Placemaking Week: Full Schedule

8:00am EDT

Suggested Places to Eat - a map for during your week

Check out a map of our favorite coffee shops, restaurants, and bars/breweries close to Miller Park to use when you have meals on your own, or simply craving a coffee or snack!

Monday September 30, 2019 8:00am - 8:00am EDT

Meal

5:30pm EDT

Public Placemaking 101 (RSVP at link in description)

Come learn together with Cynthia Nikitin, of Project for Public Spaces, about creating places that transform our community. This event is open to the public as part of the Placemaking Chattanooga series of events for locals.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/placemaking-101-w-project-for-public-spaces-registration-71857229909?mc_cid=74a9d8dbf6&mc_eid=cefcc474a3

Speakers

Cynthia Nikitin

Senior Vice President, Project for Public Spaces

Monday September 30, 2019 5:30pm - 7:00pm EDT

Off-Site

7:00pm EDT

Pre-conference drinks meet up!

Arriving to Chattanooga on Monday night and need somewhere to go? Meet some of your fellow conference friends at the Honest Pint!

Monday September 30, 2019 7:00pm - 10:00pm EDT
The Honest Pint

Social/Party

8:00am EDT

Registration open (until 4pm)

Registration desk is open at Waterhouse Pavilion.

Tuesday October 1, 2019 8:00am - 8:00am EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Registration

8:00am EDT

Registration opens: Coffee and Networking!

Meet us at Waterhouse Pavilion to register, enjoy Chattanooga's free wifi and drink coffee with your fellow attendees! Coffee and tea will be provided.

If you are attending a mobile workshop, we encourage you to arrive on the earlier side to get registered before the rush.

Tuesday October 1, 2019 8:00am - 9:30am EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Registration

9:00am EDT

Mobile Workshop: Rural Placemaking in Athens and Cleveland: Building an Arts District & Building Bridges

Limited Capacity seats available

**Please note the start time of 9am. Meet at Waterhouse Pavilion by 8:30am so you can register for the conference and check-in with the mobile workshop leader before heading off to the mobile workshop as a group.

Workshop transportation: via Shuttle

Athens’s cross-sector team will review our work to animate a pocket park as a catalytic project to develop an arts district. Our real talk will examine the challenges of politics, relationship, and history through a small town lens and draw parallels between neighborhood development even in metropolitan work. Participants will also have the opportunity to participate in a hands-on activity that will contribute to the ongoing work of our team.
In many communities around the United States neighborhoods sprung up around industry. However, many of those industries have left town leaving those neighborhoods stranded and disinvested. How do we connect these neighborhoods back in the broader fabric of our communities? Join City Fields for “Building Bridges” exploring placemaking solutions to integrate the Blythe-Oldfield Neighborhood back into the thriving downtown of Cleveland, TN.

Speakers

Lauren Shepherd

Executive Director, Athens Arts Council

Jake Stum

Director of Strategy and Development, City Fields CDC

Dustin Tommey

Executive Director, City Fields CDC

Tuesday October 1, 2019 9:00am - 1:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Off-Site

9:30am EDT

Welcome to Chattanooga Kick-Off

Hang out at Waterhouse Pavilion until 9:30am where you'll get a little bit of Southern hospitality - a quick welcome to Placemaking Week - before heading off to your selected mobile workshop!

To attend a mobile workshop during this morning Tuesday period between 9:45am-1pm, you need to sign up on Sched. These workshops are first come, first served. If the workshop is full it will say so, and you'll need to select another workshop.

Tuesday October 1, 2019 9:30am - 9:45am EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Social/Party

9:45am EDT

Mobile Workshop: African American Placemakers in Action

Limited Capacity full

Meet at Waterhouse Pavilion by 9:30am so you can register for the conference and check-in with the mobile workshop leader before heading off to the mobile workshop as a group.

Workshop transportation: Via shuttle

Join us for a tour of two placemaking and cultural preservation efforts led by members of Chattanooga's local African American Community. Our first stop is Beck Knob Cemetery, Chattanooga's oldest African American Cemetery. Since shortly after the Civil War, this cemetery in North Chattanooga has been a resting place for black Civil War soldiers, community leaders, and some of Chattanooga's first African American settlers.

Next we'll visit the Ancestral Roots Community Garden, in Menlo Park, to tour a garden created by the local arts and culture organization, RISE. This garden is designed and planted with the veggies, fruits, herbs and flowers that would have been part of a traditional African American southern yard garden.

Speakers

James McKissic

Vice President and COO, Urban League of Greater Chattanooga

Tuesday October 1, 2019 9:45am - 1:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Off-Site

9:45am EDT

Mobile Workshop: Chattanooga’s Riverfront - Whose Story is it to Tell?

Limited Capacity filling up

Meet at Waterhouse Pavilion by 9:30am so you can register for the conference and check-in with the mobile workshop leader before heading off to the mobile workshop as a group.

Workshop transportation: via Walking and Electric Shuttle

Join Public Art Chattanooga for a tour of Chattanooga’s riverfront with a special focus on “The Passage”, a collaborative and inclusive public art project by Cherokee artists, Team Gadugi. “The Passage” is a living tribute to the resiliency and vibrancy of the Cherokee culture – and those of other tribes removed from this region during the Trail of Tears. The riverfront tour will be guided by project team members and followed by a workshop with “The Passage” artist, Bill Glass and “Ed Johnson Memorial” artist, Jerome Meadows exploring how to reconcile ownership of public spaces while giving voice to hidden stories through public art and placemaking.

Speakers

Katelyn Kirnie

Director of Public Art, City of Chattanooga

Tuesday October 1, 2019 9:45am - 1:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Off-Site

9:45am EDT

Mobile Workshop: Civil War to Civil Rights: A Different Perspective on Chattanooga's Historic Downtown

Limited Capacity seats available

Meet at Waterhouse Pavilion by 9:30am so you can register for the conference and check-in with the mobile workshop leader before heading off to the mobile workshop as a group.

Workshop transportation: via Walking

Join National Park Partners as we visit African-American landmarks in downtown Chattanooga and hear the seldom-told history of these places that shaped our city. Guided by National Park Service Rangers, with perspectives from local individuals and organizations, this tour will delve deeper into the lives of African-Americans in Chattanooga before, during, and after the Civil War; as well as more recent history including the Reconstruction Era and the Civil Rights Movement.

Speakers

Chris Barr

Park Ranger

Tricia Mims

Executive Director, National Park Partners

Tuesday October 1, 2019 9:45am - 1:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Off-Site

9:45am EDT

Mobile Workshop: From Door to Park Bike Tour

Limited Capacity full

Meet at Waterhouse Pavilion by 9:30am so you can register for the conference and check-in with the mobile workshop leader before heading off to the mobile workshop as a group.

Workshop transportation: via Bikes (Bikes will be provided)

Join a joint collaboration between City Government, Non-profit and Grassroots Advocacy Organizations on a bike ride from urban neighborhood to public park and greenway. This guided bike ride will highlight the proximity of high quality parks and greenways in Chattanooga, and on this ride we will identify problems and creative ways to improve the experience of getting from the neighborhood to park. Sterchi Farm Park and the South Chickamauga Greenway serve 30,000 (most disadvantaged) Chattanoogans, but many of the people are unaware of the park, nor do they have easy means of getting to the greenway other than driving. We hope that this workshop will result in actionable ways to improve the experience of getting from front door to neighborhood park.

Speakers

Aaron Cole

Director, Bike Walk Chattanooga

I am an Architect and Cyclist who lives in Chattanooga with my wife and two children. I am interested in means to make our community less car-centric. I commute by bike as often as possible, I enjoy bike packing and occasionally do some mountain biking.

Akosua Cook

Parks Planner, City of Chattanooga - Parks and Outdoors

Akosua Cook is a Parks Planner for the City of Chattanooga where she develops park plans and identifies and prioritizes urban open space and park improvement projects for capital funding and then leads the design and construction processes for park projects approved within the five-year... Read More →

Tuesday October 1, 2019 9:45am - 1:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Off-Site

9:45am EDT

Mobile Workshop: Harnessing Transiency: How to Co-create Spaces with Immigrant Communities

Limited Capacity filling up

Meet at Waterhouse Pavilion by 9:30am so you can register for the conference and check-in with the mobile workshop leader before heading off to the mobile workshop as a group.

Workshop transportation: via Shuttle

Join us for charrette-style workshops with three immigrant-focused community projects that are transitioning to new spaces in the city. Project organizers are interested in learning ways to create active, equitable and inclusive spaces including: a neighborhood-led outdoor space, a Latinx community center that is expanding to serve a growing demographic, and a mobile community arts organization establishing roots in a permanent location. Collectively, these projects reach 25,000 residents per year.

Speakers

Josiah Golson

Civic Artist, 800 Collective

Josiah Golson is an artist, lawyer, and writer from Chattanooga, Tennessee. He is the founder of the 800 Collective, a diverse group of artists using art as a means of civic engagement and public discourse. Josiah’s work comprises of creative workshops, public art projects, and... Read More →

Daniela Peterson

Creative Placemaking Fellow, Trust For Public Land

Hi there, I'm a brown, immigrant woman from Chile. As a Social Worker I specialized in Public Politics that includes a Children's Rights Perspective. In the past 14 years, I have worked with non-profits, city government, a Juvenal detention center, and public schools; all experiences... Read More →

Ana Mancebo

Community and Economic Development Professional, La Paz Chattanooga

Jazmine LeBlanc

Co-founder, ELLA Library

Lily Sanchez

Communications Coordinator, La Paz

Tuesday October 1, 2019 9:45am - 1:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Off-Site

9:45am EDT

Mobile Workshop: Innovation District Tour

Limited Capacity filling up

Speakers

Mary Stargel

Director of Innovation District Programs, The Enterprise Center

Mary Stargel works in Chattanooga’s Innovation District to bring together the growing innovation community through programs and organizational collaboration.

Tuesday October 1, 2019 9:45am - 1:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Off-Site

9:45am EDT

Mobile Workshop: Mural Workshop and Tour

Limited Capacity filling up

Meet at Waterhouse Pavilion by 9:30am so you can register for the conference and check-in with the mobile workshop leader before heading off to the mobile workshop.

Workshop transportation: via Shuttle

Join us for a special workshop and tour of some of the dynamic murals that beautify Chattanooga, while learning the stories of the artists who created them. Led by local muralists Shaun LaRose, Alex Loza, and Kevin Bate, this tour will explore the diverse inspirations, collaborations, and styles of murals that help define Chattanooga. This workshop will also hopefully inspire a future program initiated by LaRose to highlight Chattanooga's public murals and their stories for locals and visitors throughout the year.

Speakers

Shaun LaRose

Alex Paul Loza

Kevin Bate

Mural Artist, Good with Faces

Tuesday October 1, 2019 9:45am - 1:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Off-Site

9:45am EDT

Mobile Workshop: Place MGMT Workshop in Cooper’s Alley

Limited Capacity full

Meet at Waterhouse Pavilion by 9:30am so you can register for the conference and check-in with the mobile workshop leader before heading off to the mobile workshop as a group.

Workshop transportation: via Walking

Learn about Passageways 2.0’s City Thread Project in Cooper’s Alley, a public art project that transformed an alleyway into an active destination for community events like concerts, "silent" DJ parties, movie nights, kids’ chalk parties, and creative classes.

Cooper’s Alley is a public space intended to be used by the community, however, residential buildings, businesses, and restaurants also align the space. How can this public space be effectively managed balancing the voices of the business owners with the community’s interest? Participants will workshop an equitable process for applying to use the space, navigating the business owners' concerns while also maintaining public interest.

Speakers

Meagan Shinn

Program Director, River City Company

Meagan Shinn is program director at River City Company, a private, non-profit company promoting economic development through the creation of great public spaces in downtown Chattanooga and along the riverfront. She’s responsible for a variety of programming including lunch-time... Read More →

Tuesday October 1, 2019 9:45am - 1:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Off-Site

9:45am EDT

Mobile Workshop: The People’s History of Chattanooga Tour: White Supremacy

Limited Capacity seats available

Meet at Waterhouse Pavilion by 9:30am so you can register for the conference and check-in with the mobile workshop leader before heading off to the mobile workshop as a group.

Workshop transportation: via Walking

Chattanooga Organized for Action launched the People’s History of Chattanooga Project in 2016 to highlight the rich history of social movements and activism that have left an indelible mark on our city. Our first theme involved the history of white supremacy and the significant struggles against it. Our organization partnered with graphic design students to create posters of particular stories. In 2017 we expanded the project by offering walking tours along Martin Luther King Blvd. that detail slavery and its importance in antebellum Chattanooga, struggles for abolition during the Civil War, Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow, the 1905 streetcar boycotts against segregation, the atmosphere of violence leading up to the Civil Rights activism of the 1960s, race riots and martial law, the forced change in our city’s form of government, and much more. The tour covers roughly five city blocks, and takes one hour and 45 minutes to complete. To date COA has led over sixty tours for groups of teachers, students, clergy, foundations, and the public at large. You can find out more at: https://www.chattaction.org/the-peoples-history-project.html

Speakers

Michael Gilland

Board Chair, Chattanooga Organized for Action

Tuesday October 1, 2019 9:45am - 1:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Off-Site

9:45am EDT

Mobile Workshop: The Transformative Ability of Nature

Limited Capacity seats available

Meet at Waterhouse Pavilion by 9:30am so you can register for the conference and check-in with the mobile workshop leader before heading off to the mobile workshop as a group.

Workshop Transportation: via Shuttle

Lookout Mountain Conservancy's (LMC) mission is to protect Lookout Mountain’s scenic, historic and ecological resources through conservation, advocacy, recreation, and education, for current and future generations. The land trust is unique because of their ability to utilize its resources to engage alienated urban youth. Our goal is simple, yet ambitious: to significantly increase the proportion of our urban youth’s high school graduation rates, increase college and technical school admissions, ensure that they have career mobility opportunities, and provide all the necessary intangible skills to become productive citizens within our community.

Come check out their trails, help pick up trash, and hear from the students that are directly impacted through their conservation work.

Speakers

Robyn L. Carlton

CEO, Lookout Mountain Conservancy

Tuesday October 1, 2019 9:45am - 1:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Off-Site

9:45am EDT

Mobile Workshop: GlassFarms - The Next Big Thing Urbanism Workshop

Limited Capacity filling up

Meet at Waterhouse Pavilion by 9:30am so you can register for the conference and check-in with the mobile workshop leader before heading off to the mobile workshop as a group.

Workshop transportation: via Shuttle

The Glass Street Commercial Corridor was a booming town center for East Chattanooga in the 50’s and 60’s. Despite its strategic location, today it sits mostly vacant surrounded by the under resourced but rising community of Glass Farm. Join Glass House Collective in cooperation with local artists, innovative partners and the neighborhood’s residents and business owners for an honest and laser focused charrette to revive the corridor. Your fresh take is just the spark we need! Using GHC’s own Next Big Thing urbanism workshop framework, you’ll help craft a phased vision for commercial spaces now under renovation along the historic corridor. The facilitated session will be anchored in the following guiding principles of placekeeping: inclusivity, accountability, phased and catalytic work, and resident-lead equitable development.

Glass House Collective is a non-profit working in an under-resourced community in East Chattanooga to make Glass Street and the surrounding neighborhood cleaner, safer and more inviting by using an artist-led, community-involved planning process while also implementing temporary and permanent projects, to bring about positive community change.

Speakers

Teal Thibaud

Co-Founder, Director, Glass House Collective

Teal started working in creative placemaking almost eight years ago after an initial career in Communications and Advertising. She cofounded and is now the Executive Director of a small nonprofit in Chattanooga, TN called Glass House Collective. Her organization is utilizing arts... Read More →

Participant Toolkit REV pdf

Tuesday October 1, 2019 9:45am - 1:40pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Off-Site

1:00pm EDT

Lunch on your own

Eat at one of the many restaurants around Downtown! Check out a map of our favorite coffee shops, restaurants, and breweries close to Miller Park!

You will also be provided for you upon registration. This will be handy during your entire week if you're looking for any recommendations.

Tuesday October 1, 2019 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

Meal

2:00pm EDT

Head to next breakout session

15 minute buffer to get to your next session!

Tuesday October 1, 2019 2:00pm - 2:15pm EDT

Information

2:00pm EDT

Virtual Community Vibrancy Workshop

Limited Capacity filling up

Session sponsored by Bridge Innovate
*Please note that this session takes place in Bridge Innovate's offices just southwest of Downtown.

Community Vibrancy is now a virtual team sport. Bridge Innovate is pleased to offer a hands-on interactive session to explore the design thinking online platform SprintbaseTM that enables teams to create community vibrancy strategies virtually with a Bridge Innovate design thinking coach.

This tool provides teams the opportunity to complete an asset inventory, community voices map, and trend analysis to fuel the creative strategy for their community. During the session, participants will learn the foundations of design thinking and experiment with the SprintbaseTM platform. You will need a digital device such as a smartphone or a tablet to participate fully in the session.

This workshop is a preview of the Virtual Community Vibrancy Leadership Certificate Program which is a 3-month virtual coaching program now available to communities from Bridge Innovate. The program covers the stages of research, insights, ideation, prototyping and experimenting, and strategy pitch. Two community cohort team scholarships will be awarded at the conference.

Bridge Innovate brings years of experience to the community vibrancy field in the Southeast guiding teams to create strategies to fuel economic growth. The Community Vibrancy Leadership Certificate Program not only brings design thinking to community teams, but brings a new dimension of empathy, inclusion, and experimentation to strategy development.

Tuesday October 1, 2019 2:00pm - 3:30pm EDT
Bridge Innovate

Off-Site

2:15pm EDT

Bridging the Gap between Philanthropy and Grassroots Placemaking

Limited Capacity filling up

Grassroots organizations led by community residents are often those best positioned to elevate and amplify the history, culture and identity of neighborhoods through inclusive placemaking projects. However, these are often the same organizations that face the highest barriers to access funding or to build the necessary capacity to execute these projects. Sometimes, grassroots organizations are questioned about their capacity to receive grant funding. Others may have a clear vision, but need help planning and executing a project. They may also face barriers to access public sector processes and resources. This panel presentation will discuss how philanthropy and nonprofit intermediaries can work together to support these resident-led, grassroots organizations to implement inclusive placemaking projects that elevate the culture and identity of their community, drawing lessons from Kresge Innovative Projects: Detroit (KIP:D).

Speakers

Myrtle Thompson-Curtis

Director, Feedom Freedom Growers

Myrtle Curtis is a lifelong Detroiter, Boggs board member, and co-founder of Feedom Freedom Growers. Mama Myrtle stays busy growing gardens and community.

Matthew Schmitt

Program Manager, Michigan Community Resources

Matthew Schmitt joined Michigan Community Resources as a Program Manager in January 2019 working to support MCR’s work with the Kresge Innovative Projects: Detroit (KIP:D) in offering trusted guidance to organizations submitting project concepts and also designing enriching cohort... Read More →

Alisha Opperman

Chief Program Officer, Michigan Community Resources

Alisha Opperman is the Chief Program Officer at Michigan Community Resources, overseeing all programming at the organization. Alisha has over 10 years of experience with community development in Detroit, focusing on Capacity Building for community-based organizations and Community... Read More →

Jonathan Hui

Program Officer, The Kresge Foundation

Jonathan Hui is a program officer at The Kresge Foundation. He supports the Detroit Program’s work in early childhood and neighborhood development. He joined the foundation in 2017.

Karen Knox

President, Eden Gardens Block Club

Karen Knox is a community activist, educator, and bridge builder and has served as Executive Director of the Eden Gardens Block Club in Detroit’s Northeast since its inception in 2010. She has also been a homeowner in this community for over 40 years.

Tuesday October 1, 2019 2:15pm - 3:30pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Community Space

Breakout

2:15pm EDT

Design Your Neighborhood: Teaching the Next Generation of Placemakers

The Nashville Civic Design Center has a youth education initiative called Design Your Neighborhood (DYN) that engages the next generation in how the world is built around them. Through classroom curriculum and extra-curricular programs, DYN teaches the principles of place-based design and civic engagement in order to support youth to have a more powerful voice in shaping their city. DYN is essential education for having a civically-active citizenry that understands and values good design and its power to create healthy, functional, and beautiful cities for all. In this workshop, we will describe the scope, goals, and target outcomes of DYN. We will show case studies of extra-curricular program implementation in both rural and urban settings and outline a school system partnership that is currently allowing DYN to reach 2,000 students in Metro Nashville Public Schools. Participants will then engage in activities from the DYN curriculum that facilitate place-based design. The presentation will conclude by sharing DYN’s online resources that are available for any community to use and facilitate their own DYN program. We will also conclude by sharing preliminary research results that are measuring how youth action and engagement in place-based design affects the development, well-being, and health of the young people who participate, and also to understand broader effects of these types of action in their neighborhoods, schools, and communities. Our workshop offers a space for practitioners, policy-makers, and public space advocates to explore the potential impact of bringing youth-driven placemaking to their community.

Speakers

Hanna Naum-Stoian

Research Fellow, Nashville Civic Design Center

Melody Gibson

Education Director, Nashville Civic Design Center

Melody Gibson is the Education Director at the Nashville Civic Design Center where she is developing and leading the Design Your Neighborhood education initiative that engages the next generation in how the world is built around them. Melody came to NCDC in 2015 with a background... Read More →

Tuesday October 1, 2019 2:15pm - 3:30pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Breakout

2:15pm EDT

Measuring quality of place: Toward a global standard of walkability and urban design

Limited Capacity full

Environmental quality standards such as LEED, WELL, and BREEAM are increasingly popular. However, we still lack a universally-accepted, global standard for quality of place. To date, the most popular such measure has been Walk Score, but it does not account for the "experience" of a walk, making it an unreliable measure of urban design features known to impact walkability. Alternatively, existing "micro-scale" walkability measures are limited by their time-intensive data collection. State of Place has been working to balance the need for micro-scale urban design data with the ability to rapidly scale this data globally, with the aim of working towards establishing an international standard of walkability and quality of place. We developed a proprietary algorithm to aggregate 290+ urban design features into the State of Place Index, a score from 0-100, amassing over 2M data points across over 200 cities worldwide, but until recently its proliferation was limited due to the continuing manual nature of the data collection.

This session will combine an "in-classroom" and "on-site" presentation to:
1) Take participants on a "Walk and Talk" session that will showcase the objective, micro-scale data that measures quality of place (now being automated) in a real setting near the conference (this is the on-site part).
2) Reconvene (this is the in-classroom part) to show how that micro-scale data is aggregated into the State of Place Index
3) Relay how Artificial Intelligence, namely Visual Machine Learning (VML) techniques, have been applied to automate the collection of this kind of micro-scale data, using New York City as an example
4) Seek input from the participants on micro-scale data being collected, on our roadmap for tying State of Place to other triple-bottom line benefits that matter to placemakers, and the viability of adopting a universal standard of walkability and quality of place.

Speakers

Mariela Alfonzo

CEO/Founder, State of Place

Dr. Mariela Alfonzo is the Founder of State of Place, an urban data analytics platform that helps placemakers identify and economically justify optimal urban design, planning, and development projects that create thriving places people love.

IMI I pdf

IMI2.1StateOfPlacePaperForm (1) pdf

WalkThisWay pdf

IMI II pdf

Tuesday October 1, 2019 2:15pm - 3:30pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Accelerator Space

Breakout

2:15pm EDT

Short Talks: Placemaking for Youth and Play

A Short Talk session is 5-7 single presenters, presenting for roughly 7 minutes, on a topic relating to a overarching theme. Led by a facilitator, with a Q and A once all of the presentations have finished, these talks will provide attendees with a collection of stories, case studies, and projects related to specific aspects of placemaking.

This session's topic is: Placemaking for Youth and Play. All talk titles from all presenters to be listed here by September.

Shanna McKinnon- Re-Play: Re-imagining Downtown's Underutilized Spaces to Promote Play
Jenn Beideman - Resident driven Placemaking for Urban Play, Lessons Learned from Rochester, New York
Sharon Welch - Placemaking in Tepito, Mexico: Promoting Equity in Regions Experiencing Extreme Social and Structural Decay
Ryan Swanson - Playable cities: Why it matters in today's society
Leigh Ann Von Hagen - Empowering Youth through Placemaking
Tina Govan - Free-Range Kids in the City
Nidhi Gulati - Public space on wheels: kids on public transit

Speakers

Nidhi Gulati

Program Manager, Project for Public Spaces

Nidhi manages the Transportation program at Project for Public Spaces, drawing on her training as an architect and urban researcher to lead placemaking projects and outreach that transforms streets into community assets.Since rejoining Project for Public Spaces in 2018, Nidhi has... Read More →

Leigh Ann Von Hagen

Senior Researcher, Voorhees Transportation Center, Rutgers University

Leigh Ann Von Hagen AICP, PP is a Senior Researcher at the Voorhees Transportation Center and Planning Healthy Communities Initiative at Rutgers University. Leigh Ann’s work focuses on developing sustainable transportation and land use solutions for communities. She addresses... Read More →

Tina Govan

Founding Principal, SOMOS design

As an architect and mother, Tina has been a strong advocate for creating accessible urban places that are friendly to all ages. She is principal of her own firm in Raleigh, NC, working with collaborative teams of socially-minded designers on projects that connect people to each other... Read More →

Shanna McKinnon

Urban and Landscape Designer, Shanna McKinnon

I am a born and raised Edmontonian with a passion for creating and revitalizing public spaces. I have worked in the fields of landscape architecture and urban design for over 13 years and live in the core of Edmonton with my husband and two young children.

Jenn Beideman

Advocacy Manager, Common Ground Health

Jenn provides expertise on advocacy opportunities to advance whole child health in our region. A Canadian native, Jenn brings to the position over 15 years of experience in policy research and government relations from a variety of settings. She currently leads several campaigns across... Read More →

Ryan Swanson

Founder / CEO, The Urban Conga

Ryan Swanson is the founder of The Urban Conga, a multidisciplinary design firm that promotes community activity and social interaction through open-ended play for all. They achieve this by creating interactive installations and environments that spark creativity, exploration and... Read More →

Sharon Welch

Urbanist, Lugares Públicos

Sharon Welch is an urbanist at Lugares Públicos, a Mexico City-based placemaking firm, and a resident artist at ATEA. She focuses on creating connections between communities and their public spaces and has worked for the past three years on urban interventions to improve children’s... Read More →

Tuesday October 1, 2019 2:15pm - 3:30pm EDT
Palace Theater

Breakout

3:30pm EDT

Head to next breakout session

15 minute buffer to get to your next session!

Tuesday October 1, 2019 3:30pm - 3:45pm EDT

Information

3:45pm EDT

Better Block in a Box - Overview Workshop

See how easy it is to transform a space with a few pieces of plywood, a couple mallets, and a little muscle.

Hear from Better Block Foundation’s founding director Jason Roberts as he leads you through the setup/teardown and discusses the lessons he’s learned in the past 10 years of placemaking all around the world. This workshop will start with a presentation at the Edney, followed by a visit out to Miller Park to see some of the features of the container in action.

The Better Block in a Box is a shipping container that contains all the elements you need for a successful placemaking event (cafe sets, long tables, hammocks, string lights, astroturf, and kids’ toys). Once you pull the elements out, the box itself turns into a coffeeshop, info kiosk, or whatever you may need. After your event is over, you pack it all up, shut the doors, and ship it off.

Throughout the week, Jason will lead a few mini workshops where participants can participate in the set up and tear down of the elements in the box - look for those each morning and afternoon on Sched, and sign up!

Speakers

Jason Roberts

Founding Director, Better Block

Tuesday October 1, 2019 3:45pm - 5:00pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Community Space

Breakout

3:45pm EDT

Power of the Crowd: Combining Crowdfunding and Grantmaking to Transform Public Spaces

Limited Capacity filling up

This session will explore common locations in our communities and brainstorm ways to ideate and re-envision these bleak spaces into vibrant places. We’ll learn how some innovative placemaking grant programs have made these transformations possible and how a crowdgranting model adopted by state EDCs, community development authorities, foundations and corporations are democratizing access to capital and spurring further economic development. We will speak to the impacts and methods learned from over 450 successfully crowdfunded projects from across the nation and how community led, community driven and community funded interventions can go far beyond just building a beautiful place.

Speakers

Bridget Anderson

Director, Patronicity

Tuesday October 1, 2019 3:45pm - 5:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Breakout

3:45pm EDT

The Beautiful Game: Uniting Communities Through Soccer for All

Using a proven playbook, this session will teach you how to create a major impact in a small footprint: a community-owned, free-play, LED-lit, mini turf Beacon Soccer Field that attracts kids of all ages and cultural backgrounds. Beacon Soccer Field, based in Lansing, Michigan, is a high-quality, free, open and accessible space that can be used for pick-up games by the community. The fields are a statewide and national model that can connect the sport of soccer with the many families that wish to join the sport, but currently cannot afford to or do not have access. Co-Founders Scott Dane and Camron Gnass will provide the Playbook to identify and create the partnerships necessary to build a Beacon Soccer Field in any community. The Playbook will provide a step-by-step process from building the team to opening the field. Everything from private-public partnerships, to community engagement to funding will be covered in the Playbook. Participants will leave the session with a general framework for starting the process of building a Beacon Soccer Field in their community. Beacon Field is a community-owned, free-play, LED lit, walled mini turf field offering the entire community a chance to play soccer!

Speakers

Chanelle Nicole Frazier

Development Coordinator, Children's Assessment Center

Camron Gnass

co-creator, Beacon Soccer Field

Camron owns and runs a creative agency in Lansing, Michigan. He also redevelops historic buildings into new living and commercial spaces. His favorite sport is soccer and favorite hobby is supporting events and projects that create culture and community. These things happily collide... Read More →

Scott Dane

Co-Creator, Beacon Soccer Field

Passionate soccer enthusiast who relishes the opportunity to create grassroots soccer programming. With a foundation in youth philanthropy, coaching at various levels and attempting to play the world's game, I have been a first-hand witness to the power of sport and its impact on... Read More →

Tuesday October 1, 2019 3:45pm - 5:00pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Accelerator Space

Breakout

3:45pm EDT

This Land is YOUR Land: Inclusive Placemaking in Chattanooga's National Parks

Our panel discussion will highlight a two-year project funded by a National Environmental Education Foundation grant program titled "Centennial and Beyond". The program aimed to build on the 100th anniversary year of the National Park Service and the highly successful Find Your Park campaign in 2016 that encouraged people throughout the country to connect to their National Parks. Locally, the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park held a series of events in all six National Park units, including our three urban park places: Orchard Knob, Missionary Ridge, and Moccasin Bend National Archeological District. Our goal through the Centennial and Beyond project in 2017-2018 was to deepen the connections the National Park Service made with new and diverse audiences through the Find Your Park events, and to continue to build relationships with historically underserved residents in the neighborhoods surrounding our urban parks.

We'll share success stories and lessons learned from the various project initiatives, which included community outreach and listening sessions; National Park Service interpretive programs that highlighted the African-American experience in and around Chattanooga before, during, and after the Civil War; the Reconstruction Era and Voting Rights Amendments exhibits created by the National Park Service at the Chattanooga African-American Heritage Museum; and the walking tour of African-American historic sites around downtown Chattanooga. The panel will discuss how the work continues now that the formal grant project has ended, and the importance of making everyone across the community truly feel that their National Park and every National Park in the country is a welcoming and inclusive place for them and their families to enjoy. We'll also take a look at initiatives that expand diversity to include English as a Second Language speakers; those with disabilities; and more.

Speakers

Marty Mitchell

Bessie Smith Cultural Center

Tricia Mims

Executive Director, National Park Partners

Brad Bennett

Superintendent, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

John Edwards, III

Board Member, National Park Partners and owner of the Chattanooga News Chronicle

Tuesday October 1, 2019 3:45pm - 5:00pm EDT
Palace Theater

Breakout

5:00pm EDT

Head to Hunter Museum

After your last Tuesday session finishes, head up Market Street towards the riverfront, to the Hunter Museum for our opening party which starts at 5:30! You can get there by foot/sidewalk (15-20 min), by bike or scooter (5 min), or by Chattanooga's FREE electric shuttle which comes every 6-7 minutes. The shuttle will drop you off at the Aquarium and the Hunter is a short walk away up the hill.

Tuesday October 1, 2019 5:00pm - 5:30pm EDT
Hunter Museum

Information

5:30pm EDT

Opening Reception + Mayor's Welcome

Join us at the Hunter Museum for drinks, lite bites, music, and welcoming remarks by Mayor Berke, as well as a history of Walnut Bridge in preparation for the activation later in the evening.

Tuesday October 1, 2019 5:30pm - 7:30pm EDT
Hunter Museum

Social/Party

7:30pm EDT

Walnut Bridge Storytelling Activation: A Bridge Through Time

Conference participants will be taken on a journey through time as they stroll along one of the world’s longest pedestrian bridges. Beginning with the indigenous Cherokee Nation and ending in 2019 with Chattanooga’s own C-Grimey, guests will be presented with key turning points in the history of Chattanooga. Four stations will line the Walnut Street bridge that utilize dance, music, storytellers/spoken word, and scenic beauty to immerse visitors in our history and future.

Tuesday October 1, 2019 7:30pm - 9:00pm EDT
Walnut Bridge

Social/Party

8:00am EDT

Registration open at the Walker Theater (until noon)

Wednesday October 2, 2019 8:00am - 8:00am EDT
Walker Theater

Registration

8:00am EDT

Better Block in a Box - Mini Workshop

Limited Capacity seats available

See how easy it is to transform a space with a few pieces of plywood, a couple mallets, and a little muscle.

Join the Better Block Foundation in activating Miller Park by setting up the Better Block in a Box. The Better Block in a Box is a shipping container that contains all the elements you need for a successful placemaking event (cafe sets, long tables, hammocks, string lights, astroturf, and kids’ toys). Once you pull the elements out, the box itself turns into a coffeeshop, info kiosk, or whatever you may need. After your event is over, you pack it all up, shut the doors, and ship it off. Hear from Better Block Foundation’s founding director Jason Roberts as he leads you through the setup/teardown and discusses the lessons he’s learned in the past 10 years of placemaking all around the world.

Wednesday October 2, 2019 8:00am - 8:45am EDT
Miller Park

Breakout

9:00am EDT

Plenary Pt. 1

Presented by Placemaking Week Chattanooga's Local Host Committee

Welcome to Placemaking Week:
Juliet Kahne, Director of Education and Events, Project for Public Spaces
Mary Stargel, Director of Innovation Programs, The Enterprise Center
Phil Myrick, CEO, Project for Public Spaces

Local Host Committee Welcome, Equity Statement & Land Acknowledgement
Josiah Golson, Civic Artist, 800 Collective

Panel: Chattanooga History in Conversation
Eric Meyers, Executive Director, Chattanooga Design Studio
Edna Varner, Senior Advisor, Leading and Learning, Public Education Foundation
John Edwards, President and Owner, Chattanooga News Chronicle, Inc.
Ann Coulter, A. Coulter Consulting

Wednesday October 2, 2019 9:00am - 10:15am EDT
Walker Theater

Plenary

10:15am EDT

Coffee Break in Plenary

Grab a quick pastry and coffee in the bar area before the next part of the plenary!

Wednesday October 2, 2019 10:15am - 10:45am EDT
Walker Theater

Meal

10:45am EDT

Plenary Pt. 2

Presented by Placemaking Week Chattanooga's Local Host Committee

Keynote:
Wanda Webster Stansbury, Executive Director, Center for Child and Family Achievement

Panel: Practicing Equity in Placemaking?
Courtney Knapp, Associate Professor, Grad Center for Planning, Pratt Institute
Sarah Berestecky, Community Organizer and Anti-Racism Educator, Bridge City Community
Shane Morrow, Co-Founder and Executive Director, RISE Chattanooga
Mary Stargel, Director of Innovation District Programs, The Enterprise Center
LaFrederick Thirkill, Principal of Orchard Knob Elementary / Co-chair of Committee, Ed Johnson Memorial Project

Wednesday October 2, 2019 10:45am - 12:00pm EDT
Walker Theater

Plenary

12:00pm EDT

Registration open at Waterhouse Pavilion (noon - 4)

If you have not yet registered for Placemaking Week, registration will be open 12pm - 4pm at the Waterhouse Pavilion.

Wednesday October 2, 2019 12:00pm - 12:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Registration

12:00pm EDT

Picnic in Miller Park

Placemaking Week provides you with a boxed lunch and a picnic blanket at Waterhouse Pavilion to enjoy lunch in Miller Park. Please place the blanket back in the Pavilion when finished, we will be donating them!

Wednesday October 2, 2019 12:00pm - 1:00pm EDT
Miller Park

Meal

1:15pm EDT

Downtown Dos and Don'ts: Lessons from Chattanooga's Grand Experiment

Greater downtown Chattanooga was an early leader in downtown revitalization, especially for cities with a population under 1 million. Chattanooga's revitalization began in the 1980s, exemplified by the first strategic plan in 1987, place management, one-of-a-kind civic facilities (such as the world’s largest freshwater aquarium, a baseball & football stadium, and battery powered free circulator), all of which vastly increased development. In this panel, the downtown place manager, developers and affordable housing developer will share their future strategies. They will then ask longtime Chattanooga advisor, Christopher B. Leinberger, how social equity can be further enhanced in downtown Chattanooga.

Speakers

Christopher Leinberger

Professor, George Washington University

Wednesday October 2, 2019 1:15pm - 2:30pm EDT
Chattanooga Public Library, Auditorium

Breakout

1:15pm EDT

Lost in Translation: Decoding Unexpected Language Barriers between Transportation, Advocacy, and Main Street

From neighborhood commercial districts in large cities to rural downtowns, streets play a vital role in animating the social and economic life of communities and improving the quality of life for residents and visitors. Despite this significant role, many Main Streets Stakeholders lack the “language skills” to collaboratively manage transportation issues, promote quality streetscape design, and support equitable access. In this fun, chatty, and informative session, Project for Public Spaces and National Main Street Center will launch a new toolkit aimed specifically at breaking down the unexpected language barriers among Main Street Managers, Transportation Officials, and Community Advocates in a way that works for everyone. By offering a common language, practitioners (street designers, traffic and parking engineers, transit professionals, etc) and Main Street communities might engage better with one another. The “Main Street Transportation Toolkit” is a multi-part tool that combines the Main Street Approach and the Placemaking Process to help Main Street leaders, transportation professionals, local officials, community advocates, and everyone in between: (1) increase their understanding of streets and transportation impacts; (2) learn how to balance the needs of mobility and other street activities; and (3) ultimately build stronger relationships with each other and the community.

A transportation official (speaking Transport-ese), a community advocate (who only speaks Advo-kaans), and a Main Street manager (who speaks Mainstreet-ian) walked into a bar. They didn’t understand each other so they stopped talking. The end.

Speakers

Cailean Kok

Project Assoicate, Project for Public Spaces

Cailean Kok is a certified planner with a half decade working on a wider range of research and community projects. She works on the Healthy Places Program and the Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking at Project for Public Spaces applying her passion for transforming the built... Read More →

Lindsey Wallace

Director of Strategic Projects and Design Services, National Main Street Center

Shaylee Zaugg

Junior Project Associate, Project for Public Spaces

Shaylee is a key member of the Main Streets, Portals to Places, and Healthy Places initiatives at Project for Public Spaces, with extensive experience engaging youth and conducting in-depth urban research.At Project for Public Spaces she develops tools for improved urban mobility... Read More →

Laura Torchio

Deputy Director, Project for Public Spaces

Laura Torchio is a certified planner specializing in active transportation, healthy communities, and placemaking. She is a seasoned facilitator with a forte to inspire thoughtful, creative initiatives and coalitions that strengthen the social, physical, and economic vitality of communities... Read More →

Wednesday October 2, 2019 1:15pm - 2:30pm EDT
EPB, 7th Floor, Room 1

Breakout

1:15pm EDT

Make-Believe Placemaking: Designing Public Space through Imaginative Play

What role does make-believe play in the realm of placemaking? As children we draped threadbare sheets over the backs of ladderback chairs and ring-stained tables to transform our dining room into a secret cave, hiding from reality as were enveloped in our imaginative playground. These were our first experiences utilizing placemaking tactics to spark imagination for something bigger and better than reality was offering. Now our grown-up language defines it as “low-fidelity” placemaking prototypes. What might a dozen college students and a few faculty with big imaginations dream up with a vacant bank in a rural downtown? When memories are not tied to what is already known, the props have a greater chance of prompting belief. A stately bank, now disguised as a social design firm called Marion Design Co., is a gathering hub of community members and undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds. Found props such as a 20 oak conference table found in a second floor conference room transform into places of conversation, sparking innovation and entrepreneurship. This workshop, led by faculty and undergraduate design students will activate the audience utilizing low fidelity prompts to practice placemaking. Through a series of design thinking methods, participants will interact through imaginative play to push into the concepts of placemaking and placekeeping in a similar manner as childhood fort-building. This energetic workshop will inspire the participants imagination to transfer the tactics to their own hometowns.

Speakers

Jenna Beemer

Design for Social Impact Intern, Marion Design Co

Jenna is an enthusiastic designer that is passionate about creating community. As a student designer at Indiana Wesleyan University, she has incorporated design thinking and sustainable design practice at internships at Haworth and Marion Design Co. Jenna approaches design holistically... Read More →

Angelica Oles

Design for Social Impact Intern, Marion Design Co

Wendy Puffer

Co-founder Marion Design Co./ Associate Professor, Marion Design Co/ IWU

Wendy Puffer is a licensed interior designer (NCIDQ and MA Interior Design) with an MFA in Design Thinking. Connecting people through the power of design is what drives her work. Her experience designing spaces and places for hundreds of clients spans three decades. Her passion to... Read More →

Wednesday October 2, 2019 1:15pm - 2:30pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Accelerator Space

Breakout

1:15pm EDT

Short Talks: Exploring Deeper Connections to Place

A Short Talk session is 5-7 single presenters, presenting for roughly 7 minutes, on a topic relating to a overarching theme. Led by a facilitator, with a Q and A once all of the presentations have finished, these talks will provide attendees with a collection of stories, case studies, and projects related to specific aspects of placemaking.

This session's topic is: Exploring Deeper Connections to Place. All talk titles from all presenters to be listed here by September.

Carmen Mays - Can I fly a kite at Kelly Ingram Park?
Jane Ellery - Muncie on the Move
Michael Bell - Place making: Safety. Dignity.
Shawn Lani - Middle Ground: Reconsidering ourselves and others
Gardner Goodall - Meet Me on the Neutral Ground: the story of a unique social space in the streets of New Orleans.
Jennifer Goold - Placekeeping - Enriching cultural legacy in Baltimore's redeveloping communities
Tyler Yount - Neighboroots - empowering residents to tell their neighborhood's story

Speakers

Tyler Yount

Director of Special Projects, Office of Mayor Andy Berke

Jane Ellery

Faculty Member, Ball State University

Jennifer Goold

Executive Director, The Neighborhood Design Center

Jennifer Goold joined the Neighborhood Design Center in 2012 after more than a decade of work in cultural resources management, historic preservation, development and planning. At NDC, she directs all aspects of the center’s operations including staff, programs, outreach, and fundraising... Read More →

Shawn Lani

Founding Director, Studio for Public Spaces, Exploratorium

I have worked at San Francisco's Exploratorium as an artist and Exhibit Developer for 24 years. In 2014 I founded the Studio for Public Spaces (SPS) and direct the studio in its work. SPS generates new ways to apply the Exploratorium’s inquiry-based learning theories to a wide range... Read More →

Michael Bell

Developmental Practitioner, Mitchell\'s Plain Online

I am a Developmental Practitioner and Activist. As a community placemaker, I seek to create safe and dignified spaces in under-developed communities that is ravaged by crime. My passion for Mural Arts and Urban Design inspire me to make a difference.

Carmen Mays

Community & Economic Development Consultant, Founder of Elevators

Hailing from the Magic City and born comfortably between “Thriller” and ” Bad,” Carmen is a sought after Public Administrator and budding entrepreneur. She is known for her candor and spot-on analysis which makes her an invaluable resource and advisor to many in her network... Read More →

Gardner Goodall

Programs Coordinator of Wetland Park, Sankofa Community Development Corporation

Gardner Goodall is an ecologist and public space enthusiast in New Orleans, where he bikes everywhere he goes. He moved to New Orleans with an Environmental Studies degree to learn about equity and climate change resiliency. During his time in New Orleans, he has pursued his passion... Read More →

Wednesday October 2, 2019 1:15pm - 2:30pm EDT
Miller Park Community Stage

Breakout

1:15pm EDT

Tactical Urbanism for Cities and Citizens Alike: Collectively Institutionalizing Iterative Placemaking

It’s no surprise that Tactical Urbanism, or Quick-Build projects, are an effective placemaking tool. However, how can we begin to codify a sanctioned process so that placemaking isn’t a one-off effort, but rather an accepted, if not routine way of delivering cities with a stronger sense of place attachment? This presentation will share examples of sanctioned programs implemented in Fayetteville, AR, Burlington, VT, and Miami-Dade County, FL that cover a wide array of both successful and unsuccessful placemaking projects. The panel will also share their success scaling such initiatives, encouraging a future for how we-- cities and citizens-- might collectively institutionalize the iterative placemaking methodology.

Speakers

Nate Hommel

Director of Planning and Design, University City District

Barkha Patel

Senior Transportation Planner, City of Jersey City

Mike Lydon

Principal, Street Plans

Mike is the Principal of The Street Plans Collaborative, an international award-winning planning, design, and research-advocacy firm based in Miami, New York City, and San Francisco. He is also the recipient of the 2017 Seaside Prize, co-author of Tactical Urbanism: Short-term Action... Read More →

Wednesday October 2, 2019 1:15pm - 2:30pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Community Space

Breakout

1:15pm EDT

Tapping into Hidden Talents: Connecting Social Infrastructure to Place via Digital Design Thinking

Limited Capacity filling up

Innovation Districts and Placemaking work towards a relationship that connects new economic realities, such as the recent Opportunity Zone funding, to the appropriate cultural contexts that will provide new purposeful outcomes for our communities. How might the “Chattanooga Way” serve as a learning and collaboration model for demonstrating these possibilities for smaller and mid-size cities? The City of Pontiac, Michigan, with a population of 60,000, is one example having recently exited Emergency Management and also designated as an Opportunity Zone. Our session utilizes our PHIN-CO Digital Design Thinking platform to serve as a tool for collecting and weaving together disconnected local narratives, ideas, projects, problem solving insights, creative expressions and hidden talents inherent in our local communities in the facilitation and activation of their public spaces. Design is a process for value creation while Design Thinking has emerged to become a process to capture the experiential observation and creative synthesis of broad data sets to solve complex problems resulting in new innovative products and services across organizations. This workshop will take place inside the PPS Placemaking Bus emanating from Miller Park, and will demonstrate the power of Chattanooga’s “Gig City” technology and its marriage to a robust social infrastructure. We’ll network with a group of collaborative organizations (e.g. Chattanooga Public Library, the Edney Innovation Center, Tennessee Aquarium etc.) in a live video conferenced exchange with parallel efforts and infrastructural assets in Pontiac’s Opportunity Zone (e.g. The Pontiac Public Library, Phoenix Center Campus and additional Downtown sites). Youth driven engagement will be emphasized. Audience interaction with cell phones, tablets and touchscreens will be facilitated.

Speakers

Monica Williams

Co-Director / Designer, Pontiac Holonomy Incubator

Organic, Bottom-Up & Evidence-Based Development, Design, Design Thinking, Movement Back to Cities, Opportunity Zones, Innovation Districts, Placemaking, Community-Based Learning, K-12 Education, Higher Education & the Instructional / Organizational Model TRANSITION.

Wednesday October 2, 2019 1:15pm - 2:30pm EDT
Placemaking Bus

Breakout

1:15pm EDT

The Placemakers Guide to Equitable Engagement & Decision Making

The need for a renaissance in democratic planning process has never been more urgent. In this hands-on, classroom style session, Concordia LLC will present their engagement methodologies to bridge consensus-building, break the boundaries between the planner and the community member, and make decision-making accessible. We need to bring all voices to the table, yet the community we live in is a set of overlapping, sometimes conflicting sub-communities and networks. Our community ecosystems are aching for the kind of regeneration that is best achieved through bringing all voices to the table.

Workshop outcomes include: 1. Learn how to engage community members in an iterative design process, 2. Learn new and innovative community outreach methods, 3. Learn what activities worked for generating meaningful discussion and feedback, 4. Learn about tools, costs, challenges, and other tips for engagement.

Speakers

Bobbie Hill

Principal, Concordia LLC

Bobbie Hill leads Concordia’s engagement work. A natural connector, Bobbie is expert at facilitating public meetings, listening to community voices and encouraging open and honest communication. Over the course of dozens of projects around the country, Bobbie has honed Concordia’s... Read More →

Melissa Lee

Senior Manager, Concordia LLC

Melissa S. Lee co-leads an integrated team of planners, designers and technical experts in the completion of community engagement, planning and facilitation activities at Concordia, LLC. Melissa envisions equitable planning and development more than buzzwords. She is committed to... Read More →

Wednesday October 2, 2019 1:15pm - 2:30pm EDT
Chattanooga Public Library, 4th Floor

Breakout

1:15pm EDT

The Triumph of the Commons: Generating Principles for Participatory Governance

In this workshop, participants will be introduced to innovative case studies featuring citizen-led efforts to reclaim the commons. As researchers who are well-versed in projects around the world, we will draw on diverse examples such as Dufferin Grove Park in Toronto and Festa de Gracia in Barcelona. We will guide participants through a process of distilling principles of participatory governance for a more inclusive and equitable public realm. Through interactive group discussions, the session will explore the opportunities and challenges associated with the movement to decentralize decision-making power to local communities. Specific barriers that will be considered include time and resource constraints, bureaucratic hurdles, conflicting viewpoints, and the challenges inherent in satisfying short-term needs while ensuring long-term sustainability. Participants will have the opportunity to explore possible applications of participatory governance to their own placemaking efforts.

Speakers

Jackie Brown

Sessional Instructor, McMaster University

Rosalind Pfaff

Sessional Instructor, McMaster University

Wednesday October 2, 2019 1:15pm - 2:30pm EDT
EPB, 7th Floor, Room 2

Breakout

1:15pm EDT

Transactional vs Transformational: The Role of Private Development in Inclusive Revitalization

As rapidly-growing cities wrestle with growing pains, how can private development consciously engage and meaningfully contribute to a city’s economic and cultural development? How can developers work with public, non-profit, and neighborhood partners to adopt a long-term transformational, instead of a short-term transactional mindset? Charlotte, NC is a booming New South city where the population doubles every 20 years, but it ranks at the bottom of national studies on economic mobility. Camp North End is a 75-acre historic industrial site which once produced Model Ts and US Army Missiles and is now transforming into a hub for innovation in the heart of Charlotte’s North End Smart District. Private, public, and neighborhood representatives close to this ambitious, adaptive-reuse project will share perspectives on how a thoughtful reimagining of physical space combined with intentional strategies for inclusion can create a welcoming place with win-wins for business and community.

Speakers

Varian Shrum

Community Manager, Camp North End

Varian Shrum is the Community Manager for Camp North End, an ATCO redevelopment project on a 75-acre historic site in Charlotte’s North End corridor. Previous work with 8 80 Cities, the Knight Foundation, the Charlotte Rail Trail, and Charlotte Center City Partners cemented her... Read More →

Damon Hemmerdinger

Co-President, ATCO [Camp North End]

Developer of Camp North End in Charlotte, NC, and several buildings in Austin, TX. Real estate is about the people who occupy the building and the community they make together; architecture is just one ingredient in the recipe to achieve that result. Background in community economic... Read More →

Adrienne Martinez

Board member, North End Community Coalition

Adrienne Rose Martinez a Vice President at Bank of America and a community leader in Charlotte’s North End. She is a board member for the North End Community Coalition, made up of eight neighborhoods that work together in their community building and engagement efforts.Martinez... Read More →

John Clifford

Co-Founding Principal, S9 Architecture

Lilias John

Public Private Partnerships, City of Charlotte, North Carolina

Wednesday October 2, 2019 1:15pm - 2:30pm EDT
Bessie Smith Cultural Center, Hall

Breakout

2:30pm EDT

Head to next breakout session

You have 30 minutes to take a very quick break and rush to your next session!

Wednesday October 2, 2019 2:30pm - 3:00pm EDT

Information

3:00pm EDT

Accessible Placemaking: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Universal Design

How can you bring accessibility and visibility to the next level in your work? About 1 in 4 people in the U.S have some sort of disability. Globally, over one billion people have a disability, which is 15% of our population. As more people move to urban spaces, and as we are rebuilding communities, it is our responsibility to make spaces welcoming, inclusive, sustainable and accessible for everyone at all stages in life. If we continue to ignore the needs people with disabilities have and do the bare minimum for code regulations, we continue the cycle of discrimination and social isolation. Join as panelists from landscape architecture, transportation, and design are doing in their field to create inclusive spaces for people with disabilities. This will be an interactive conversation between the panelist and attendees.

