Tom Wright, Executive Director of the Regional Plan Association, traces the history of the Mayors' Institute on City Design from its creation 25 years ago to last week's conference which was attended by some of the country's most important mayors.
The idea for the MICD, explains Tom Wright, came from Joe Riley (then-mayor of Charleston, SC) and Jaqueline Robertson (then-Dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture). Their hope was to create a "forum to educate mayors about architecture, design, and planning" at a time (the mid-1980's) when anti-urbanism was at its peak, writes Tom Wright.
From the article by Wright at Citiwire:
"The Institutes follow a common agenda. Instead of asking public officials to show off their successes, the mayors ... bring a problem. They present a case study to a team of planners, urban designers, landscape architects, preservationists and fellow mayors about something they are struggling with back home ... Around a large table, the mayors and resource team members discuss the projects and how they would approach them. While the mayors get excellent advice on their specific case studies from the resource team, the real goal of the Institute has always been to educate the mayors, to make them better consumers and stronger advocates for their communities."
FULL STORY: Celebrating the Mayors’ Institute on City Design
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?
Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.
What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.
Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie