|
|
What is the Mayors' Institute?
The Mayors' Institute on City Design is a program dedicated to improving
the design and livability of America's cities through the efforts of their
chief elected leaders, their mayors. The program is an initiative of the
National Endowment for the
Arts, established by the NEA in 1986 and now administered by the
American Architectural Foundation in partnership with the NEA and the
US Conference of Mayors.
The Institute hosts a series of two and one-half day long symposiums on
city design organized around presentations and roundtable discussions.
Participation is limited to less than twenty persons, half mayors and half a
resource team made up of outstanding urban design and development
professionals. At each meeting, participating mayors present design issues
currently facing their cities as waterfront redevelopment, downtown
revitalization, neighborhood revenue, new public buildings such as sports or
arts facilities. Following each presentation, mayors and designers identify
issues, offer suggestions, and discuss alternative paths toward a solution.
The interchange sparks lively debate, opens new perspectives and generates
creative ideas. Members of the resource team also make presentations on the
role of their profession in the process of city design, illustrated by
outstanding examples and best practices.
Over the Institutešs 18-year history, more than 600 mayors and 400 design
professionals have participated. Mayors who have attended credit the
experience as transforming the way they look at their cities. As one
alumnus, Mayor William A. Johnson, Jr., of Rochester, NY, said "In more than
33 years of professional experience, no program or learning experience has
been more beneficial to me than this one." The Institute also been
recognized with a number of awards, including a Presidential Award for
Design Excellence in 2000, a Progressive Architecture award from
Architecture magazine in 1997, and an Institute Honor Award from the
American Institute of Architects in 1992.
|