Speakers

Christopher Lambka

Office Director, Toole Design Group

Britt Zuckerman

Landscape Architect, Dirtworks Landscape Architecture

Britt Zuckerman has over eight years of design experience focused on institutional, residential, and commercial projects. Britt is a Registered Landscape Architect, and holds a Master of Science from Columbia University, where she graduated at the top of her class. She also earned... Read More →

Amelia O'Hare

Urban planner, Lakeshore Foundation/NCHPAD

Wednesday October 2, 2019 3:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Accelerator Space

Breakout

3:00pm EDT

Achieving Inclusive Outcomes through Collective Impact

Attendees will learn how to enhance placemaking efforts in their own communities through collective impact - collaboration, data-based public value proposition, and collectively shared visions of success. The session will highlight projects recognized by the Rudy Brunner Excellence Awards, which has been recognizing excellence in urban design since 1971. Attendees will experience one of the 2019 award finalists, Sulphur Springs, Texas, via a video program and trip inside the famed one-way glass bathroom. By taking the tools provided in this session and actively applying them at home, the placemakers who attend will be empowered to have a greater impact and enhanced outreach in communities of all scales across the country

Speakers

Sarah O'Brien

Change Agent, Collaborative Development Collective

Passionate public servant & community champion. Creator of experiences, collaborator of ideas, coordinator of chaos.

Britin Bostick

Principal, Stewardship Strategies, LLC

I spend a lot of time working on historic places at many scales, I am a next-level nerd in researching the history of properties and I dearly love a grilled cheese!

Wednesday October 2, 2019 3:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
Chattanooga Public Library, 4th Floor

Breakout

3:00pm EDT

Aligning Public Policy and Participatory Action: Sustaining Placemaking Initiatives for the Long-Term

The terms place-making, place making and placemaking are regularly used with infrequent qualification as to meaning and application (and sometimes intentionally so). City officials tend to insert place making as a planning objective guiding design-led new development and regeneration. While Project for Public Spaces, the major player in giving structure and process to the art of Placemaking would say, all place making practice should be participatory, this has not always been the way Placemaking has been practiced. This is changing. Recent initiatives of a global movement of community organisations, NGOs, professionals and academics increasingly advocate community-led processes and outcomes that lead to better public spaces. The collective impact of a number of local projects instigated and/or implemented by local groups can change the way people in a city think about their public spaces, but is there a diminishing return once the “freshness” of a placemaking policy or a placemaking action has worn off?

This panel will examine the initiatives taken in a few cities to create such mechanisms that include both a perspective on place making (planning policy) and placemaking (participatory action). The moderators will consistently engage speakers and the audience to examine the potential impact and costs of each mechanism.

Speakers

Gary Toth

Executive Vice President, Project for Public Spaces

Gary Toth has helped to lead a national movement to integrate land use and transportation issues as a means to creating more livable, walkable communities and streets. During his 34 years of project management experience with the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), Gary... Read More →

Marisa Denker

Director, Connect the Dots

All about co-creation - at our firm Connect the Dots we have developed a unique process for co-designing civic engagement processes to ensure they are equitable, engaging, and inclusive - and achieve meaningful impact.

Wessel Badenhorst

Director, Urban Mode

Based in Dublin, Ireland, I work mostly with small cities in Europe on projects and themes to increase or maintain vitality which includes helping stakeholders working together to make their cities more liveable and attractive.

Douwe Dijkstra

Chairman, Heerlen Mijn Stad

Douwe M. Dijkstra, chairman of the Foundation Heerlen Mijn Stad. The city centre organisation of Heerlen in the most southern province of the Netherlands. An experienced social entrepreneur, manager, former vice president in business and chairman with a demonstrated history of working... Read More →

Wednesday October 2, 2019 3:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
Bessie Smith Cultural Center, Hall

Breakout

3:00pm EDT

Incorporating Arts, Equity, and Inclusion in Placemaking: 10 Principles

ArtUp uses arts and culture as a tool for fostering robust equitable placemaking through economic development, community revitalization, and entrepreneurship. ArtUp challenges the status quo of traditional arts-based community engagement, in which the goal is simply to expose people in underserved neighborhoods to the arts from more privileged areas of a community. Instead, ArtUp tackles obstacles common in many cities, such as unemployment, crime, disengaged residents, and neighborhood blight through innovative and unexpected uses of arts and culture. At ArtUp, we make it our business to spur resident-centered, neighborhood-driven, arts- and culture-based community development. We break down barriers. We nurture ideas. We launch creative entrepreneurs. We ArtUp. Are you looking for equitable and inclusive models of placemaking? Are you seeking models that incorporate arts and culture into placemaking? This session is for you. In this session you will learn the 10 Principles of Equitable Placemaking used by the award winning project, ArtUp, based in Memphis, Tennessee. These ten lessons are for all stakeholders in that process -- from residents to artists and arts organizations, and from architects and consultants and government officials to funders. Each principle here is also a hard-won lesson, but each is absolutely essential to the success of the work and to maintaining an ethical approach along the way. ArtUp Founder Linda Steele will share these 10 Priniciples and the lessons behind each. She will dive into specific funding strategies, budgets, and community engagement so you will leave with a plan on how to lead your own equitable placemaking project at home.

Speakers

Linda Steele

Founder & CEO, ArtUp

Wednesday October 2, 2019 3:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Community Space

Breakout

3:00pm EDT

Measuring quality of place: Toward a global standard of walkability and urban design

Limited Capacity full

Speakers

Mariela Alfonzo

CEO/Founder, State of Place

IMI I (1) pdf

IMI2.1StateOfPlacePaperForm (1) pdf

WalkThisWay pdf

IMI II pdf

Wednesday October 2, 2019 3:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
Placemaking Bus

Breakout

3:00pm EDT

Place Management: An Inclusive Approach to Advancing Equity Through Engagement

How do you realize the full potential of a place? Through placemaking strategies that authentically engage the multiple communities that comprise your population. Hear from two national funders and two practitioners, at different stages in their placemaking work, who will juxtapose experiences around engaging diverse communities and amplifying voices to advance equity through placemaking. In this panel, discover best practices and frameworks to put equity, diversity and inclusion at the forefront of your work---informing all aspects of your placemaking goals, process, activities and outcomes.

Key takeaways - Best practices to counter perceived barriers to participation through inclusive messaging and intentional outreach strategies; Successes and lessons learned in implementing community engagement efforts across demographics in place management; Leveraging multiple cross-sector partnerships for building trust in communities and ensuring vulnerable populations are engaged throughout all stages of the placemaking process to advance equity.

Speakers

Michelle Truett

Coordinator, Levitt AMP Utica Music Series

Jill DeLozier

Vice President, Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership

Elena Madison

Vice President, Project for Public Spaces, Inc.

Elena Madison is a vice president at PPS, an urban planner with rich experience in the planning and design of parks, plazas, campuses, civic and cultural spaces. A veteran of placemaking, Elena has a passion for working with people in communities to create the public spaces they love... Read More →

Vanessa Silberman

Senior Director of Communications & Strategic Initiatives, Levitt Foundation

Vanessa Silberman is the Senior Director of Communications & Strategic Initiatives at the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, a national creative placemaking funder that empowers communities to come together and transform underused outdoor spaces into welcoming destinations through... Read More →

Wednesday October 2, 2019 3:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
Chattanooga Public Library, Auditorium

Breakout

3:00pm EDT

Short Talks: Downtowns, Districts, Destinations

A Short Talk session is 5-7 single presenters, presenting for roughly 7 minutes, on a topic relating to a overarching theme. Led by a facilitator, with a Q and A once all of the presentations have finished, these talks will provide attendees with a collection of stories, case studies, and projects related to specific aspects of placemaking.

This session's topic is: Downtowns, Districts, Destinations. All talk titles from all presenters to be listed here by September.

Midori Mizuhara - Go Little Tokyo: Creating a Hyper-Local Community-Driven Marketing and Branding Platform in a Rapidly Transforming Urban Core
Max Hepp-Buchanan - Music, access, and public space: how Richmond's downtown leadership organization is transforming the riverfront
Sarah Beckman - Equity at the Intersection of Community + Tourism
Chad Emerson - Dynamic Placemaking with a Modest Budget
Tammy Hunsaker - New Grit: How Salt Lake City's Granary District is using adaptive reuse, business recruitment, and public art to find new life, while preserving its industrial roots
Meghan Skornia - Local Business Districts: How We Can Work Together
Scott Shaffer - How to reclaim space from urban freeways: lessons from Minneapolis

Speakers

Scott Shaffer

Planner, Minnesota Department of Transportation

scott.shaffer@state.mn.us

Sarah Beckman

Director of External Relations, Balboa Park Conservancy

Sarah is passionate about parks, people and place. With more than 25 years of experience in communication, events and philanthropy, she found her sweet spot at the intersection of community engagement and storytelling. Through her work in museums, schools and parks she has created... Read More →

Chad Emerson

CEO & President, Downtown Huntsville, Inc

Creating Eclectic Yet Approachable Urban Experiences

Meghan Skornia

Senior Associate, Asakura Robinson

Meghan Skornia is a Senior Associate Planner and Designer in our Austin office. Her work focuses on small area planning, downtown planning, vacant land strategy, creative placemaking, strategic planning, and engagement strategy. She is especially passionate about relaying complex... Read More →

Max Hepp-Buchanan

Director of Riverfront & Downtown Placemaking, Venture Richmond

Max grew up in Seattle where his passion for active transportation and great public spaces began to take shape. He earned his masters from the University of Washington in Urban Design & Planning and Public Administration and has spent nearly a decade working with cities to help them... Read More →

Tammy Hunsaker

Senior Project Manager, Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City

Midori Mizuhara

Director of Planning & Urban Design, Community Arts Resources

Wednesday October 2, 2019 3:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
Miller Park Community Stage

Breakout

3:00pm EDT

Suburban Transition of a Downtown: An Unexpected Public Space Journey

If a city’s downtown is its soul, then Alpharetta didn’t have one - or at least it was not recognizable. But over a few decades, Alpharetta blossomed from a bedroom community of 3,000 into a regional employment hub of 120,000. While the office parks and cul-de-sacs had popped up all over the place, the city was lacking collective public gathering places to serve a diverse mix of people. This session explores the City's role in revitalizing, and in many ways, creating a downtown in Alpharetta. Since its announcement in 2015, close to $250 million additional dollars of investment have poured into the downtown. In the last five years, downtown Alpharetta has become the setting of numerous new festivals and events, it has added more than three dozen new businesses and more than doubled the population that had lived there before. But most importantly, it has given the City a sense of soul that was missing.

Talking points include creating new public spaces through easement agreements, leveraging private impact fees to build public trails, the conversion of old right-of-way into pedestrian alleys, and the inclusion of public art requirements in zoning cases.

Speakers

Kathryn Cook

Director, Community Development, City of Alpharetta

Envisioning how to improve a community and setting the path to make it happen is what drives me. My 28 years in government has taught me to form as many partnerships as possible, you will always need help to bring a plan to reality. I believe that a planner who sticks solely to their... Read More →

Ben Kern

Planner/GIS Specialist, City of Alpharetta

Im very interested in viewing public spaces as common ground for knowing one's neighbors. Active Transportation Interests me. A good map will always grab my attention. Im currently receiving a Masters Degree in Spatial Analysis for Public Health, with the hope of better understanding... Read More →

Wednesday October 2, 2019 3:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
EPB, 7th Floor, Room 2

Breakout

3:00pm EDT

Women's Public Space Play Date

Limited Capacity seats available

This session is a political and playful exploration of women's public realm experiences, featuring a talk and on-site space activation where women (and their children) would be invited to participate in public play. Cities are places of social connection, delight, and opportunity, yet each day women face obstructed mobility, harassment, and violence while navigating public places. Design is not neutral; space is gendered. Domestic space associated with nurturing and child-rearing was conceived as a women’s space. The city, a space of exploration and economic opportunity, was conceived as a man’s space. Women especially those from historically marginalized groups are disproportionately affected by public space design and programming. Equally important, women are rarely emboldened to pursue play in public spaces.

This talk and space activation will: Provide an intersectional overview of the gendered nature of public spaces; Introduce the idea of talking about gender and public space in a holistic manner extending beyond safety exploring delight, play and freedom; Unpack the benefits of women playing in public; Guide women through a public play session.

Speakers

Jay Pitter

Principal Placemaker, Jay Pitter Placemaking

Wednesday October 2, 2019 3:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
Bessie Smith Cultural Center, Atrium

Breakout

3:00pm EDT

Working Through Distrust: The Power of Free Street Programming

For more than 25 years, Portland, Oregon has focused on creating streets for people. Innovative placemaking efforts led to numerous standalone programs that facilitate block parties, beautiful street paintings, and small scale installations like the first in the world little free library. In 2017, in an effort to better organize the programs and make them more approachable to the public, the city adopted the Livable Streets Strategy. This strategy is being implemented by the Portland in the Streets program which has consolidated all social infrastructure (plazas, street paintings, benches, small community kiosks) and social interaction (block parties, community events). East Portland is a lower income portion of the city that was annexed in the 1980s. A combination of charging fees to each household to build a sewer system, failed promises for civic infrastructure, and tension around changes in ethnic demographics led to a deep distrust and anger towards city government. In the past fifteen years, Portland has focused many initiatives in East Portland. For transportation, since 2012, Portland has successfully programmed more than $250 million for safety projects in East Portland. This deep investment in the community has built some trust. However, families are still confronted with limited time to build community. Portland’s Livable Streets Strategy and Portland in the Streets program has taken intentional steps to reduce barriers for low income and diverse families to participate in placemaking efforts. We will show several case examples that demonstrate the power of free block parties, street paintings that empower youth, artistic programs designed to strengthen programming at community events, and large walking events that show support and love for our new immigrant and refugee neighbors. Portland will invite 1 to 2 other communities to join the panel to talk about how their own placemaking programs are contributing to more equitable outcomes.

Speakers

Greg Raisman

Livable Streets Program Coordinator, City of Portland, Bureau of Transportation

Rich Eisenhauer

Program Manager, Portland in the Streets, City of Portland, Bureau of Transportation

Rich brings over 23 years of experience in city government and strategic visionary thinking to the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) Portland in the Streets section. This section, under Rich’s direction, issues over 2000 permits a year that prioritize public streets... Read More →

Wednesday October 2, 2019 3:00pm - 4:15pm EDT
EPB, 7th Floor, Room 1

Breakout

4:15pm EDT

Head to next breakout session

You have 30 minutes to take a very quick break and rush to your next session!

Wednesday October 2, 2019 4:15pm - 4:45pm EDT

Information

4:45pm EDT

A New Place Paradigm: Empowering Women and Children in the Public Realm

When we start to look at the design of the public realm “streets, parks, plazas” we see conditions that are creating greater divides and inequalities. This session will focus on including and empowering two large groups within all cities and communities that we intend to work with - women and children. Women make up 51-percent of the population in the United States, and 55-percent of public transit riders, but continue to be less represented in the shaping and management of our cities. Similarly, the number one cause of non-medical death among 5-19-year-olds is due to motor vehicle crashes, and yet their wellbeing is seldom considered while planning transportation infrastructure. Streets with fast-moving traffic and limited public space deny our children their independence, and the ability to get around, spend time outdoors and connect with nature and others. Intuitively, we know that a built environment that works for a child (especially a girl child) works for everyone. But as practitioners, advocates, and city leaders how can we shift the culture and create a new public space paradigm that prioritizes all voices, users, safety, and sustainability? In this session, Nidhi Gulati, Katrina Johnson-Zimmerman, Samantha Thomas, and Aminah Ricks will discuss why it is crucial that we engage women, children and their caregivers in shaping their cities; as well as innovative strategies and lessons learned through each of our work. In addition to short 10-minute presentations by the panelists, the session will include breakout activities, tasking small groups to co-create a list of tactics for civic participation. The workshop will conclude with small tables reporting out and compiling the ideas into a master list capturing the key guiding principles to ensure greater equality and support the cultural shift towards a more inclusive public realm planning and design paradigm.

Speakers

Samantha Thomas

Built Environment Director, Terra Soma

Nidhi Gulati

Program Manager, Project for Public Spaces

Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman

Project Manager, Adjunct Professor, The Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation, Drexel University

Wednesday October 2, 2019 4:45pm - 6:00pm EDT
Chattanooga Public Library, 4th Floor

Breakout

4:45pm EDT

Anchoring Community through Grassroots Greenspaces: The Story of Mattie Freeland Park

This session will feature a panel discussion with residents about their community led and driven placemaking for the Mattie Freeland Park in Atlanta’s historic neighborhood of English Avenue. Mattie Freeland was a dedicated and respected English Avenue resident. Even at 90 years old, Ms. Mattie would sit on her front porch and watch out for the neighborhood kids. Her home was open to neighbors for food and fellowship, even as a shelter in times of need. Ms. Mattie passed in 2007 and English Avenue lost an anchor. She was one of the last elders of a generation who represented the fabric of a tight-knit community that looked out for its own. To begin to honor her vision, New Life Covenant Church planted a community garden across from her home. With the success and interest in this small garden space, the community realized they needed more greenspace. Slowly they started to utilize five other adjacent vacant lots for community gatherings, movie nights and other events. In a neighborhood plagued with vacant, overgrown parcels, this grassroots greenspace serves as a welcomed contrast. The activation of the park was driven by a coalition of residents who lived adjacent to the park and attended church with Ms. Mattie. It is through their determination that they were able to engage community and partners in a park and community home vision that transformed and anchored community. Mattie Freeland Park used techniques from park visioning as well as from the Project for Public Spaces to bring their community vision and home to life. The session will focus on community organizing and grassroots visioning as a cornerstone of placemaking. The objectives of the session are to share the successes and challenges of placemaking in a neighborhood that has unfairly been defined by negative conditions and lack of social cohesion.

