Planners Will Shape America's Cities, National Planning Leader Will Tell State Conference October 20
DETROIT, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The future of older American cities like Detroit rests, in part, on the ability of professional planners to give voice to underrepresented communities and to communicate the true economies of urban neighborhoods, according to two nationally-recognized speakers at the Michigan Association of Planning (MAP) conference here October 20-23.
Professional planners and appointed planning commissioners from cities and townships across the state will attend the conference. MAP executives also expect leaders from southeast Michigan community development corporations, faith-based planning initiatives, foundations and economic development agencies. Attendance information is available at (734) 913-2000 or planningmi.org.
Mitchell Silver, AICP, planning director for the city of Raleigh, NC and president elect of the American Planning Association, will address the conference twice on October 20. He will describe the obligation of planners to guarantee social equity in an increasingly diverse America. He will also call on planners to reclaim their status as communities' visionaries.
"Historically, planners have been the visionaries and communicators," Silver said. "They understand the DNA of the communities. They have an important role in promoting sustainability and social equity and revitalizing the economy."
As president of Washington, DC-based Social Compact, John Talmage has led an initiative to measure and report the hidden economic strength of urban communities. His October 21 presentation will describe how local governments and planners can use his "drilldown" data to attract private investment and public support.
Other conference sessions will cover:
- Planning realities in post-industrial Michigan: how to plan when development slows, municipal revenue decreases and populations decline
- How immigrants help create jobs and generate economic growth
- How to regulate medical marihuana
- How planners can foster the availability of fresh foods to communities
- The regulation of LED billboards and signs
- Ways for local governments to consolidate and share services
With 4,000 members, the Michigan Association of Planning exists so that Michigan will consist of healthy, safe, attractive, and successful communities built first and foremost on quality community planning. The Ann Arbor-based organization is a chapter of the American Planning Association.
Links
Video of Social Compact President John Talmage
October is National Community Planning month
Mitchell Silver: Bio
John Talmage: Bio
(Hi-res head shots coming soon)
SOURCE Michigan Association of Planning
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