse coalition that came together around a transformative idea about the role of nature in a metropolitan region. It will explore how green infrastructure can be taken from planning to implementation through best practices, actions across scales to advance project goals, and new governance and institutional structures. The session results will be taken back to the full coalition, providing you with an opportunity for input to a real project.
Leveraging P3 for Housing Affordability, Equity and Resilience: Models to Build On
Location: Key BR 4 Level: Advanced Accredited by:CM 2.0PDH 2.0 ModeratorBen Brown, Principal, Placemakers LLCSpeakersBruce Tolar, Principal, Architect Bruce B. Tolar, PASarah Landry, Executive Director, Mercy Housing & Human Development Stacey Epperson, President & CEO, Next Step R. John Anderson, Principal, Anderson | Kim Architecture & Design Presentations → While economic and political pressures conspire against classic government-driven programs to achieve dignified, equitable housing choice, other trends are opening new opportunities. Among the most promising are public-private partnerships (P3) that appeal to conservatives and liberals alike and leverage skill sets and resources of government, developer/builders and non-profits. Add to that advances in energy and cost-efficient systems building, and the time is right for expanding successful partnership models. In an interactive session built around how to lessons in community affordability, participants will engage with experts who partnered successfully in urban and small town contexts and in the wake of national disasters. They will be able to dig deeply into specific issues, such as: Identifying and facilitating partnership opportunities, finance, design, and project management. And they will be offered chances for follow-up coaching and discussion via email. |
| 12:15 PM – 1:45 PM | Networking Luncheon |
| 1:45 PM – 3:15 PM | Concurrent Afternoon Breakouts
Community Benefits: Delivering Equity in Economic Development
Location: Holiday BR 4 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorBenjamin Beach, Legal Director, Partnership for Working FamiliesSpeakersRobin Kniech, Councilmember, City of DenverJackie Cornejo, Campaign Director, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy Fred Blackwell, CEO, The San Francisco Foundation Mark Treyger, Councilmember, City of New York Presentations → As local officials look for ways to impact income inequality and urban poverty amidst inaction at the federal and state levels, a body of tools have emerged that connect the daily work of economic development, planning and land use to strategies that deliver real benefit to individuals and communities. Panelists will share how they were able to build meaningful equity and accountability measures into projects like Hurricane Sandy relief, City and County of Los Angeles public construction, a major army base redevelopment project in Oakland, and a series of major development projects in Denver. Panelists will address a series of strategies for local officials to engage with the community, address specific neighborhood issues, and create effective monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.
Lot-by-Lot: Baltimore Strategies for Creating a New Urban Landscape through Vacant-Lot Reuse
Location: Holiday BR 3 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorMark Cameron, Watershed Liaison, Environmental Compliance and Laboratory Services Division, Baltimore Department of Public WorksSpeakersBeth Strommen, Director, City of Baltimore Department of Planning, Office of SustainabilityMiriam Avins, Executive Director, Baltimore Green Space Rashelle Celestin, Asset Manager, Baltimore Department of Housing and Community Development Valerie Rupp, Assistant Director of Community Greening & Great Parks Programs, Parks & People Foundation Presentations → With nearly 30,000 vacant lots or abandoned properties to revitalize, Baltimore agencies have developed a series of complementary strategies designed to stabilize neighborhoods and attract new development by either temporarily or permanently greening vacant land for public benefit. The panelists include leaders in the development and implementation of premier City initiatives that evolved from Baltimore’s Vacants to Value program – ranging from strategic demolition and multi-sector revitalization initiative to new urban agriculture policy. Topics include significant policy and zoning changes; the role of public-private partnerships in the strategies; green space protection; public engagement and consensus building; tools and systems used; and limitations and challenges, particularly those involving the potential sale of community managed open spaces (CMOS). Viewpoints include nonprofit professionals, government representatives and an avid community gardener who worked with government and nonprofits to develop a land trust. The session will include a presentation, a charrette and an open panel discussion.
Delivering Infrastructure: Who Said There Was No Money?
Location: Key BR 4 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorDavid Taylor, President, Taylor | Future SolutionsSpeakersPaul Morris, FASLA, President and CEO, Atlanta Beltline, Inc.Shyam Kannan, Director of Planning, Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority Jessica Murray, Head of External Affairs, Skanska Infrastructure Development Presentations → No one can dispute the importance of infrastructure – be it road, rail or transit – to a community’s economic and social health. No one also can dispute the declining quality of our infrastructure – ASCE’s latest report card shows a D+. Finally, no one can dispute the challenge of declining revenues to local government. Yet, we continue to grow, and the demand for quality, enduring infrastructure grows as well. So, does this mean there is no hope for delivering infrastructure? This important session boldly answers “No!” New different and innovative financing mechanisms are emerging that give hope, regardless of the scale of the issue. Hear three different approaches – the Beltline in Atlanta, WMATA in DC, and Skanska in New York City. Participants will leave with a better understanding of how to design, build, finance and operate infrastructure in creative and profitable ways.