Speakers

Dr. Mironda D. Williams

OBGYN, Peachtree OBGYN

Mironda D. Williams, MD, FACOG is a native of Atlanta (with family roots in Americus and Newnan, GA) who joined Peachtree OBGYN in 1992. She currently serves as a Managing Partner of this successful OBGYN private practice located in Peachtree City, GA.In addition to private practice... Read More →

Billie Walker

Park Staff, Self-employed

Stephen Causby

Community Partnerships Manager, Atlanta Regional Commission

Wednesday October 2, 2019 4:45pm - 6:00pm EDT
EPB, 7th Floor, Room 2

Breakout

4:45pm EDT

Cross-Cultural Partnerships and Honouring Indigenous Knowledge

How can Indigenous Placemaking be a tool to further a path of Truth and Reconciliation where we can understand the impacts of colonization and create inclusive spaces and initiatives that build relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities? This question resonates with communities around the world, who struggle to deal with discrimination, marginalization and human rights violations, as recognized by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples adopted in 2007. How do we move forward and foster inclusion? This hands-on workshop will take participants through two journeys. Boopsie Maran from New Zealand will share Māori principles that can inform placemaking practises: the importance of whanaungatanga (belonging), manaakitanga (hospitality), tūrangawaewae (a place to stand), and kaitiakitanga (guardianship). We will also explore a Canadian case study of Reconciliation at work in the community of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan—where several installations, events, and initiatives by a group called Reconciliation Saskatoon are creating change in their city. The workshop will take an in-depth look at how Indigenous ways of knowing, teachings and protocol can be honoured through placemaking. Workshop participants will learn and take part in a smudging ceremony as part of the experience. The workshop will include break out conversation groups that each explore different themes and tools that can be used to further Indigenous Placemaking in a variety of contexts.

Speakers

Boopsie Maran

Founder - Community Advocacy Specialist, Places for Good

It has always been my intention to support local communities to create an authentic and unique sense of joy and belonging that is theirs. My organisation places a high priority on facilitating a diverse range of initiatives and projects that reflect the ages and cultures of the neighbourhoods... Read More →

Carrie Catherine

Program Manager, ConnectR

Carrie Catherine graduated with an MA in English from the University of Saskatchewan before pursuing a career as a singer/songwriter and events producer. When her husband Curtis Olson formed Shift Development, Carrie’s role became using multi-discplinary arts events to animate spaces... Read More →

Neal Kewistep

Indigenous Engagement, Reconciliation Saskatoon

Wednesday October 2, 2019 4:45pm - 6:00pm EDT
Bessie Smith Cultural Center, Hall

Breakout

4:45pm EDT

Demolishing Roadblocks through Transparent Dialogue: A Roleplaying Exercise

Limited Capacity filling up

What does it take, and who needs a seat at the table to successfully transform the public realm? Placemaking is an inherently place-based process that requires the collaboration of residents, planners, business owners, designers, engineers, local non-profits, BIDs, community advocates, and politicians - to name a few. Everyone has a role to play, and oftentimes contributions expand beyond a team member’s professional or community-based capacity, not to mention other team member’s assumptions. The city engineer withholding permits until fire lanes are confirmed could also alter traffic signal timing for extended pedestrian periods during your installation. The business owner concerned about losing parking spaces might have an empty basement where your team can prepare materials. The cycling activist steering every conversation towards bike lanes can help get bicycles donated as raffle prizes. The out-of-town property owner with a vacant storefront may have roots in the community and jump at the opportunity to activate their space. Point is, successful projects happen when people move beyond their comfort zones, talk openly about their perspective on roadblocks, and work together to get a project built. Following a primer on placemaking, we will introduce participants to a hypothetical placemaking scenario - the foundation of the roleplaying game. Workshop participants will be assigned a role (distinct from their actual profession), a roadblock their character will introduce into the implementation process, and an unexpected asset they can share - if the right questions are asked. Attendees will play their assigned roles, introducing curveballs, teasing out contributions that other team members can provide, and hashing it out - the way real projects in the public realm get built. Attendees will learn that only through transparent dialogue - sharing challenges and soliciting creative solutions from the whole team - can the project be built.

Speakers

Shannon Heffernan

Urban Design Director, Studio One Eleven

Shruti Shankar

Senior Urban Designer, Studio One Eleven

Wednesday October 2, 2019 4:45pm - 6:00pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Accelerator Space

Breakout

4:45pm EDT

From the Street to the Suite: How Institutions and Local Communities Can Become Allies

This hybrid panel-discussion-activity session will explore how placemaking can drive equity within institutions, and will invite practitioners to assess their processes and how they can create work that impresses funders while supporting current residents of a place. We’ll showcase examples of our work done in partnership with local government, corporate real estate, and private foundations, examining how this work opened up conversations about equity within these institutions, driving policy change. Using lessons from our experience with the Civic Center Commons (SF Government), [freespace] and the Hall (private real estate), and 500 Plates (Knight Foundation), we’ll share how information collected at the street level was able to trickle upward and influence institutional change. Embedded in this is a conversation about how we, funded by institutions, and often coming into a community as outsiders - socially, racially, economically, and culturally - can be allies to the people in communities in which we work. How can we shift our projects and outcomes when the needs of the community differ from an original proposal? We will facilitate an honest discussion about bringing integrity and authenticity to our work, asking participants to contextualize their place when they find themselves as an outsider. We will engage in small group discussions about the successes and failures of activations, examining when the lasting impact of an initiative leads to more social and cultural equity, and when the absence of follow-through can have the opposite effect. We’ll also do an interactive exercise on listening and trust building, focusing on social equity within activations. We’ll then walk outside to conduct quickfire interviews with people on the street, experiencing ourselves as outsiders in a new place. We’ll collectively create a list of best practices for engagement based on our experience.

Speakers

Cassie Hoeprich

Master\'s Candidate, Urban and Regional Planning, University of California Los Angeles

Ilana Lipsett

Senior Program Manager, Institute for the Future

Ilana Lipsett is a community design strategist whose work uses participatory design and community engagement to inform future-focused policy, economic, and international development. Ilana works to create public engagement opportunities for cities, developers, NGO’s, and creative... Read More →

Hunter Franks

Founder, Hunter Franks Studio

Wednesday October 2, 2019 4:45pm - 6:00pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Community Space

Breakout

4:45pm EDT

Short Talks: Edible and Equitable

Ryan Smolar - "Shovel Ready": Urban Agriculture from the Ground-up
Linda Esposito - Food Halls, Municipal Spaces and Equitable Economic Development
Bill Rush - A Look at Food Insecurity
Lauren Margolis - How to Cultivate an Authentic & Diverse Community Around Food: Challenges and Opportunities Inside the New, Shiny & Modern Essex Market
Matthew Gollan - Soup Group - The unlikely story of how a bowl of soup started a movement and changed the way neighborhoods socialized in Sydney forever.
Abby Garrison - Lessons from Gratefull: The trend around communal community meals and how to make yours inclusive

Speakers

Abby Garrison

Executive Director, Causeway

Prior to Causeway, Abby served at the Chief Operating Officer of Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise, a neighborhood revitalization and community development organization. Prior to graduate school, Abby lived and worked in San Francisco, where she helped launch Williams-Sonoma Home... Read More →

Bill Rush

Community Branch Executive Director, James A. Henry Community YMCA

Ryan Smolar

Initiator, Placemaking US

Matthew Gollan

Creative Director / Co-founder, Reactivate Consulting

Matthew is an experienced placemaker and urban strategist with over a decade of experience in urban planning, place management, placemaking, activation strategy and community engagement. After working with numerous Australian municipal councils, developers, schools and universities... Read More →

Lauren Margolis

Community Programming & Engagement Manager, Essex Market

As the Community Programming & Engagement Manager at the historic Essex Market in New York City, Lauren coordinates and hosts a wide range of events and programs designed to improve fresh food access and education for local residents. Lauren has a Master’s degree in Food Studies... Read More →

Linda Esposito

Director, Municipal Marketplace, La Cocina

Linda Esposito currently leads the development of La Cocina’s Municipal Marketplace in the Tenderloin in San Francisco – using food as a creative approach to economic development by offering affordable, healthy food options and safe spaces while providing assessable business... Read More →

Wednesday October 2, 2019 4:45pm - 6:00pm EDT
Miller Park Community Stage

Breakout

4:45pm EDT

Stories of an Urban Greenway: How Public Art Further Joined a Disconnected Downtown

The Downtown Greenway, a collaborative project between Action Greensboro and the City of Greensboro, is a planned 4 mile walking and biking trail that encourages community dialogue, economic development, healthy and active living, and improves quality of life for its citizens. Expanding the perceived footprint of downtown and connecting surrounding neighborhoods, the Downtown Greenway is the central hub of the city’s trails and greenways system. With its emphasis on public art, the Greenway tells stories, and, in doing so, activates selected sites and engages users in a unique and authentic way. To date, 23 public artworks of varying size and scale have been installed along its completed route. This focus on public art plays an important role in bringing our community together while setting our community apart. Community engagement throughout the planning and design process has been a key to the success of creative placemaking efforts along the Downtown Greenway. Panelists will share insights into how disenfranchised members of the community were engaged and transformed into supporters of the project, how public art has created dialogue and bridged disparate communities together, and how creative placemaking has provided inspiration for the City’s future growth in an equitable and inclusive way.

Speakers

Bob Powell

Professor, NCA&T State University

Barbara Peck

Public Art Consultant, Downtown Greenway

As the Public Art Consultant for the Downtown Greenway in GREENSBORO NC since 2007, I have assisted planners of that $26 million project with the commission of public art with budgets that range from $500 to $450,000. My work includes commissioning artists, chairing the Downtown Greenway... Read More →

Dabney Sanders

Project Manager, Downtown Greenway, ActionGreensboro

Joshua Sherrick

Arts & Events Superintendent, City of Greensboro, Parks & Recreation

Wednesday October 2, 2019 4:45pm - 6:00pm EDT
EPB, 7th Floor, Room 1

Breakout

4:45pm EDT

Unlocking Hidden Potential: Inclusive Growth through Transformative Placemaking

Learn and discuss how transformative placemaking can unlock the hidden potential in your community. Transformative placemaking, as described by the Brookings Institution’s new Bass Center, expands the scope of placemaking to include efforts aimed not only at improving our social, emotional, and physical well-being, but at remaking the relationship of place and economy in ways that generate widespread, and locally-led, prosperity. To this end, transformative placemaking suggests investments that expand beyond the design and programming of individual lots and plazas to focus on sub-areas of cities and regions where a critical mass of economic, social, and civic assets cluster and connect. Moreover, it suggests that such investments be targeted not only in downtowns, waterfronts, and other high-amenity, already highly-resourced areas, but in communities where such assets have long been overlooked and undervalued by both the private and public sectors.

The Brookings Institution launched the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking in November 2018 and has been conducting research to make the case for why place matters to people and economies, to better understand where and how place investments should be prioritized to foster more inclusive economic growth, and to uncover and describe new approaches to placemaking that benefit more people and communities. Jennifer Vey, the Director of the Center, and its key partners, Project for Public Spaces (Meg Walker) and National Main Street Center (Lindsey Wallace), will discuss these issues, with a focus on best practices and findings they have encountered in their work. After a brief presentation from the panelists, breakout groups will discuss how transformative placemaking could make a difference in their home cities and towns.

Speakers

Lindsey Wallace

Director of Strategic Projects and Design Services, National Main Street Center

Meg Walker

Senior Vice President, PPS

Besides being a Senior VP at Project for Public Spaces, Meg is an Adjunct Professor at Pratt Institute's Graduate Program in Urban Placemaking and Management and a Visiting Professor at Bauhaus University in Germany this fall. Over her fifteen years at PPS, she has worked with dozens... Read More →

Jennifer Vey

Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution

Jennifer Vey is a senior fellow and the Director of the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking at the Brookings Institution. Jennifer’s work primarily focuses on the connection between placemaking and inclusive economic development in the digital economy... Read More →

Wednesday October 2, 2019 4:45pm - 6:00pm EDT
Chattanooga Public Library, Auditorium

Breakout

4:45pm EDT

When Public Spaces are Unjust: Placemaking Promotes Livability and Inclusiveness

How do you create a place that is comfortable, inspired and thriving where the people that live there have lost all desire to engage and view their "home" as nothing more than walls on buildings on a street? The task of making connections and supporting a place's innovation and evolution require a redefining of what a place is and how it comes to have meaning for the people that live there. We will share our experiences working in a low-income community and the journey of true community engagement, rediscovering how the power of people and connection can truly define a place.

This session will also explore the practical use of placemaking strategies for the greening and re-naturalization of degraded public spaces in Ado-Ekiti and Port Elizabeth, South Africa to promote equity and inclusiveness. In Ado Ekiti, there is a high tendency to develop public spaces into commercial structures without permission, while in Port Elizabeth, some public spaces are misused or degraded. Against this background, this session proposes to understand the cause-effects of encroachment and inequitable use of public spaces in the cities.

Speakers

Rhashida Bess

Public Service Coordinator, Keep Norfolk Beautiful

Thank you to everyone that attended my session. it was a pleasure sharing with you and O hope that you had an opportunity to learn something that will be helpful to you in your amazing work. I am grateful for your time and attention and please stay in touch.

Wednesday October 2, 2019 4:45pm - 6:00pm EDT
Bessie Smith Cultural Center, Atrium

Breakout

6:00pm EDT

Head to Choo Choo Happy Hour

Head to the Choo Choo Happy Hour at the Choo Choo Gardens - just a 12 minute walk south down Market St. from Miller Park/Waterhouse Pavilion, or just a few minutes away by bike or electric shuttle.

Wednesday October 2, 2019 6:00pm - 6:30pm EDT

Information

6:30pm EDT

Choo Choo Happy Hour till 7:30PM

EVENT WILL LAST UNTIL 7:30
For all you transportation fanatics (or anyone who like a historic location), this is your spot. Join us for happy hour at the Choo Choo Gardens and see what the famous train station has to offer the public in the modern day! One drink ticket will be provided upon event registration, and you are welcome to stay and enjoy the evening here, or eat at one of the many surrounding restaurants and bars on the southside.

This location is a 12 minute walk down Market St from Miller Park/Waterhouse Pavilion, or a quick bike or free shuttle ride away!

Wednesday October 2, 2019 6:30pm - 7:00pm EDT
Choo Choo Gardens

Social/Party

7:00pm EDT

Dine Arounds (SIGN UPS NOW CLOSED)

Dine Around Sign Ups have closed.

Dine Arounds will meet in the Choo Choo Lobby.

If you signed up for Dine Arounds via our form, you will receive an email with the details of your meal location -- then you will need to meet at Choo Choo Gardens at 7pm (enter through the historic Choo Choo Hotel lobby), where you will be given your restaurant selection and your co-diners. From there you will head off together to enjoy dinner by your own method of transportation (walk, bike, ride share).

Note: Placemaking Week does not cover the cost of dinner, nor your chosen method of transportation to the restaurant.

What are Dine Arounds? Dine arounds are informal dinners of 6-10 people at local restaurants that provide an opportunity for networking, stimulating conversation, and peer learning. Groups are selected based on a common interest or theme, and are a great way to get to know some of your fellow conference participants.

Wednesday October 2, 2019 7:00pm - 9:00pm EDT
Choo Choo Hotel Lobby

Social/Party

7:00pm EDT

Movie Night in the Park - "Love, Simon"

Not in the mood for drinks or dinner? Stay in Miller Park for a screening of "Love, Simon." (This event is part of the park's regular programming, and you are welcome to attend).

Wednesday October 2, 2019 7:00pm - 9:00pm EDT
Miller Park

Social/Party

7:30am EDT

Better Block in a Box - Mini Workshop

Limited Capacity full

Thursday October 3, 2019 7:30am - 8:15am EDT
Miller Park

Breakout

8:00am EDT

Registration open (8am to noon)

Thursday October 3, 2019 8:00am - 8:00am EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Registration

8:30am EDT

Plenary Pt. 3

Presented by Project for Public Spaces

PPS Introduction:
Philip Winn, Vice President, Project for Public Spaces
Jason Roberts, Chair, Better Block Foundation
Special guest to follow
Meg Walker, Senior Vice President, Project for Public Spaces

Panel: Human side of placemaking
Moderated discussion with Minouche Besters, Partner, STIPO Netherlands

Jay Pitter, Principal Placemaker, Jay Pitter Placemaking
“Public Spaces and Storytelling”
Keegan Aplin-Thane, Planner, Palmerston North City Council
“The New Zealand Approach: Creating Equitable Places Through the Adoption of Maori Values and Tikanga Maori”
Caleb Zigas, Executive Dishwasher, La Cocina
“Food Halls, Equity, Innovation”

Panel: Development side of placemaking
Moderated discussion with Jennifer Vey, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution

Ramon Marrades, Chief Strategy Officer, La Marina de Valencia
"Placemaking, Innovation and a Waterfront”
Lisa Middag, Director of Nicollet Activation, Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District
“Developing your BIDs equity practice”
Mariela Alfonzo, CEO & Founder, State of Place
“Safe By Design: Quantifying the Impact on Traffic Collision, Injury, and Fatality
Rates”

PlacemakingX: A network for connecting and amplifying global impact
Ethan Kent, Senior Fellow, Project for Public Spaces

Speakers

Jason Roberts

Founding Director, Better Block

Philip Winn

Vice President, Project for Public Spaces

Philip Winn is a Vice President at Project for Public Spaces and core team member for the Southwest Airlines Heart of the Community program. He has helped develop, design, manage, and implement multiple “Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper” projects at PPS including Belle Isle Summer Saturdays... Read More →

Minouche Besters

Managing Partner, STIPO

Minouche Besters is partner and urbanist at STIPO team for Urban Development. She is an experienced designer and facilitator of collective processes.

