By Radhika Mohan
March 7, 2011

The Mayors’ Institute on City Design (MICD) took place in Santa Fe (NM) February 9-11 for the first time in its 25-year history. Hosted by Mayor David Coss and the city, Corpus Christi (TX) Mayor Joe Adame, Honolulu Mayor Peter B. Carlisle, Saint Paul (MN) Mayor Chris Coleman, Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie A. Miner, Colorado Springs Mayor Lionel Rivera, and Tacoma (WA) Mayor Marilyn Strickland participated in the two-and-a-half-day event. Experts in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, real estate, and transportation joined the mayors discussions and offered pragmatic advice on how the mayors could approach the urban design challenges facing each of their cities.

The 49th National Session began with an afternoon charrette focused on three blocks downtown of the Santa Fe River. Coss, city staff, and consultants from a local design firm, Surroundings Studio, led the charrette, which was a follow-up to the project he discussed at MICD 44 in Denver. Participants focused on generating ideas for implementing the master plan proposed along the site. After the charrette, participants began a tour of the Santa Fe Railyards, led by Santa Fe Railyard Community Corporation President Steven Robinson and Executive Director Richard Czoski. The tour showcased the diversity of redevelopment within the Railyards and finished with a presentation of its development process. Later that evening, a reception and dinner was held at LewAllen Gallery in the Railyards and featured welcoming remarks by Coss, MICD Director Story Bellows, Conference of Mayors Managing Director Tom McClimon, Target Corporation Group Manager of Architecture Scott Jordan-Denny, and National Endowment for the Arts Director of Design Jason Schupbach.

Coleman initiated the design discussions the following morning, presenting on St. Paul’s efforts to redevelop the Adult Detention Center and adjoining Ramsey County Government Center West adjacent to city hall. The city wants to ensure appropriate development for the site that will take advantage of views of the Mississippi River and provide better access to it. This would add a significant public realm component to the downtown core. The resource team encouraged the mayor to think of this proposed public realm plan for the site as a development tool as well.

Adame followed with a discussion of Destination Bayfront, an initiative to redevelop the bayfront adjacent to downtown. By activating the bayfront with a variety of uses and programs, Corpus Christi hopes to catalyze development in the downtown area and in its adjacent properties in particular. The master plan for Destination Bayfront seeks to provide a waterfront that is international in draw by showcasing what is unique to the city. The resource team encouraged the mayor to pursue a design for the bayfront that is unique and contextually sensitive to Corpus Christi.

Strickland presented on Tacoma’s efforts to revitalize its waterfront by increasing public access to segments of it, including the Thea Foss Waterway and Schuster Parkway. The city hopes that by creating a new recreational and transit corridor along the waterfront, various assets within the city can be connected. To achieve a strong link, the resource team suggested strategies to get residents engaged in the waterfront immediately.

Carlisle described Honolulu’s efforts to introduce rail transit into the downtown area. The mayor focused discussions on one particular area, the Kapalama rail station, to generate ideas around transit-oriented development for the site and opportunities to work with local institutions on the development. The city hopes the revitalization of this area through the integration of rail transit will also spur better treatment of the adjacent Kapalama Stream. Resource team members suggested creating neighborhood precinct plans around each rail station to create site'specific development strategies.

Miner presented Syracuse’s efforts to develop the Onondaga Creekwalk, a 13-mile link between the Onondaga Nation and Onondaga Lake. Segments of the Creekwalk have been constructed already and are being used successfully. The city wants to ensure continued progress of this initiative by providing opportunities and strategies for the area to become healthier and more walkable. To bring more people to the Creekwalk, the resource team suggested strategically placing signage along the trail to identify streets, places of interest, and mile markers.

Rivera discussed an initiative to enhance Academy Boulevard, a major north'south artery within Colorado Springs that connects the Air Force Academy and Interstate 25. This auto-dominated corridor is home to many residents and businesses and is ideal for future growth. The city hopes that by making strategic investments in the public realm of the boulevard, the area will continue to experience growth and development. The resource team suggested using the boulevard’s name and its history as a connector to the Air Force as design inspiration.

Copenhaver spoke of his efforts to implement the Augusta Sustainable Development Implementation Program, which was recently awarded a HUD Challenge Planning Grant and DOT TIGER II Planning Grant. The sensitive, transit-oriented development plan at the heart of the program focuses on adding affordable housing and updating building codes to foster sustainable development. With funding and a plan in place, the city is focusing on efforts to gain community-wide support for these new initiatives. The resource team offered that engaging local business owners, schools, and other stakeholders on clean-up and redevelopment efforts along the corridor is one way to gain support.

A distinguished group of resource team members joined the mayors at this National Session that included: Richard D. Baron, J.D., CEO of McCormack Baron Salazar, Inc.; Diane M. Dale, FASLA, J.D., Director of Community Design at William McDonough - Partners; Julie Eizenberg, AIA, Principal of Koning Eizenberg Architecture; Theodore C. Landsmark, M.Ev.D., J.D., Ph.D., Assoc. AIA, Hon. D.F.A., President of the Boston Architectural College; Jacinta McCann, FAILA, ASLA, Executive Vice President of AECOM; Michael Moule, PE, PTOE, Principal Transportation Engineer at Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates; John Syvertsen, FAIA, Senior Principal at Cannon Design; and Marilyn Jordan Taylor, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Design.

MICD is a National Endowment for the Arts leadership initiative in partnership with the American Architectural Foundation and The United States Conference of Mayors. The 49th National Session was sponsored in part by Target. Since 1986, MIDC has helped transform communities through design by preparing mayors to be the chief urban designers of their cities. MICD conducts several sessions each year. For more information, visit the website www.micd.org.