Peas and Carrots: Why Conservation and Smart Growth Belong Together
Location: Key BR 3 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorJeremy Madsen, Executive Director, Greenbelt AllianceSpeakersJoe DiStefano, AICP, Cofounder & Principal, Calthorpe AnalyticsLiz O’Donoghue, Director of Infrastructure and Land Use, The Nature Conservancy, California Chapter Peter Harnik, Director, Center for City Park Excellence, The Trust for Public Land Presentations → Famously fabulous pairings: PB&J, Burt & Ernie…smart growth and conservation? These combos have one thing in common; they’re better together. It may seem counterintuitive – what does urban planning have to do with open space? But this integrated approach is how the San Francisco Bay Area and national leaders can meet the challenges presented by growth and win. In the Bay Area, decades of planning mistakes and successes have proven a few things: those who want to preserve the landscape must accept development in cities and towns; and those who want build stronger cities will be more successful by endorsing conservation outside of them. Our partners are coming together to provide tools to identify and prioritize areas where we can achieve smart conservation. Hear specific examples and strategies that show integrating smart growth and conservation planning is good for everyone – just like peas and carrots.
Breaking Down the Walls: Coworking Spaces and the Future of Innovation
Location: Key BR 9 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5 ModeratorBrett Schwartz, Program Manager, NADO Research FoundationSpeakersMax Harper, Co-Founder, Impact HUB DCChristine Lai, Chief of Staff, Delivering Happiness Presentations → Many of today’s innovation-economy workers and freelancers are abandoning the solitary corners of their local coffee shops or moving out of their basement offices to relocate into the more than 800 coworking spaces that are now thriving throughout the country. Coworking spaces are shared office spaces used by people working on different projects, in different fields, but all under one roof to foster collaboration in industries, such as software design, social entrepreneurship, marketing, fashion, architecture and other sectors. Many coworking spaces are located in downtowns, often operating out of renovated historic buildings, and are accessible on foot, by bike or public transit. During this session, hear from those who manage these spaces and also those work in them to learn how coworking is reshaping the entrepreneurial and start-up scene all the while bringing vibrancy and energy to the neighborhoods in which they are located.
Blight to Bright: 25 Tools Proven to Eliminate Blight in Pennsylvania
Location: Key BR 12 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorKaren Black, CEO, May 8 Consulting, Inc.SpeakersIra Goldstein, President, Policy Solutions, The Reinvestment FundPresentations → This session will present the most effective tools available to local governments and their non-profit partners to return vacant properties to productive reuse. For each of these 25 tools permitted under law in the State of Pennsylvania and many other jurisdictions, we will provide a description of the tool, the problem it is intended to solve, the actions needed for implementation, and suggestions for how to most effectively use and finance it. We will also discuss case studies for how a few select tools have been effectively used in depth, including Philadelphia’s Windows and Doors regulation. The session will help local governments and their community partners to bring vacant properties into code compliance and to eliminate blight. Where long-term vacant properties threaten a community\'s health and safety, we offer more aggressive tools that will permit the transfer of a property to a responsible new owner.
Businesses, Artists and Environmentalists: How Maryland’s Cities Partner to Successfully Implement Smart Growth
Location: Holiday BR 1 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorMarisa Jones, Mid-Atlantic HEAL Cities & Towns Campaign Manager, Institute for Public Health InnovationSpeakersMatt Drew, Founder, Bike SBYJake Day, President, City Council, City of Salisbury, MD Tracy Farrish Gant, Mayor, Town of Edmonston, MD Jim Chandler, Assistant City Administrator and Director, Community & Economic Development, City of Hyattsville, MD Kevin Belanger, Transportation Planner, Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, Department of Public Works, City of Rockville, MD Presentations → The national narrative around Millenials is that they are spurning their cars, white picket fences, and big box stores; preferring instead bikes, walkable apartments, local businesses – attributes now commonly featured in large cities. What’s a small town to do? Across the country, local governments are adopting Smart Growth policies, but too often, when it comes to implementing these strategies, lack of funding and competing priorities thwart municipalities’ best intentions. From the tiny DC-suburb of Edmonston (pop. 1,445) to the Montgomery County seat, Rockville (pop. 64,072), Maryland’s cities and towns are leveraging cross-sector partnerships to garner support for smart growth implementation, fund walking and biking projects, circumvent lack of zoning authority, and balance competing priorities. Learn strategies employed by four diverse Maryland municipalities that will share examples of how implementing Smart Growth and catering to a shifting demographic is not just for big cities anymore.