Meg Walker

Senior Vice President, PPS

Caleb Zigas

Executive Dishwasher, La Cocina

Caleb was not the founder of La Cocina. Instead, he begged his way in, starting as a volunteer in 2005, the week that the organization opened their doors. That's both a personal testament to the power of volunteerism as well as an appreciation for the hard work of grassroots organizations... Read More →

Mariela Alfonzo

CEO/Founder, State of Place

Ramon Marrades

Chief Strategy Officer, La Marina de València

Ramon is an urban economist and activist turned a creative bureaucrat and placemaker. He is currently the chief strategy officer at La Marina de València, Valencia’s waterfront redevelopment agency and a board member of the Worldwide Network of Port Cities (AIVP). Ramon is co-editor... Read More →

Lisa Middag

Director of Nicollet Activation, Mpls Downtown Improvement District

I’m an urban planner with a background in the arts who collaborates with communities to support sustainable, vibrant, and walkable public spaces through creative placemaking and community development. I was hired in early 2017 to develop a framework for activation along Nicollet... Read More →

Keegan Aplin-Thane

Planner, Palmerston North City Council

Jay Pitter

Principal Placemaker, Jay Pitter Placemaking

Ethan Kent

Senior Fellow, Project for Public Spaces

Ethan Kent works to support Placemaking organizations, projects, and leadership around the world, to build a global placemaking movement that builds systemic change towards place-led urbanization. During over 20 years at Project for Public Spaces, Ethan has traveled to more than 900... Read More →

Thursday October 3, 2019 8:30am - 10:30am EDT
Walker Theater

Plenary

10:30am EDT

Head to next breakout session

Thursday October 3, 2019 10:30am - 11:00am EDT

Information

11:00am EDT

Appalachian Perspectives: Southern community leaders, come and share your stories with ioby!

Limited Capacity seats available

Appalachian community leaders are invited to share their stories and join ioby for a group discussion on community led projects and organizations in their area!

Located at CO.LAB (this was previously at the Placemaking Bus, but we had to move it, sorry!), this group interview session will be used to help researchers at ioby better understand community based initiatives and histories in the Appalachian region. In both small and large groups, community leaders will be asked to share their priority areas for the South, the successes and challenges they have experienced in their type of work, and their perspective on the culture of giving and philanthropy in their state/city. This session will integrate the use of the arts to help guide the discussion.

Speakers

Alea Tveit

Central Appalachian Research Fellow, ioby

Thursday October 3, 2019 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT
The Edney, Floor One, CoLab

Breakout

11:00am EDT

Connecting People to Parks in the Scenic City: Methods and Strategies for Improving Access

In 2015 Chattanooga was honored with Outside Magazine's prestigious Best Town Ever award, recognizing the City's great access to trails and public lands and thriving restaurants and neighborhoods. Yet many area residents do not have easy access to trails and public lands, particularly if they'd prefer to walk, bike, or use public transit or don't have access to an automobile. Rather than resting on our laurels and basking in the glory of the Best Town Ever award, several local agencies and organizations are working to connect more people to parks. The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency (RPA) will share the results of their countywide street and path connectivity study, highlighting pedestrian access to parks as an example. The RPA has used this study to initiate a dialogue and visualize the challenges resulting from limited street connectivity. Hamilton County Parks will discuss how the study is informing their county-wide parks master planning. The City of Chattanooga Open Spaces Division will share their efforts to improve access to parks through a 10-minute walk planning and technical assistance grant from the National Recreation and Park Association. The Tennessee office of The Trust for Public Land (TPL) will highlight their recent initiatives in Chattanooga including the "Healthy, Connected Chattanooga" decision support tool and community engagement around park connections in the East Lake neighborhood. Attendees will be introduced to several methods for measuring connectivity as well as strategies for improving access to parks, fostering collaboration, and engaging the public.

Speakers

Akosua Cook

Parks Planner, City of Chattanooga - Parks and Outdoors

Melissa Taylor

Director of Strategic Long Range Planning, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency

Melissa Taylor is the Director of Strategic Long Range Planning for Chattanooga’s Regional Planning Agency and the area’s bi-state MPO. She has a Master's Degree in Environmental Science and has been a land use and transportation planner for 20 years with over half of those spent... Read More →

Tom Lamb

Director, Hamilton Country Parks and Rec

David Johnson

Program Director, Trust for Public Land

Thursday October 3, 2019 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT
EPB, 7th Floor, Room 1

Breakout

11:00am EDT

Creating Shared Value in Innovation Districts

Increasingly, startups, incubators and accelerators around the world are clustering around leading-edge companies and institutions in dense urban settings called "innovation districts." Knowledge Park is a walkable, multi-faceted innovation district within Rock Hill, South Carolina that will build a modern economy, and reinvent the original heart of the city. In this session, participants will learn how Rock Hill is supporting and creating amenities, programming, and governance to make Knowledge Park a destination that is special, and memorable for everyone who experiences it. With an intentional focus on inclusiveness, Rock Hill is working to ensure that all citizens find reasons that Knowledge Park is meaningful to their lives.

Speakers

Jennifer Wilford

Director of Housing & Neighborhood Services, City of Rock Hill

Melanie Jones

Chair, Quality of Life Committee Committee, Rock Hill Economic Development Board of Directors

Stephen Turner

Director of Economic Development, City of Rock Hill Economic and Urban Development Department

Ryan Sanderson

CEO & Co-Founder, Knowledge Perk

Ryan Sanderson (Co-Founder & CEO of Knowledge Perk) is a military transplant who has lived in York County for the last 15 years. He has worked with a high profile tech start up, started and exited a local company, and is working on development opportunities in the Knowledge Park area... Read More →

Dawn Johnson

Chair, B.E.L.L. Black Economic Leadership League

Using my platform as a business owner and community servant to give a voice to the underserved community. My definition of the underserved community are working people who pay taxes but their needs and voices may go unheard or they get overlooked because they are not visible, connected... Read More →

Thursday October 3, 2019 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT
Chattanooga Public Library, 4th Floor

Breakout

11:00am EDT

Cultivating Rural Innovation: An Asset-Based Approach to Revitalization

Rural regions across the United States have faced dramatic changes during the past several decades with the rise of globalization, loss of manufacturing jobs and a persistent brain drain as young people migrate to urban areas. We hear about declining populations, rising poverty rates, and crumbling infrastructure. Yet that picture isn’t entirely accurate. The spirit of innovation and collaboration is alive in an increasing number of rural communities and clusters, leveraging the power of the arts, local food culture, and entrepreneurship to become thriving innovation hubs. In turn, rural innovation is helping to develop new creative economies that are inspiring new investments, attracting and retaining talent, while amplifying community pride and elevating quality of place. This panel will explore rural innovation through the lens of creative placemaking, food hubs and Main Street revitalization, using case studies that speak to each. Audience members will learn from the work of the Citizens Institute on Rural Design, The Levitt Foundation’s AMP program, the National Main Street Center’s small town main streets initiatives, and programs aimed at building food security while supporting broader community development goals. The panelists will provide examples in fulfillment of the following learning objectives: How rural communities can build upon existing assets to spark place-based initiatives in their communities, How a community-led approach to rural innovation can lead to increased resiliency and sustainability while embracing increasingly diverse demographics, How rural communities form partnerships to develop the framework for rural clusters, How to promote and achieve economic innovation and support local food networks in small communities.

Speakers

Bridgett Massengill

President/CEO, Thrive Regional Partnership

Sharon Yazowski

Executive Director, Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation

As Executive Director, Sharon provides visionary leadership in fulfilling the Levitt Foundation’s mission. She is the chief spokesperson for the organization, traveling across the country to share the impact of Levitt programs and creative placemaking. Her passionate commitment... Read More →

Cynthia Nikitin

Senior Vice President, Project for Public Spaces

Lindsey Wallace

Director of Strategic Projects and Design Services, National Main Street Center

Thursday October 3, 2019 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT
Chattanooga Public Library, Auditorium

Breakout

11:00am EDT

On the Frontlines of Placemaking in Urban Trails: Tools to Increase Social and Health Equity

The session will first frame the issue of creating great inclusive healthy places that serve as gathering spaces that tackle inequities that exist with our cites by creating opportunities to forge social connections, strengthen community bonds, and improve health equity. Public spaces are increasingly being managed by special districts and friends of organizations requiring a balancing of the interests of the rate -payers and other investors with then needs to create functioning public space. The Panel will then describe two very recent efforts by the APA and the Center for Active Designs that can be used as tools to increase social and health equity through public space and design management.

Speakers

Kevin Dow

Executive Director, Friends of the Rail Park

Lisa Middag

Director of Nicollet Activation, Mpls Downtown Improvement District

Suzanne Graham

President, Downtown Akron Partnership

Suzie serves as President of Downtown Akron Partnership, a non-profit dedicated to building the vibrancy and value of the center city Special Improvement District. In Akron, Ohio. She mobilizes proactive partnerships and collaborative placemaking efforts to anticipate and address... Read More →

Adam Perkins

Urban Planning Manager, Downtown Denver Partnership

Adam leads Downtown Denver’s place-based economic development efforts through improving the public realm. As the Senior Urban Planning Manager, Adam manages all planning efforts including the 16th Street Mall, outdoor spaces, linear parks, and core downtown neighborhoods. He has... Read More →

Thursday October 3, 2019 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT
EPB, 7th Floor, Room 2

Breakout

11:00am EDT

Placemaking for Social Inclusion: Addressing Homelessness, Mental Health and Addiction in Public Space

Many communities today struggle with building public places that are welcoming and open to all. Often spaces are dominated by underserved groups such as individuals experiencing homelessness, addiction, mental illness, and public space managers seek ways to dilute their presence, while municipalities spend millions on ineffective outreach and services for vulnerable populations. What if we can transform public space into the nexus where people in need and the programs that are meant to serve them come together? This panel offers an unusual mix of discipline diversity, including an urban planner working in public space and a psychiatric social worker working with vulnerable populations. We also provide a range of perspectives from academic to professional practice. Our panel content directly addresses issues of inclusion and representation in public spaces, and will offer experiences from a variety of places.

Speakers

Ansley Whipple

Woodruff Park Project Manager, Atlanta Downtown Improvement District

Elliott Madison

Program Director, Fountain House

Janika Robinson

Case Manager, Hope Atlanta/ Woodruff Park

How to incorporate social work into Public spaces such as Parks. I can explain how my program in Woodruff Park has made a difference in the City of Atlanta.

Elena Madison

Vice President, Project for Public Spaces, Inc.

Thursday October 3, 2019 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Community Space

Breakout

11:00am EDT

Public-Private Partnerships for PLAYces (P4s): Lessons from Detroit's Cody Rouge Neighborhood

As Public-Private Partnerships continue to gain traction as solutions to communities' greatest needs, a unique P3 in Detroit’s Cody Rouge neighborhood serves as a learning opportunity for all placemakers committed to ensuring kids and communities have access to safe PLAYces. Between Fall 2017 and Fall 2018, KaBOOM! partnered with the City of Detroit Parks and Recreation Department, four private funders (Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, Skillman Foundation, Quicken Loans, and General Motors), and a local neighborhood association to build a playground and adventure course at Stein Park in Detroit’s Cody Rouge neighborhood, a predominately working class and African-American area that has been affected by decades of disinvestment. We approached this project by first understanding the mayor’s priorities and working with city leaders to prioritize parks based on their target neighborhoods for economic development. Aligning efforts with the City’s vision bolsters momentum for future investment in Cody Rouge, where 60% of residents previously reported feeling unsafe using their local parks. The adventure course is a new play space solution from KaBOOM!, driven by demand from kids and communities to extend childhood allowing kids to choose how and what they want to play. Importantly, co-locating the playground and adventure course gives older kids an opportunity to play nearby younger siblings and friends. The Public-Private Partnership that made this project possible provided many learnings for all involved, including how deep, decades-long disinvestment in communities affects engagement and how to adjust a partnership’s timeline to meet needs of so many diverse stakeholders. In this session, learn how the partners developed their relationships, brought the work together, and how this first initiative is informing how the stakeholders are thinking about future Public-Private Partnerships for PLAYces (P4s) in Detroit and beyond.

Speakers

Niccole Nelson

Board President, Cody Rouge Community Action Alliance

Juliana Fulton

Park Planner, City of Detroit

Malia Xie

Program Officier, Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation

Paula Young

Associate Director, City Partnerships, KaBOOM!

Thursday October 3, 2019 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT
Palace Theater

Breakout

11:00am EDT

Restoring a Sense of Place with Place Types: A Character-Oriented Land Use Approach

Limited Capacity filling up

The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency has adopted an Area Plan framework, which overhauls traditional land use with a palette of "Place Types" for the City and County. Place Types are based on the fundamental principle that people do not relate to "uses" they relate to places that are defined by a unique combination of uses, form, scale, green spaces and transportation amenities. Place Types provide a more complete representation of the urban, suburban and rural communities that defines "home" for the citizens of our region.

An introductory overview of the tool will provide lessons learned from the RPA in creating a usable palette of Place Types, as well as some of the direct applications of the tool. A variety of community engagement strategies that enable the paradigm shift from understanding future land use as a collection of vague descriptions, to the identification of unique Places will be highlighted. Following the introduction, hands-on learning exercises will provide the participant with the opportunity to apply the Place Types tool to real-world scenarios. Exercises will focus on building an archetypal Place Type with attention to the development form and pattern parameters, as well as integrating a mixture of uses and transitions to adjacent Place Types.

Speakers

John Bridger

Executive Director, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency

John has lived in the Chattanooga area for over 20 years. During John’s early years with the Agency, he helped to craft Chattanooga’s first landscape ordinance and directed the Agency’s area planning efforts that included the Hamilton Place Community Plan and the Hixson-North... Read More →

Karen Hundt

Division Director, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency

Karen Hundt is a Planner and Urban Designer who has been involved in Chattanooga’s dramatic turn-around since the early 1990’s. She has contributed to the downtown Form-Based Code, visioning workshops, Riverwalk planning, downtown plans, streetscape designs, wayfinding signage... Read More →

Pamela Glaser

Principal Planner, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency

As a principal planner, Pam has over 20 years of experience with the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency. Most recent projects include creating Area Plans for both suburban and urban communities with a place-based approach to developing land use policy a key focus... Read More →

Sarah Cook

Senior Planner, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency

From the Northwest to the Southeast, Sarah studied Landscape Architecture and Urban Design at the University of Oregon before joining the City of Chattanooga staff in 2015. Sarah considers herself fortunate to have learned from and participated in the development of two beautiful... Read More →

Eric Matravers

Senior Planner, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency

Eric previously interned at planning agencies in Knoxville, TN and Louisville, KY, and earned a Master of Urban Planning at the University of Louisville in 2018. He and other graduate students focused on planning a green space network with an urban neighborhood’s youth, as part... Read More →

Thursday October 3, 2019 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Accelerator Space

Breakout

11:00am EDT

Short Talks: Participatory Placemaking

A Short Talk session is 5-7 single presenters, presenting for roughly 7 minutes, on a topic relating to an overarching theme. Led by a facilitator, with a Q and A once all of the presentations have finished, these talks will provide attendees with a collection of stories, case studies, and projects related to specific aspects of placemaking.

This session's topic is: Participatory Placemaking. All talk titles from all presenters to be listed here by September.

Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman - Right of Way for Who? The Right to the City in Philadelphia's Public Realm
Anastasia Brewster - Belonging & Blindspots: Placemaking as Empowerment Process in Little East Africa, San Diego
Ben Epperson - Knoxville Port-O-Park
Nadzeya Ilkevich - Placemaking Week in Appalachia: Armory Park in Uptown Athens, OH.
Abbey Seitz - Lipstick on a Bulbout: Community-Driven Street Art as a Corrective to Tactical Urbanism Gone Awry
Benjamin Bryant - Let's Make Sweet Music Together: Connecting communities through the universal language of music
Ryan Sandwick - Shuttle Disco: Using DJs and Disco Lights to Celebrate Public Transportation in Downtown Chattanooga

Speakers

Benjamin Bryant

Director of Special Projects, Interface Studio, LLC

Ben is a planner and urban designer interested in how neighborhoods, cities, and regions can incentivize and best manage processes of revitalization and reinvention. As a city planner, Ben has led projects in cities, first-ring suburbs, and walkable downtowns with a focus on land... Read More →

Abbey Seitz

Planner, SSFM International, Inc.

Anastasia Brewster

Strategic Partnerships Manager, City Heights Community Development Corporation

Feel free to reach out: 619-495-8393. Anastasia’s work starts with the people who call the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego home. She builds power among immigrant and refugee communities to advocate for health equity in areas such as land-use, transportation, and housing... Read More →

Nadzeya Ilkevich

Founder, CreateCulture Group

Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman

Project Manager, Adjunct Professor, The Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation, Drexel University

Thursday October 3, 2019 11:00am - 12:15pm EDT
Miller Park Community Stage

Breakout

12:15pm EDT

Head to lunch

Thursday October 3, 2019 12:15pm - 12:30pm EDT

Information

12:30pm EDT

Farmers Market and Food Truck lunch

Miller Park will be dotted with food trucks and their local Farmers Market this Thursday afternoon, so feel free to buy your lunch here and get a literal taste of Miller Park programming in action.

Thursday October 3, 2019 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
Miller Park

Meal

12:30pm EDT

Calling all Interested Placemaking Network Leaders!

If you are interested in starting, or being part of, a local or regional placemaking network and campaign, come join others in a discussion on how local and regional networks are forming and growing globally.

Lite lunch bites will be provided.

Facilitated by PlacemakingX.

Speakers

Ethan Kent

Senior Fellow, Project for Public Spaces

Thursday October 3, 2019 12:30pm - 1:30pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Accelerator Space

Off-Site

1:30pm EDT

Head to next breakout session

Thursday October 3, 2019 1:30pm - 1:45pm EDT

Information

1:45pm EDT

A Fresh Coat of Paint: Bringing People Together through Mural-Making

It all started with a love story and a passion for our community! We will take you on a tour of how the Jackson Young Professionals took the seed of an idea from inception to reality and installed over 30 large scale murals in Downtown Jackson, Michigan during the Bright Walls Mural Festival. Partnering with the City of Jackson and other key stakeholders, we were able to get support for our vision and engage local building owners, businesses, and the community as a whole. In addition to the being able to watch the murals being painted, each day of the festival included free activities for our entire community. Each day of the festival had a different theme and endeavored to reach a different audience so everyone in Jackson could feel welcome. With all of this in mind, the Bright Walls team used placemaking techniques to ensure a cohesive plan and create the best event in Jackson. This workshop will include our story, pictures of the Bright Walls, how we worked with the city and partners, and what sets our festival apart from any other.

