May 14, 2012

The Mayors' Institute on City Design (MICD), for the first time in its history, held its 53rd National Session in St. Louis (MO) April 25-27. Hosted by Mayor Francis G. Slay and the city, the event was attended by South Bend Mayor Peter Buttigieg, Savannah Mayor Edna Jackson, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, University City (MO) Mayor Shelley Welsch, and Westland Mayor William Wild. Experts in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, real estate, transportation, and historic preservation joined the mayors in the two-and-a-half-day discussions and offered pragmatic advice on how the mayors could approach the urban design challenges facing each of their cities.

The 53rd National Session began with a tour of downtown St. Louis and the Old North neighborhood, led by John Hoal, AICP, Principal of H3 Studio and Chair of the Urban Design program at Washington University. The tour showcased major projects instrumental to the renaissance of St. Louis in downtown as well as in surrounding neighborhoods. The tour's first stop was CityGarden, a two-block-long sculpture park along the Gateway Mall constructed in 2007 featuring native plantings. The group then walked to the offices of Bryan Cave, LLP to gain an overall perspective of the St. Louis Gateway Arch grounds from 350 feet above ground. Here, the group learned about the CityArchRiver 2015 initiative, which will better weave the Gateway Arch into the fabric of the city. The final tour stop was the Old North neighborhood, which received the 2011 National Award for Overall Excellence in Smart Growth Achievement from the Environmental Protection Agency. Later that evening, a reception was held in the rotunda of the St. Louis City Hall, where remarks were made by National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman; American Architectural Foundation President & CEO Ronald Bogle, Hon. AIA; The United States Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran; and Slay.

Achievement from the Environmental Protection Agency. Later that evening, a reception was held in the rotunda of the St. Louis City Hall, where remarks were made by National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman; American Architectural Foundation President & CEO Ronald Bogle, Hon. AIA; The United States Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran; and Slay.

Quan began design discussions the following morning, presenting on Oakland's efforts to revitalize the Kaiser Convention Center and create a cultural district for the city. The city wants to ensure that the prominent building is reused with compatible uses while taking advantage of current improvements along 12th Street and Lake Merritt. To achieve this, the resource team offered suggestions on how to activate the surrounding site of the Convention Center while creating a list of complimentary uses for the building.

Buttigieg followed with a discussion of the St. Joseph Riverfront adjacent to downtown South Bend. The city wants to attract residents and students affiliated with nearby colleges to use existing riverfront amenities while catalyzing additional development. The resource team encouraged the mayor to capitalize on existing recreational successes, such as the East Race Waterway, to inform a vision and framework for reengaging the riverfront in the city of South Bend.

Jackson presented on Savannah's efforts to improve traffic congestion on DeRenne Avenue while increasing the quality of life for nearby residents. The city hopes to improve flow of traffic along DeRenne Avenue by introducing a new street along Poplar Place Boulevard. As such, the resource team offered an approach to improving connectivity in the area through increased amenities and collaboration of stakeholders.

Wild presented on his efforts to relocate Westland City Hall while strengthening a vision for a town center. Due to water damage and degrading site conditions, the city must vacate the existing city hall and relocate to a new building in the near future. The resource team offered several alternative scenarios to relocation and siting of the new city hall to promote the development of a civic center for Westland.

Welsch concluded the Institute by presenting on University City's efforts to improve the pedestrian experience on Olive Boulevard while creating an identity for the specialty retail that resides along the street. The mayor focused her discussion on the regional draw of Olive Boulevard resulting from the abundance of international food stores and restaurants. The resource team encouraged the mayor to support a plan for the area that is sensitive to the existing context and character of Olive Boulevard, while complimenting other retail corridors within the city.

Joining the mayors at this National Session was a distinguished resource team: Peter Cook, AIA, Principal at Davis Brody Bond, LLP; Betsy Jackson, President of The Urban Agenda, Inc.; Tim Love, AIA, Principal at Utile, Inc.; Steven McKay, Associate AIA, LEED AP, Senior Principal at DLR Group; Bonnie Nelson, Principal of Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates; Margie Ruddick, Principal of Margie Ruddick Landscape Architecture; and Shin-pei Tsay, LEED AP, Director of Cities and Transportation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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 53rd National Session was sponsored in part by United Technologies Corporation. Since 1986, MICD 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 a list of upcoming events, past attendees, or for more information, visit the website www.micd.org.