Mayors Explore Benefits of Schools in Revitalization Process

By Gina Cooper
April 17, 2000

Six mayors from across the nation convened at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), March 23-25, for a special session of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design addressing “Schools as Catalysts for Community Development.” Hosted by UIC’s College of Architecture and the Arts, and the School of Architecture, this three-day conference explored the benefits of school design as an integral component of urban revitalization by focusing on the ways design can stimulate and enhance neighborhood vitality and regional policy.

“Instead of building schools that can be used only for education, cities now are constructing and rehabilitating buildings to serve multiple community roles,” said program director Sharon Haar, UIC assistant professor of architecture.

Mayors presented case studies on topics such as new and historical schools in downtown centers, preservation and reuse of historic structures, school reuse in suburban settings, and the design of new school buildings and the place of education in mixed-use development. Murray (UT) Mayor Daniel Snarr, in presenting his case study on a local high school said, “This will probably be the last public building built on State Street in Murray City. Although it is a high school, the building and landscape surrounding it should be an attractive and recognizable landmark.” After participating in the Institute, Mayor Murray commented, “We learned a great deal about design and know the experience will prove beneficial not only in renovation of our high school, but with future projects in Murray.”

Other participating mayors included Kirk Humphries, Oklahoma City, OK; Bob Knight, Wichita, KS; Dannel Malloy, Stamford, CT; Patrick McManus, Lynn, MA; and Judith Valles, San Bernadino, CA.

Resource team members at this session included Peter Lindsay Schaudt, of Peter Lindsay Schaudt Landscape Architects; Sheila Kennedy, of Kennedy Violich Architects, Constance Beaumont of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Roy Strickland of MIT, Merrill Elam, AIA, of Scogin, Elam + Bray; and Avi Lothan, AIA, of DeStefano and Partners, who also moderated a public panel. In addition to closed round-table sessions, there were two events open to the public: a keynote address by Julie Eizenberg, principal in the firm Koenig Eizenberg Architecture, and a panel discussion about school design and broader urban design in metropolitan Chicago which included Adrian Smith, FAIA, of Skidmore Owings & Merrill; Carol Ross Barney, FAIA, of Ross Barney + Jankowski Architecture, Chicago Public School officials and UIC faculty.

This special MICD session on schools was held in response to the current building boom in schools across the country. A recent Chicago Tribune article notes that this year alone $16.3 billion will be spent to complete new, expanded, or rehabilitated schools throughout the nation. This institute focused on schools and education, and their place in cities. The discussion engaged a wide range of issues that impact the health of a community such as economic development and employment, land and resource utilization, housing diversification and the role of education and schools in improving the quality of life.

The MICD is an ongoing initiative established in 1986 by the National Endowment for the Arts, and is administered by the American Architectural Foundation in association with the U.S. Conference of Mayors. To date, over 430 mayors have converted the knowledge gained at MICD sessions into concrete projects for the redesign of their cities. For more information about the MICD, call (202) 463-1390 or send an Email: micdinfo@micd.org. 

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