Contact: Phil Hearn
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Two separate but related conferences next week at Mississippi State will help elected officials explore ways of improving the design and livability of their cities, particularly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The Feb. 16 Design for Elected Officials Seminar is being sponsored by the Mississippi Development Authority. Keynote speakers are MDA executive director Leland Speed--who requested the seminar--and Charleston, S.C., Mayor Joseph P. Riley.
"Today, people--particularly young people--choose where they want to live," said Speed. "They tend to choose attractive communities--communities that pay attention to the details. That's what this seminar is all about."
On the 17th, the Fundamentals of Neighborhood and Town Planning workshop is sponsored by the Seaside Institute near Seagrove Beach, Fla. Seaside founder Robert Davis and Starkville Mayor Dan Camp are among keynoters.
The successive, daylong events are coordinated by the university's Carl Small Town Center, which is a part of the College of Architecture, Art and Design. Activities will take place in the Bettersworth Auditorium of Giles Hall, which houses both the college and center.
Registration is required to participate in both seminars.
"The Seaside Institute conference is the second day, but we hope some of the elected officials will attend both events," said Carl Center director Kimberly A. Brown.
The assistant professor of architecture said the Seaside workshop will focus on how best to implement ideas that emerged from the Mississippi Renewal Forum, an intense and productive post-Katrina charrette sponsored last October by the Congress of New Urbanism and Gov. Haley Barbour's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal. Brown was among participants.
"For communities not directly damaged by the storm, many have been indirectly affected," said college Dean Jim West. "All towns face issues of sprawl, maintaining vibrant downtowns, and other important issues of development and community.
"How the leadership responds to and plans for the demands of growth, change and rebuilding will determine their legacy," West added. "These workshops will help, in very practical ways, to prepare community leaders for the challenges before them."
The Feb. 16 seminar will feature architects, planners and urban designers discussing methods elected officials can employ to make decisions that will most positively impact the future of their communities. Neighborhood improvements, pedestrian-friendly street designs, steps for "creating a vision," and proper planning are among the topics.
Speed will open the seminar during the morning with a presentation titled "The Necessity of Design," following welcoming remarks by MSU President Charles Lee. Riley will keynote a noon luncheon.
Other featured speakers during the Thursday event will include Brown and Leah Faulk, assistant Carl Center director; Julie Bargmann of DIRT Studio, a Time magazine-designated Top 100 Innovator of the 21st Century; Rick Hall of Hall Planning & Engineering; former New Hampshire congressman and architect Richard Swett; and Beverly Meng, executive director of the Mississippi Main Street Association.
The Seaside Institute workshop Friday will focus on the New Urbanism principles of neighborhood development and town planning, with an eye toward creating better communities with a high quality of life. Housing design, transportation and transit, building codes and financing new developments will be among topics.
Camp, who developed Starkville's unique Cotton District, will welcome participants and make opening remarks during a morning session.
Davis will present an "Overview of New Urbanism" during the morning. He and Camp will moderate a panel discussion and conduct a mid-afternoon question-and-answer session with the audience during a concluding session.
Other speakers during the day will include Dhiru Thadani of Ayers Saint Gross and Rob Robinson of Urban Design Associates.
The entry cost for each workshop is $50. Online registration and a more detailed schedule of activities may be found at http://smalltown.coa.msstate.edu/seminar and http://smalltown.coa.msstate.edu/seaside.
Former congressman Richard Swett, also a former U.S. ambassador to Denmark, will sign copies of his new book, "Leadership by Design: Creating an Architecture of Trust," at approximately 4 p.m. on the 16th (or immediately following the elected officials conference).
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NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: All interested reporters are invited to attend any or all conference sessions. To assure adequate media seating and for more information on the programs, telephone Tracy Quinn at (662) 325-2207 or e-mail the Carl Center at stcinfo@coa.msstate.edu.