Charleston Mayor Exhorts Mayors to Focus on Design in Cities
By Christine Saum
July 1, 2002
At the plenary session on Sunday, June 16, Charleston (SC) Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., brought the audience to its feet following a stirring call to his fellow mayors to enhance the quality of the public realm in their cities, and not to let security concerns turn their cities into fortresses.
These words came in a speech that extolled the value of well-designed public buildings and public places in enhancing the experience of citizenship, and cited Monona Terrace as an outstanding example that inspired everyone who attended the meeting in Madison. Riley was quoted later that day in the Wisconsin State Journal, and on Wednesday, June 19, in a nationally syndicated column by David Broder.
Riley began by describing a meeting with former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin some fifteen years ago, in which Soglin showed Riley a copy of Frank Lloyd Wright's plans for Monona Terrace. Riley promised that if the project were ever built, he would work to bring the Conference of Mayors to Madison, not as a reward, but in recognition of the inspiration it would provide to every mayor who had worked long and hard to improve the quality of the public realm in his or her city.
Riley went on to say that while mayors serve their citizens well by making their cities run efficiently, they fulfill their role more profoundly when they accomplish something that will enhance their cities for fifty to a hundred years to come. He gave the example of Charleston's famous Battery, which drew criticism within the city council for its cost when it was built one hundred and fifty years ago. The Battery now draws visitors from all over the world.
"Public places that allow citizens to come together and celebrate their freedom are even more important in the days since September 11," said Riley. "We need less separation in the private realm and more opportunities to come together as citizens and celebrate our freedom, and we do that best in cities." He went on to warn of the dangers of allowing security concerns to override the importance of that coming together. He called for cities to make reasonable risk assessments and respond with design solutions that recognize the importance of security but also livability. "If the result is that public buildings turn their back on our citizens and make us look like we're afraid, the terrorists win."
Riley closed by describing a conversation he had had with one of the local volunteers. A life-long resident of Madison, the woman told the mayor that she liked to bring her ninety year old mother to Monona Terrace. Although the mother was blind, she enjoyed feeling the breeze on her face and hearing her daughter describe the beauty around her. "When we do as was done here, when we add generously to the public realm, we add to the quality of our citizen's lives, every one; and we make the act of citizenship more rich and more nourishing for all our citizens for all time to come," Riley concluded.
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