Speakers

Jacqueline Austin

Event Co-Director, Jackson Young Professionals / Bright Walls

Jacque’s attention to detail and ability to coordinate and implement any size project makes her the individual you want on your team. She knows how to juggle many projects at once and has an uncompromising drive for success. Her remarkable dedication and work ethic are part of her... Read More →

Clay McAndrews

Founder, Co-Director, Bright Walls Mural Festival

Thursday October 3, 2019 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
Palace Theater

Breakout

1:45pm EDT

Breaking Down Government Silos for Safer, Healthier Transportation

Learn how a city department can truly empower residents to use creative placemaking to solve hyper-local, real-world transportation safety problems while balancing budget realities, overcoming transportation policy inertia, and coordinating between department silos.

Speakers

Chris McIntosh

Urban Planner II, City of Atlanta Department of City Planning

Kemberli Sargent

Urban Planner III, City of Atlanta, Office of Mobility Planning

Thursday October 3, 2019 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
EPB, 7th Floor, Room 2

Breakout

1:45pm EDT

Crowdfunding for Placemakers with ioby

Need some cash to bring your placemaking project to life? ioby provides community leaders with a powerful crowdfunding platform and one-on-one fundraising coaching to raise the money you need to bring your idea to life. Join us for an introduction to crowdfunding and best practices for effective grassroots fundraising that we’ve collected from supporting more than 2,000 successful campaigns. You'll hear some of our top tips for building your fundraising team, connecting with new donors, and conducting meaningful donor follow-up. You'll walk away from this workshop with everything you need to set a goal, tell your story, and cultivate a strong base of donors and supporters.

Thursday October 3, 2019 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
The Edney, Floor One, CoLab

Breakout

1:45pm EDT

Defying Defensive Placemaking: Tactics for Tackling Exclusion in Public Space

Speakers

Troy Glover

Professor, University of Waterloo

Thursday October 3, 2019 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Accelerator Space

Breakout

1:45pm EDT

From Office Park to Mixed-Use District: Urban Destinations for Suburban Communities

Redevelopment can transform a underutilized suburban office area into a vibrant mixed-use district, promoting walkability, incorporating sustainable features and connecting to existing neighborhoods to establish a sense of urban energy and provide amenities for all. Using Hill Center in Brentwood, TN as a case study, we will examine the tenets of creating an "urban suburban" environment and establishing a paradigm shift for suburban communities. We will discuss and explore the horizontal and vertical integration of architecture and landscape in creating a place in a discussion with an architecture and landscape design team.

Speakers

Will Marth

Associate | Partner, Hawkins Partners, Inc.

JP Cowan

Principal, TMPartners, PLLC

Angelo Carusi

Principal, Cooper Carry

Mixed-Use Design and how retail is frequently essential to active public spaces

Thursday October 3, 2019 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Community Space

Breakout

1:45pm EDT

Processing Painful Histories: Approaches for Place-Based Healing

Limited Capacity full

Recently, I led a project called (RE)IMAGINING Cheapside, a one-year placemaking project, sought to build inclusion and healing into a former slave auction site, adjacent to a whipping post. For centuries, enslaved African Americans, were human chattel exploited in capital transactions at Cheapside Market. Described as the epicentre of the slave trade in Kentucky, countless individuals ”granted first names only” were used to settle their owners’ debts, bequeathed to their owners’ family members, and leveraged as living mortgage payments. Notwithstanding the details of each human transaction, all enslaved African Americans were fated to forced labor, unspeakable violence, and what Langston Hughes would describe as “the dream deferred”. I designed and led a site audit, community consultations, place-based storytelling walks, a children’s inclusive-design charrette, community dinners, site specific archival research, and two witnessing circles. This process generated many strategies for making the site more inclusive (both design and social aspects). It also evolved into something none of the lead partners expected it became a living case study on healing people and places with painful histories. I’d like to share the following powerful placemaking lessons derived from this productive, and at times inspired, process: Unpack the ways fraught public spaces can be a power prompt for urban equity conversations; Using Confederate Monuments as a starting point, work with participants to develop a places of pain list; Explore how unacknowledged and/or unresolved painful histories prevent people of colour and other marginalized communities from enjoying public spaces; Highlight placemaking interventions for engaging diverse stakeholders around issues of: intergenerational trauma, emotional safety, inclusion, and healing; Guide participants through a place-based healing ritual.

Speakers

Jay Pitter

Principal Placemaker, Jay Pitter Placemaking

Thursday October 3, 2019 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
Chattanooga Public Library, Auditorium

Breakout

1:45pm EDT

Short Talks: Creatively and Community Supported

A Short Talk session is 5-7 single presenters, presenting for roughly 7 minutes, on a topic relating to a overarching theme. Led by a facilitator, with a Q and A once all of the presentations have finished, these talks will provide attendees with a collection of stories, case studies, and projects related to specific aspects of placemaking.

This session's topic is: Creatively and Community Led. All talk titles from all presenters to be listed here by September.

Teal Thibaud - Why Artists and Residents Should Lead Your Next Project
Braydee Euliss - How Artist Residencies Can Spark Community Engagement + Arts Integration
Averell Mondie - Finding A Way: A Conversation on Creative Placemaking
Ian Litwin - Splash of Color: How to make a big splash on a small budget
Elizabeth Nash - Community led, site-specific programming for places that aren’t perfect
Steve McBride - Crafting a Commons: Creating an Art-filled Community Space
Cathryn Davis - WEAVE THE PEOPLE: Creativity for Civic Engagement

Speakers

Steve McBride

Executive Director, Pewabic Pottery

Steve McBride serves as executive director of Detroit’s Pewabic Pottery, a National Historic Landmark pottery studio and ceramic arts education center. With more than 20 years experience in nonprofit arts management, Steve is passionate about the potential of creative placemaking... Read More →

Braydee Euliss

Executive Director, Muncie Arts & Culture Council

I’ve been fortunate to spend the past decade championing my hometown of Muncie, Indiana through arts and culture work, including a large-scale mural project with the state’s oldest LGBTQ+ nightclub, programming at the David Owsley Museum of Art to broaden engagement, and directing... Read More →

Ian Litwin

Central District Planner, Philadelphia City Planning Commission

Ian Litwin is the Central District Planner at the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. In this role, he works to connect communities and developers with resources to ensure the continued growth and vitality of Center City, Philadelphia.

Elizabeth Nash

Public Programming & Outreach, Big Car Collaborative

Elizabeth Nash is a graduate of Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI), where she received a master’s degree in museum studies. Prior to pursuing her graduate degree, she received a dual bachelor’s in art history and gender studies from Indiana University... Read More →

Teal Thibaud

Co-Founder, Director, Glass House Collective

Averell Mondie & Mersadies Burch

Program Developer & Project Manager, A&M Creative Partners

Thursday October 3, 2019 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
Miller Park Community Stage

Breakout

1:45pm EDT

The Centrality of Strategic Planning to Placemaking: The Case of Chattanooga's Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center

With a growing realization that Chattanooga’s renaissance didn’t benefit everyone equally, Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center (RRANC) is a community space devoted to the enjoyment and understanding of nature, presents a panel from an organization that didn’t benefit thanks to its own social isolation but that has recently embarked on a full-scale course correction with the intention of transforming itself into a public jewel, by and for the entire community.

Speakers

Mark McKnight

President, Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center

I spent most of my career in the outdoor retail industry, helping people get outside safely and comfortably. We used to say that if at the end of our lives we had just sold a bunch of fleece jackets that we would have failed. We were building a culture, a community of enthusiasts... Read More →

Tangela Johnson

President, North Georgia Corporate Consulting, LLC

Tangela W. Johnson, is an Organizational Development Consultant and Executive Coach. She is the President of North Georgia Corporate Consulting (NGCC), a professional development boutique, located in Northwest Georgia. Tangela has successfully worked as a culture and “people... Read More →

Thursday October 3, 2019 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
Chattanooga Public Library, 4th Floor

Breakout

1:45pm EDT

The Transforming Power of Parks & Open Spaces

This session addresses the history of Chattanooga's renaissance from its earliest days being cited as the dirtiest city in American by Walter Cronkite on CBS news in 1969 until present days of enhanced commercial and economic resurgence. The quality of life enhancements in developing strategic park sites in and around downtown started with the attention being placed on the city's natural environment and the engagement of the citizens through a visionary goal setting process. The most significant planning elements in the city's quality of life improvement strategy will be highlighted. The economic benefits to the city as a result of these park developments will be provided in detail during the last 30 years.

Speakers

Larry Zehnder

Retired Administrator, Chattanooga Parks and Rec

Jeannine Alday Grogg

Retired Chief of Staff, Hamilton County

Jeannine Alday Grogg was formerly Chief of Staff for two Hamilton County Mayors. She alsoserved Hamilton County as Administrator of the Human Services Division which included theParks Department. Before coming to county government she served for nine years in the countyschools as... Read More →

Ron Littlefield

Former Mayor of Chattanooga

Thursday October 3, 2019 1:45pm - 3:00pm EDT
EPB, 7th Floor, Room 1

Breakout

3:00pm EDT

Head to next breakout session

You have 30 minutes to take a very quick break and rush to your next session!

Thursday October 3, 2019 3:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

Information

3:30pm EDT

Better Block in a Box - Mini Workshop

Limited Capacity seats available

Thursday October 3, 2019 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
Miller Park

Breakout

3:30pm EDT

Demonstrating Participatory Design: Public Restrooms for Public Good

This workshop will include an overview of the evaluation of existing conditions, coordination of a collaborative community input process, and research of ecologically friendly public restrooms in the City of Berkeley. The goals of this workshop are to show recommended locations and types, and showcase conceptual designs for existing upgrades and new public restrooms in the City of Berkeley. This workshop highlights participation with municipalities in an urban environment, understanding a community-based approach to public process, and how to to design functional, ecological, equitable, and appealing public restrooms.

Speakers

Brent Bucknum

Founding Principal, Hyphae Design Laboratory

Brent is an ecologist, working to solve human and environmental health impacts of cities at all scales.

Thursday October 3, 2019 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Accelerator Space

Breakout

3:30pm EDT

From Pavement to Placemaking: The Rebirth of America's Suburbs

For decades, suburbs represented the aspirations of many Americans. But the promise of the suburbs was undermined by entrenched inequity and aggravated by single-use zoning that favored driving and left many communities complacent and placeless. Now, two historic shifts are challenging the suburbs: increasing poverty, and demographic changes that fuel the demand for walkability and new housing forms among millennials and retirees. This session will take a multi-faceted look at how communities are using equity challenges and placemaking as the impetus for suburbs to promote walkable urban places with a particular focus on Washington’s suburbs. Panelists will demonstrate how to address placemaking, housing and transportation choices, and equity in a variety of suburban settings from community-wide initiatives to transform suburban parking lots into neighborhood gathering spaces, to a community shelter with supportive housing in a suburban town center. Attendees will learn about how the building blocks of urban design are critical in creating walkable places that become the heart of their communities; public realms that promote interaction and community; and authenticity that represents living culture and traditions.

Speakers

Mallory Baches

Program Manager, Congress for the New Urbanism

Mallory Baches is an urban designer with twenty years experience working at the intersection of urbanism and community development. Mallory began her career with Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company and was a founder of the firm’s first affiliate, DPZpacific. She is skilled in master-planning... Read More →

Atul Sharma

Master Planner, Montgomery Planning

David Dixon

Vice President, Stantec's Urban Places

Jason Beske

Senior Urban Designer, Stantec's Urban Places

Jason is a Senior Urban Designer and Planner in Stantec’s Urban Places Arlington office. He has a broad range of urban planning experience and has led initiatives that range from large-scale comprehensive planning and civic engagement projects to site plan and special exception... Read More →

Thursday October 3, 2019 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
EPB, 7th Floor, Room 1

Breakout

3:30pm EDT

How to Develop an Authentic Brand for Your Authentic Place

Creating an authentic brand for a ""place"" is different than creating a brand for a product. As a result, there are different skills people can learn and different tools that are most effective. Whether you're a developer, a city planner, an architect, or a community leader, you know the difference between places that feel fake and places you envy for their authenticity. In this session, we will teach you how to tell the story of your place across all the different touchpoints where your key audiences come in contact with your brand, whether in traditional communication vehicles, but also in the built environment and online. We will work through the following topics: Identifying Key Audiences and Motivations, Learning from Aspirational Peers, Design Trends vs. The Long-Term, Branding v. PR v. Marketing v. Sales

Speakers

Brett Posten

Co-Founder & Principal, Highline Partners

Thursday October 3, 2019 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
Palace Theater

Breakout

3:30pm EDT

Increasing Inclusive Impact: Forging Linkages Between Local Economies and Public Space

The topic of the session is the impact that public space has on the surrounding economies and discuss methods to increase the inclusive economic impact. The specific learning objectives of this panel include: How can local economies be engaged in the process, design, programming, and governance of open space? Can we create intentional connections to small business owners in our public space? During this panel, panelists will answer questions that allow them for share their expertise and then time will be provided for attendees to brainstorm specific linkages between placemaking projects and their local economies and share out.

Speakers

Melissa Lee

Senior Manager, Concordia LLC

Meg Walker

Senior Vice President, PPS

Emily Manz

President, EMI Strategy

Emily Manz is an energetic, economic development professional specializing in creating downtown experiences by leveraging a community's existing assets - small businesses, history, and its people. EMI strategies that celebrate place – creating fun, informative walking tours, leveraging... Read More →

Mariah Williams

Founder and CEO, Mariah L. Williams, LLC

Born and raised in Harlem, New York, I am an urban planner, storyteller, and researcher dedicated to highlighting the experiences of black people and spaces in cities. I love creating and exploring spaces for the being of black bodies, specifically, black women and girls, in the... Read More →

Thursday October 3, 2019 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Community Space

Breakout

3:30pm EDT

Placebreaking: How to Kill a City's Nighttime Culture and Public Life

Rather than focusing on a placemaking success story, this session will showcase a growing trend called “placebreaking”. We will discuss the initiatives, policy changes and targeted steps a city can inadvertently take to minimize opportunities for streetscape vibrancy, decimate a night time economy, and promote the development of inequitable public space (sarcasm intended). Sydney will feature as a key case study as a city which has experienced global praise as the 2000 Olympics host city to being considered the ˜least fun” city to live in the world (Timeout, 2016) nearly two decades later. We will explore how placebreaking can lead to the development of exclusive ˜high rise” communities who enjoy private open space whilst leaving the street level experience cold, clinical, and contained to the interests of the immediate catchment. The learning objective of this session is to educate fellow placemakers on the prevalence of placebreaking, how it has adversely impacted cities, and how to advocate against it.

Speakers

Matthew Gollan

Creative Director / Co-founder, Reactivate Consulting

Andrew Coward

Strategy Director / Co-founder, Reactivate Consulting

Andrew is an experienced built environment strategist and placemaker with over a decade’s worth of experience working across Australia, Japan and South East Asia. Andrew is the co-founder of Reactivate Consulting, a specialist project activation consultancy working with communities... Read More →

Ben Gollan

Director / Founder, A Man and His Sandwich

Ben Gollan is the founder and director of the popular New York food and drink experience company ‘A Man and His Sandwich.’In 2016, Ben left behind his life as lawyer and public servant in Sydney, Australia, to search the globe for the world’s best sandwich. After travelling... Read More →

Neil Warner O'Connell

Head of Architecture, Meriton

Neil Warner O’Connell is a registered architect and built environment professional, responsible for overseeing the design department at Australia’s largest condominium and apartment developer, Meriton Group. The private company has designed, developed and built more than 75,000... Read More →

Thursday October 3, 2019 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
Chattanooga Public Library, Auditorium

Breakout

3:30pm EDT

Short Talks: Approaches, Tools and Philosophies

A Short Talk session is 5-7 single presenters, presenting for roughly 7 minutes, on a topic relating to a overarching theme. Led by a facilitator, with a Q and A once all of the presentations have finished, these talks will provide attendees with a collection of stories, case studies, and projects related to specific aspects of placemaking.

This session's topic is: Approaches, Tools and Philosophies. All talk titles from all presenters to be listed here by September.

Laura Torchio & Leigh Ann Von Hagen - Public Engagement Rule #1: Don't be an AskHole
Rachel Wexler - This Economy and Placemaking: I'm just a soul whose intentions are good. Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood.
Lou Huang - Six Years of Streetmix and the Future of Civic Engagement
Rachel Radawec - Build it and they will come (with ideas): How moving our office provided valuable insight to our Downtown
Perry Hiott - Capitalizing on Your Culture: An Asset-based, Community Driven Approach to Placemaking
Nate Hommel - The value of place governance: How maintenance can define a sense of place
Ryan Westrom - Title TBD

Speakers

Ryan Westrom

East Coast Regional Manager, City Solutions, Ford Motor Company

Leigh Ann Von Hagen

Senior Researcher, Voorhees Transportation Center, Rutgers University

Lou Huang

Founder / CEO, Streetmix

Rachel Wexler

Director of Special Projects, Downtown Durham, Inc.