Measuring Access to Opportunity: 21st-Century Transportation Performance Measurement
Location: Key BR 10 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorBeth Osborne, President, TDSSpeakersRoger Millar, Vice President, Smart Growth AmericaBarbara McCann, Director, Office of Safety, Energy & Environment, U.S. DOT, Office of the Secretary Toks Omishakin, Assistant Commissioner, Chief of Environment and Planning, Tennessee Department of Transportation Matt Carpenter, Director of Transportation Services, Sacramento Area Council of Governments Patrick Pontius, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Secretary, U.S. HUD Presentations → Transportation investments play a critical role in promoting the long-term economic prosperity of states and regions and a high quality of life for all residents. Federal agencies, state DOTs and regional metropolitan planning organizations are developing new performance metrics that assess the extent to which investments advance economic competitiveness, environmental stewardship, social equity, public health and livability goals – the things Americans value. These new metrics will help ensure that transportation investment promotes an efficient use of resources for a sustainable future. After presentations on federal and state initiatives, the panelists will discuss the state-of-the-practice in measuring transportation performance, moving beyond recent federal requirements to informed decision-making.
Foundation/Community Partnerships Bring Multiple Benefits: Clean Water and Healthier People
Location: Key BR 1-2 Level: Intermediate Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH/HSW 1.5 ModeratorCara Matteliano, Vice President, Community Impact, Community Foundation for Greater BuffaloSpeakersRahwa Ghirmatzion, Development Director, PUSH BuffaloJodee Fishman Raines, Vice President of Programs, Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation Meishka Mitchell, AICP, PP, Vice President of Neighborhood Initiatives, Cooper’s Ferry Partnership Presentations → This session will highlight funder and nonprofit partnerships in three older industrial cities that have successfully leveraged water-quality cleanup efforts to direct funds to neighborhood-based green infrastructure projects. These stormwater and watershed improvement projects bring multiple benefits to disadvantaged communities – healthier people, enhanced greenspace and recreational amenities, plus construction and maintenance jobs. In Buffalo, Camden and Detroit, foundations have partnered with community-based groups and residents to harness public sector infrastructure investments for community and resident benefit. We’ll look at how these partnerships came together, the value of working closely with philanthropy, and ways that community-based groups are engaged in project development and implementation. The panelists will also look at the pros and cons of regulatory-driven infrastructure investment strategies, including ways to ensure that the financial burdens of these cleanup actions don’t disproportionately burden low-income households and ratepayers, but in fact increase opportunity and improve neighborhood quality of life.
The Fiscal Connection: Land Use and Municipal Budgets
Location: Holiday BR 2 Level: Advanced Accredited by:CM 1.5PDH 1.5 ModeratorChristopher Zimmerman, Vice President for Economic Development, Smart Growth AmericaSpeakersPatrick Lynch, Research and Development Manager, George Washington University, Center for Real Estate and Urban AnalysisErin Talkington, Vice President, RCLCo Real Estate Advisors Katherine Cornwell, LEED-AP, Director, Planning Division, Madison Planning, Community & Economic Development Department Adam Thiel, Deputy Secretary of Public Safety & Homeland Security, Commonwealth of Virginia Presentations → Sprawling suburban development isn\'t just bad for the environment, physical health and quality of life; it’s also bad for the budget. Significant portions of municipal budgets are affected by the geographic pattern of development, including street construction and maintenance, water and sewer infrastructure, fire protection and police services, and school transportation. Local governments spend more, both for upfront capital costs and ongoing operations, to provide services to their citizens when residences, civic functions, and places of commerce are dispersed far and wide by car-only development patterns. This session will present results of new research, including new analytic tools developed by Smart Growth America, and discussion with local government experts about how land-use factors drive costs and impact revenues. It will help participants better understand the connection between land use policy and local budgets and taxes, and provide insights to help them make the fiscal case for smart growth. |
| 3:15 PM – 4:00 PM | Closing Plenary
Pulling it all Together - Strategies for a Challenging Environment
Location: Key BR 5-8 Many communities face a range of challenges that, on their own, seem daunting. However, some places have found innovative ways to bundle smart growth strategies to create solutions that address more than one challenge at a time. For example, green infrastructure investments can manage stormwater, improve the walkability of streets, help neighborhoods adapt to climate change and attract private investment. Communities like Hoboken exemplify not only the planning and design that finds these innovative approaches but the vision and leadership it takes to build coalitions to implement them. Mayor Zimmer will talk about Hoboken’s experience before and after Superstorm Sandy, the progress they have made and the barriers that remain.
Watch this plenary online |
| Sunday | |
| 8:30 AM – 12:30 AM | Concurrent Optional Tours of Local Model Projects (Pre-registration and nominal fee required)
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