The 79th National Session of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design (MICD) took place July 24-26, 2024 in Detroit, MI hosted by Mayor Mike Duggan.
The event brought together seven mayors from across the United States to discuss the most pressing design and development challenges facing their cities. Seven experts in architecture, landscape architecture, urban economic development, arts and culture, transportation, and real estate development joined the mayors for two and a half days of discussions, offering pragmatic advice for each mayor’s project.
The mayors brought a range of projects to this session, seeking to address a wide array of urban challenges through improvements to the built environment. They took away processes for community visioning, design considerations for a welcoming public realm, ideas for new approaches to the city’s role in development, and ways to achieve maximum impact through public-private partnerships. The mayors also came away with a deeper understanding of their ability to lead civic discourse in their cities, rising to their unique role as the city’s “chief convener.”
Robust discussions provided each mayor with concrete ideas for their projects as well as a new understanding of the design and development process.
“MICD provides mayors the invaluable opportunity to focus on design and placemaking in their cities. I gained a renewed perspective on the power of our cities’ ability to lead and create transformative development.”
Fort Worth, TX Mayor Mattie Parker“I was blown away by the feedback from my fellow mayors and the experts assembled. My perspective shifted on my case study from wanting a pragmatic structure to wanting a vibrant community space.”
Anaheim, CA Mayor Ashleigh Aitken
Mayors were introduced to the many facets of the design process by the Resource Team, a group of multi-disciplinary experts whose breadth and depth of experience illustrated how design can generate creative solutions to complex urban problems.
“I can’t imagine a more comprehensive or thoughtful immersive design experience.”
Kim Lucas | Director of Mobility and Infrastructure, City of Pittsburgh, PA
Mayor Mike Duggan began the session by welcoming the group with reflections on his past participation in the Mayors’ Institute on City Design, Detroit’s ongoing renaissance, a mayor’s unique role as chief convener, and the power of the built environment to build opportunity for all. Welcome remarks were also provided by Trinity Simons Wagner, Executive Director of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design; and Maya Hering, Creative Placemaking Specialist with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
While in Detroit, participants learned about many of the city’s efforts to restore its iconic buildings, catalyze investment in its neighborhoods, and build wealth and opportunity for its residents. Antoine Bryant, Director of Planning and Development for the City of Detroit, led the group on tours of a wide range of redevelopment initiatives around the city, spanning public and private efforts in downtown, Corktown, Woodbridge, McNichols, Livernois, and more. Participants also toured the iconic Michigan Central Station, which reopened in 2024 after many years of vacancy, with the iconic, beautifully restored train station now anchoring a 30-acre innovation campus and serving as a symbol of Detroit’s renaissance.
Throughout the 79th National Session, participants explored a wide range of case studies and strategies for planning and development projects, equipping the mayors to return to their communities and lead with design.
Mayors
Mike Duggan | Detroit, MI (Host)
Ashleigh E. Aitken | Anaheim, CA
Christina Muryn | Findlay, OH
Mattie Parker | Fort Worth, TX
Craig Greenberg | Louisville, KY
Brett P. Smiley | Providence, RI
Angela Birney | Redmond, WA
Corey D. Woods | Tempe, AZ
Resource Team
Bill Anderson, FAICP | University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA
Kofi Boone, FASLA | North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Kim Lucas | City of Pittsburgh Department of Mobility and Infrastructure, Pittsburgh, PA
Sheba Ross, AICP, LEED AP | HKS, Atlanta, GA
Marcy Schulte, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C | Cuningham, Culver City, CA
Sanjit Sethi | Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Leon I. Walker, Esq. | DL3 Realty, Chicago, IL
The Mayors’ Institute on City Design (MICD) is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the United States Conference of Mayors. 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 participants, and more information, visit micd.org and follow @MICDdotORG on Twitter.