Placemaking Conference 2015

Held March 23, 2015
Conference topics included citizen engagement, public art, the finance of cities, parking, and more.
Candy Chang

Candy Chang

Artist

“Our personal anxieties extend into our public life, and many of the conflicts in our communities come from a lack of trust and understanding. We know fewer neighbors, which means we have our guards up… We have a greater tendency to be impersonal and adversarial.”

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Carol Coletta

Carol Coletta

Knight Foundation

“We live in a democracy that depends on voters, and voting depends on engagement. The future of the city is crowdsourced.”

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Gil Penalosa

Gil Penalosa

8-80 Cities

“If you can build cities that work for people who are 8 years old and 80, you have hit the mark.”

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Mariela Alfonzo

Mariela Alfonzo

State of Place

“I desperately wanted to fix my hometown, Miami. To help create place. I thought if we could only convince people, show them the power of place, its value, that things could change. I just needed to find a way to prove that to people.”

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Karen Lee, M.D.

Karen Lee, M.D.

Global Health + Built Environment Advisor

“Why are people failing at changing unhealthy behaviors? They’re failing in large part because our environments don’t actually support behavior changes that they’re trying to make.”

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Vincent LoVoi

Vincent LoVoi

Mimosa Tree Capital Partners

“For an investor to succeed in a community-building investment, he or she has to have partners, has to have talent who can drive the investment forward. They have to have a cheering section in a community.”

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Chuck Marohn

Chuck Marohn

Strong Towns

“As I was working as an engineer and planner, I started to ask myself questions about why the projects I was working on didn’t seem to make a lot of financial sense. Why are cities that are experiencing robust growth having deep financial problems?”

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Wilfred McClay

Wilfred McClay

Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty, OU

With increasing globalization and digital technology, it can sometimes seem that the world is becoming placeless- But place still matters.

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Tripp Muldrow

Tripp Muldrow

Arnett Muldrow & Associates

“A brand in a community is a promise a place makes with people. In communities we are working, we are working on branding for people who live there rather than to attract people in.”

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Tom Murphy

Tom Murphy

Urban Land Institute

“Cities are being driven by their ability to attract talent. The most important investment a city can make is education.”

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Jeffrey Tumlin

Jeffrey Tumlin

NelsonNygaard

“If a city is requiring more than 3 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet, it is requiring more parking area than building area.”

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OU Placemaking Residency

We extended the reach of the 2015 IQC Placemaking Conference by sending three conference speakers on the road in Oklahoma during the week of the conference. Gil Penalosa traveled with the IQC to Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Chuck Marohn and Tripp Muldrow traveled with the IQC to Enid, Lawton, Ada, and northwest Oklahoma City.

Placemaking Residency with Chuck Marohn and Tripp Muldrow

Read about Residency

Placemaking Residency with Gil Penalosa

Read about Residency

9:00 a.m. Introduction: Defining Great Places
Welcome, Ian Carlton | Execuctive Director, OU Institute for Quality Communities

Opening Remarks, President David L. Boren | The University of Oklahoma

Introduction, Dean Charles Graham | OU College of Architecture

“Why Places Matter,” Wilfred McClay | Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty

“Defining Great Places,” Mariela Alfonzo | State of Place

10:45 a.m. Session One: Inspiring Stronger Communities
Moderated by Shawn Schaefer | OU Urban Design Studio

“Fiscally Strong Towns,” Charles Marohn | Strong Towns

“Active Design for Healthy Places,” Karen Lee, M.D. | Global Health + Built Environment Advisor

Noon Lunch Keynote: Cities for All
Remarks and Introduction, President David L. Boren | The University of Oklahoma

“Cities for All,” Gil Peñalosa | 8-80 Cities

1:45 p.m. Session Two: Innovative Placemaking
Moderated by Hans Butzer | Director, OU Division of Architecture

“Parking in Livable Communities,” Jeffrey Tumlin | Nelson\Nygaard

“Place-Based Investment,” Vincent LoVoi | Mimosa Tree Capital Partners, This Land Press

3:00 p.m. Session Three: Implementing Positive Change
Moderated by Dawn Jourdan | Director, OU Division of Regional & City Planning

“Anchoring Quality Communities,” Tom Murphy | Urban Land Institute

“Branding Communities,” Tripp Muldrow | Arnett Muldrow & Associates

4:15 p.m. Session Four: Interactive Placemaking
Moderated by Mia Kile | Director, OU Division of Interior Design

“Transforming Our Cities Through Art and Design,” Candy Chang | Artist

6:30 p.m. Dinner Keynote: Innovative Placemaking
Remarks and Introduction, President David L. Boren | The University of Oklahoma

“Innovative Placemaking,” Carol Coletta | John S. and James L. Knight Foundation