A Placemaking Event:
How to Explore, Observe, and Improve
Urban Space
|
|
Hello All!
In the same vein with prior events and speakers including
Fred Kent
and
Melody Warnick
, we are hosting a conversation on
Thursday, October 26
with author
Chuck Wolfe.
His latest book,
Seeing a Better City
, is dedicated to improving on urban spaces through personal observation.
“The participation of diverse voices in city decision-making processes is critical to successful urban change. By diverse, I mean not just professionals, politicians, and pundits, but everyday people who live and work in city spaces. But before we can participate, we need to hone the power of personal observation.”
While big data, digital mapping, and simulated cityscapes are valuable tools for understanding urban space, using them without on-the-ground, human impressions risks creating places that do not reflect authentic local context.
Seeing the Better City
brings our attention back to the real world right in front of us, focusing it once more on the sights, sounds, and experiences of place in order to craft policies, plans, and regulations to shape better urban environments.
I hope to see you there!
|
|
Nelson Beckford |
Senior Program Officer for A Strong Neighborhood
|
|
Event Details & Event Registration
Join us on
Thursday
, October 26 from noon - 1:30pm at Fairhill Partners
to hear remarks from
Chuck Wolfe and listen and engagement with the speaker panel as they discuss and share their own experiences and reflections on neighborhoods.
Panelists include:
- Kirby Broadnax, SLF Beam Fellow at Western Land Conservancy
- Erick Rodriquez, Burten Bell Carr
- Terry Schwartz, Kent State University, CUDC
- Nelson Beckford, Saint Luke's Foundation (moderator)
A light lunch will be served
|
|
About the Author:
Through clear prose and vibrant photographs, Charles Wolfe shows those who experience cities how they might catalog the influences of urban form, neighborhood dynamics, public transportation, and myriad other basic city elements that impact their daily lives. He then shares insights into how they can use those observations to contribute to better planning and design decisions. Wolfe calls this the "urban diary" approach, and highlights how the perspective of the observer is key to understanding the dynamics of urban space. He concludes by offering contemporary examples and guidance on how to use carefully recorded and organized observations as a tool to create change in urban planning conversations and practice.
From city-dwellers to elected officials involved in local planning and design issues, this book is an invaluable tool for constructive, creative discourse about improving urban space.
Wolfe provides a unique perspective about cities as both a long time writer about urbanism worldwide and as an attorney in Seattle, where he focuses on land use and environmental law. He is also an Affiliate Associate Professor in the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington, where he teaches land-use law at the graduate level. Wolfe is an avid traveler, photographer, and writer, and contributes regularly on urban development topics for several publications including CityLab, The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, Grist.org, seattlepi.com, and Crosscut.com. He blogs at
myurbanist.com
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|