Perry Hiott

Managing Director, Georgia Cities Foundation

Nate Hommel

Director of Planning and Design, University City District

Rachel Radawec

Placemaking and Community Engagement Manager, Tampa Downtown Partnership

Laura Torchio

Deputy Director, Project for Public Spaces

Thursday October 3, 2019 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
Miller Park Community Stage

Breakout

3:30pm EDT

Swim City: Tapping the Placemaking Potential of Public Pools

Bringing together their experiences from Philadelphia, New York City, and Baltimore, urban planners Ben and Nicole will provide a deep look at how simple physical improvements integrated with thoughtful programming in our public pools can bring deep, lasting impacts into our neighborhoods. In 2015, Ben won the Knight Cities Challenge with The Pop-Up Pool Project, bringing color, shade, seating, and games to a public pool in north Philadelphia, sparking cities and neighborhoods to transform their long-neglected public pools to vibrant community hubs. Since the first pop-up, Philadelphia and NYC’s Parks and Rec Departments started the Swim Philly and Cool Pools programs. In the summer of 2017, inspired by her work with Ben, Nicole co-led the Marian Anderson Pop-Up Pool in South Philadelphia, and is currently co-leading a similar project in Baltimore, both 100% volunteer-funded and driven. The impact and spectacular public responses to these projects have led to far-reaching impacts, from large usage increases, increased civic engagement, regular volunteer clean-ups, highly active social media communities, and friendships that extends well past the summer season. The workshop will provide an overview of past pop-up pool projects both city and neighborhood led-- and a playbook to help guide any placemaker to activate these largely underutilized public assets. Below summarizes the workshop’s format: INTRODUCTION: Overview of previous “pop-up pool”; images, summary: (1) Local coordination, (2) Funding, (3) Design, (4) Feedback & Evaluation, (5) Tips & Key lessons learned, (6) End of Season.

Speakers

Benjamin Bryant

Director of Special Projects, Interface Studio, LLC

Nicole Buchholz

Associate, U3 Advisors

Nicole is an associate at U3 Advisors, a dynamic firm that works with anchor institutions, cities, and non-profits to advance their mission and unlock their impact. Passionate about creating beautiful, vibrant, and inclusive spaces for the community, she has co-led and designed neighborhood... Read More →

Thursday October 3, 2019 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
Chattanooga Public Library, 4th Floor

Breakout

3:30pm EDT

The Last Safe Kilometer: Schools as Hubs of Child-Friendly Placemaking

Drawing from the URBACT project in the Municipality of Skawina, Poland, this fireside chat explores how Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper and placemaking methods can be used as an effective strategy to create safer, more inclusive, and kid-friendly public spaces, while lowering the dependence on private vehicles.

Speakers

Viviana Cordero

Partner, Huasipichanga

Viviana Cordero-Vinueza is focused on planning cities hand in hand with children and adding play and child-friendly design to the urban environment. She is a lawyer and urban planning specialist, driven by social and environmental justice. Founding Member of Huasipichanga, an interdisciplinary... Read More →

Maciej Zacher

Mobility Urbanist, Municipality of Skawina

Nidhi Gulati

Program Manager, Project for Public Spaces

Thursday October 3, 2019 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
The Edney, Floor One, CoLab

Breakout

3:30pm EDT

The Street's Not Complete Until WE Say It Is!

The street's not complete until WE say it is, is a provocative statement meant to indicate a shift in complete streets approaches that moves beyond transportation systems that is inclusive of key equity issues like social, environmental, and mobility justice. Issues that all our collective community’s face. The WE in this sense isn't for designers but is representative of a truly collaborative and community driven approach to complete streets - and to signify that WE as designers must be of the communities we work within, not just in them. This panel discussion will provide a deep dive into the challenges that we face in implementing transformative project through the eyes of urban planners, landscape architects, social equity, and engineering. There is an inherent friction that can persist between these professions, and we begin to shed light on examples that have helped us to deconstruct our roles on these projects and demonstrate the power of allowing that friction to produce innovation. Our panelists will give some background on recent examples of pitfalls that exist as well as some proofs of where breakthroughs have occurred where these professional lines are blurred and we have been challenged by each other to produce a better project.

Speakers

Jason Zogg

Co-Founder & Urban Design Lead | City Innovations, Ford Mobility

Urban planner leading Ford’s evolving understanding of the operating environment of all of our products and services - the urban street.

Mike Lydon

Principal, Street Plans

Mike Sewell

Principal, Gresham Smith

Mike is a professional engineer and serves as Gresham Smith’s active transportation service line leader bringing more than 20 years of experience in the planning, design and implementation of transportation projects. He was named as one of the owners of his firm 7 years ago and... Read More →

Louis Johnson

Senior Landscape Architect, Gresham Smith

Louis is an award-winning landscape architect, urban designer and project manager. He brings extensive national experience in Complete Street planning, implementation, urban design, infill and innovative public engagement processes. Louis is working on transformative placemaking projects... Read More →

Thursday October 3, 2019 3:30pm - 4:45pm EDT
EPB, 7th Floor, Room 2

Breakout

4:45pm EDT

Head to Party in Cooper's Alley

Thursday October 3, 2019 4:45pm - 5:00pm EDT
Cooper's Alley

Information

5:00pm EDT

Party in Cooper's Alley

Picture this; an alley, where food & drinks mingle amongst a colorful atmosphere. Enjoy the exotic soundtrack of DJ Element as you watch the playful movers animate the passageway. Come to life while enjoying the colorful strokes of artist Alecia Buckles, who will create an original piece right there in the space. Savor food from the five food vendors that will align Cherry Street. This will be the time to unwind and party in one of the re-imagined passageways of Chattanooga.

Thursday October 3, 2019 5:00pm - 7:00pm EDT
Cooper's Alley

Social/Party

6:00pm EDT

First Thursdays on Station Street

This event is not part of Placemaking Week but is part of Chattanooga's public programming.

Come enjoy First Thursdays on Station Street - a Chattanooga live music tradition. This month's edition featuring Oweda on the SoundCorps stage with food + drink specials, and games! A portion of the proceeds will go towards Chattanooga Community Kitchen.

Portion of proceeds from sales by all businesses as well as the raffle tickets at the event go towards the Chattanooga Community Kitchen

Thursday October 3, 2019 6:00pm - 10:00pm EDT

Social/Party

7:00pm EDT

Levitt Amp Music Series

The Levitt AMP Chattanooga Music Series will return to energize the Bessie Smith Cultural Center lawn for the third year in a row. Situated at the core of Chattanooga’s Historic Martin Luther King District—a formerly vibrant hub for African American community life known as the Big Nine—the 2019 series will continue to celebrate the area’s rich heritage while fueling its revitalization through the power of free, live music. This evening's concert will feature B.Slade.

Presented by RISE, a nonprofit organization that provides an array of cultural arts programming to create new opportunities for creative experimentation and community empowerment in Chattanooga, in partnership with the City of Chattanooga, Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Bessie Smith Cultural Center.

You can read more about this Levitt Amp concert here.

Thursday October 3, 2019 7:00pm - 8:00pm EDT
Bessie Smith Cultural Center

Social/Party

7:00pm EDT

Urban Exorcism

Limited Capacity full

Meet just beside the entrance to the Cooper's Alley Party on Cherry Street at 7pm, where you will then walk to a site to prepare for the walk. We have convinced the session leader to stop by a brewery during the workshop...

Through nocturnal exploration and the use of art as a playful filter of vision, this activity proposes a renewal in the way people see stigmatized places. The idea is to construct a new narrative for those "anti-places" of all cities, generally stigmatized neighborhoods, but that have diverse urban manifestations and great cultural importance. With a masks workshop, a night walk and a photo essay, a sensitive layer of perception of the territory is proposed. The idea is to explore, investigate and use space in unusual moments and make the activity a playful encounter with the environment and with all participants.

Speakers

Leonardo Márquez

Co-founder, TransLAB.URB

I’m a musician, social activist and also a architect & urban planner, co-founder of TransLAB - Research Institute for Social Innovation, developing projects inside of TransLAB.URB, a group focused on urban research, mapping, gentrification, occupations, hacker urbanism, urban acupuncture... Read More →

Thursday October 3, 2019 7:00pm - 9:00pm EDT

Off-Site

8:00pm EDT

Afterparty Drinks (multiple venues)

Want to keep the party going? Enjoy your evening with your conference friends at the recommended bars below, or explore the city on your own!

Odd Story Brewing (336 E M L King Blvd)
Hutton & Smith Brewing (431 E M L King Blvd #120)
The Honest Pint (35 Patten Pkwy)
The Barley Chattanooga ( 235 E M L King Blvd)

Thursday October 3, 2019 8:00pm - 10:00pm EDT

Social/Party

8:45am EDT

Sculpture Fields at Montague Park

Limited Capacity full

Meet at Waterhouse Pavilion @ 8:45am sharp to attend via shuttle

Join us on a visit to Sculpture Fields!

Any and all art exhibited publicly has an impact far beyond its borders. Sculpture is a universal language that becomes an expressive exercise with worldwide dialogue. Visit a former brownfield exhibiting 40+ large-scale international sculptures creating the largest free Sculpture Park in the Southeast. A group guided tour has been arranged for all participants. Please wear comfortable shoes for this 1.5 mile walk through.
Download the Otocast App for a free mobile guide and hear from the artist directly.

In 1911 Mrs. Mary Thayer Montague, widow of T.G. Montague, donated 49 acres of pristine land to be used as a park to the City of Chattanooga. During the 1940s the park was misused as a construction landfill, and in later years it was used for various recreational activities including kite competitions, motocross racing and softball tournaments. The park was shut down in 2003 due to environmental concerns. It had become a brownfield site. The idea of a sculpture park was envisioned in 2006 and a grassroots effort led by internationally renowned sculptor John Henry kicked off. In 2012 Sculpture Fields received its 501c3 non-profit determination and a 40-year lease was signed with City of Chattanooga to develop Sculpture Fields on 33 acres of Montague Park. Since its reopening in 2016, Sculpture Fields at Montague Park has become the largest sculpture park in the Southeast and one of a Chattanooga’s premier tourist destinations. The park brings an international flair to a city already known as a bastion of appreciation for pivotal local and national historic and cultural events. Sculpture Fields adds to the legacy of our City’s forward-thinking pioneers that enhances the cultural life of the community.

Friday October 4, 2019 8:45am - 12:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Off-Site

9:00am EDT

Self Guided Public Art Tour

Enjoy Chattanooga's public art on your own by downloading the Otocast audio tours app! Brought to you by Public Art Chattanooga for five different exhibitions in the Chattanooga area. Read more here!

Friday October 4, 2019 9:00am - 9:00am EDT
Multiple Venues

Off-Site

9:00am EDT

Measuring what matters: How to measure the value of places using digital data

Limited Capacity seats available

The best places are vibrant and active. However, understanding how neighborhoods really work, and measuring their real value can be challenging using traditional methods like survey and observations.

In this meetup, we will look at how digital sources can provide a reliable way to measure not only the physical nature of places, but also their social prosperity. It will include a demo of Neighbourlytics to help unpack the types of data insights that are available using new technologies.

And informal and interactive discussion, this is a meet up for anyone who is interested in place measurement. We’d be keen to hear what metrics are important to you in your work and to discuss How we can work towards common place measurement standards for place makers.

Speakers

Lucinda Hartley

CoFounder and Chief Growth Officer, Neighbourlytics

I'm a placemaker turned tech founder, now passionate about using digital data to measure the quality of places. I'm a cofounder of Neighbourlytics, a social analytics platform for neighbourhoods. Prior to that I was the CoFounder and CEO of CoDesign Studio which led Australia's largest... Read More →

Friday October 4, 2019 9:00am - 10:00am EDT
Palace Theater

Off-Site

9:00am EDT

Building a Resilient Community Workshop

Limited Capacity seats available

We know two things: Climate-related weather emergencies are happening at a faster pace and in more places and they have a disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities, especially communities of color. What have we learned about what communities can do to address climate change while simultaneously preparing for the reality that is increasingly presented? green|spaces, Chattanooga's Sustainability Nonprofit, will present our working definition of community resilience and the wide range of programs that we have developed to address resilience in the Chattanooga region. We will then facilitate working groups that will identify challenges in communities represented by attendees and develop cross-sector strategies to address those challenges.

Speakers

Michael Walton

Executive Director, green|spaces

Friday October 4, 2019 9:00am - 11:00am EDT
green|spaces

Off-Site

9:00am EDT

High Point Climbing

Check out High Point Climbing - one of the nation's most unique climbing facilities with 30,000 square feet of climbing inside and outside. Show up at 9am with your conference badge, and get 50% off a day pass!

The outdoor climbing walls feature climbing on transparent climbing material that is like nothing else. There are lead, top rope, and auto-belay walls, as well as two 15 meter speed climbing walls. Climb while enjoying wonderful Chattanooga right over Broad Street!

Inside, there are climbing areas for everyone. From beginner auto-belay walls to our top roping room, lead climbing pit, and two bouldering areas. The Kid Zone is built for kids, fun for everyone. For the more experienced, there is even a training area featuring a campus, moon, and adjustable wall.

Friday October 4, 2019 9:00am - 11:00am EDT
High Point Climbing

Off-Site

9:00am EDT

Walkshop: Tools to read and (co)create our cities

Limited Capacity filling up

An Offsite Walkshop and Collective Mapping

Join an interactive workshop about sensorial and collective urban perception and inclusive design thinking, a practical, interactive and hands-on experience. The methodology explored in this session will be divided in a walkshop and a collaborative territory thinking design. We are addressing the possibility of sharing our regional experience in a collective workshop. his session addresses the challenge of achieving a collective and collaborative design through the connection of the people with each other and their perception rather that what the place "should be". We propose a hand-on applied unified glocal methodology with the combination of results from each local experience. T

This panel will have presenters from TransLab.URB from Porto Alegre (Brazil) and Urbanismo Vivo from Buenos Aires (Argentina), cities of the Latin American "Southern Corridor" that will bring the experience on approaching agents, sharing knowledge and good practices for public spaces in cities. Each of the presenters work in their cities with this workshops format on walk and a subsequent collective mapping and the idea is to approach this experience with the combined regional articulations, contributions and experiences on this unique workshop. With this workshop we propose to the global placemaking community the possibility of exchange and networking and team work from our diverse personal and professional experiences of being a team around the world.

Speakers

Leonardo Márquez

Co-founder, TransLAB.URB

Carolina Huffmann

Founder, Urbanismo Vivo

Argentine architect dedicated to urbanism, specialized in walkability. Master Laboratory of the Housing of the XXI Century (Politécnica de Catalunia). Founder of Urbanismo Vivo. Professor of urban planning in several universities. Jane’s Walks Buenos Aires City Organizer since... Read More →

Friday October 4, 2019 9:00am - 11:00am EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Accelerator Space

Off-Site

9:00am EDT

Streets as Places Crash Course - with Mobycon and Project for Public Spaces (Register at link in description)

Cost: $20

Sign up here to join a 3-hour hands-on training on placemaking and flexible street design!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/streets-as-places-crash-course-with-mobycon-and-project-for-public-spaces-tickets-68368212163

A hands-on training packed with actionable strategies to transform your streets into places and to reclaim their rightful place as shared front yards in the public realm. The curriculum is jointly created by the Streets and Transportation team at Project for Public Spaces, and the renowned Dutch consulting firm – Mobycon.
This interactive session aims to build a stronger understanding of transportation and its role in creating (or disrupting) community. We will begin with an introduction of core ‘Streets as Places’ principles and move into implementation tactics, followed by an exercise to apply some of the tactics shared.

The training materials will focus on:
- Transportation infrastructure and its role in enabling livability and placemaking
- PPS's new (in the works) humanizing streets by design guidelines
- A focus on the most vulnerable road users - children and their mobility in the built environment
- Placemaking process and starting with the community
- Designing for flexibility and life in the streets - Dutch tactics translated for global inspiration
- On the ground tools - Placemaking tactics, Place and flow analysis of streets
- Co-creative approach to design and governance of streets

Speakers

Nidhi Gulati

Program Manager, Project for Public Spaces

Friday October 4, 2019 9:00am - 12:00pm EDT
The Edney, Floor Five, Community Space

Off-Site

9:00am EDT

Tennessee River Gorge Field Trip

Limited Capacity filling up

Come with us on an untrammeled excursion into the Tennessee River Gorge and learn how a small local non-profit has protected over 17,000 acres of open space only five miles from Chattanooga. We would like to allow travelers to experience the special nature of this place and establish their own connection with the elements that make it special.

The Tennessee River Gorge is an incredibly unique place located only 5 miles from Downtown. The gorge offers an enormous amount of open space to residents and visitors of the Region - 27,000 acres in size. It is used by a wide variety of visitors for recreation, solitude, and reflection. It has over 10,000 years of human history and we believe that its protection is critical to the future wellbeing of our Region. The Tennessee River Gorge Trust has been protecting this area since 1981 and currently has purview on 17,000 acres within the gorge.

The Tennessee River Gorge Trust strives to be holistically inclusive of every member within our community. We believe that access to open space and conservation as a whole is a right, not a privilege. We are intently listening and improving on our inclusivity by finding ways to make access more accommodating within our community. We also believe that a community is most healthy when its connections to the natural world are complete. Our greatest harmony as a community is achieved when outdoor connections embrace, and honor the unique characteristics of the individuals we share our space with. The purpose of this visit will be to provide an example to the participants of how local preservation efforts can be inclusive of the innate outdoor needs of others.

Friday October 4, 2019 9:00am - 1:00pm EDT
Waterhouse Pavilion

Off-Site

10:00am EDT

Crabtree Farms Visit & Tour

Limited Capacity seats available

Meet at Waterhouse Pavilion @10am.

Visit Crabtree Farms! A community-focused sustainable agriculture farm & resource, that grows healthy food for the Chattanooga Area. This trip will consist of a 45 minute tour and afterwards, you are welcome to continue to explore the farm!

Friday October 4, 2019 10:00am - 12:00pm EDT

Off-Site

11:00am EDT

Noontunes Concert Series

As part of Miller Park's public programming, join us Friday at lunch for #NoontunesCHA, an outdoor music series featuring Chattanooga artists. Food trucks and vendors will be setup in Miller Park from 11am-2pm. The music starts at noon; all shows are free, and everyone is welcome to attend. Friday October 4 will feature Fresh Mind. If you're still in Chattanooga, join in on the fun!

Friday October 4, 2019 11:00am - 2:00pm EDT
Miller Park

Social/Party