48th Conference Report

We have reached a major turning point in city-making! It is now widely recognized that sprawling, auto-dependent development and abandonment of the inner city have helped cause not only an ecological crisis, but also a social and health crisis. Children are the first to suffer – and they suffer more deeply. Physical health, social and emotional health, and all aspects of child development are negatively affected.

To develop solutions to this problem, the 48th International Making Cities Livable Conference in Charleston, SC, October 17-21, titled "True Urbanism: Planning Healthy & Child-Friendly Communities" brought together an unprecedented body of outstanding elected leaders, professionals in planning, urban design, landscape architecture, transportation planning, urban policy, public health, pediatrics, education and social ecology in interdisciplinary sessions, to share information and expertise.

During the four-day conference, various facets of the problem and solutions – mobility and accessibility of streets and public transit, access to nature and community, the hospitality of the built environment, and programs for changing behavior - were presented and compared, mapping out an interdisciplinary agenda to achieve healthy, child-friendly communities.

The 48th Conference Report is now available: 48th Conference Report

Please Join Us!

At the 49th Conference on Planning Healthy Communities for All in Portland, OR, May 20-24, 2012. See Call for Papers.

"The conference was one of the most interesting and genuinely useful for information gathering that I’ve been to. The different backgrounds of the participants addressing the same issues was the key."

Joe Anglin Glatting Lopez Kercher Anglin

"A wonderful Conference. I truly believe this is the best Conference on cities."

Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr., City of Charleston

"The most important continuous conference dialogue on making the world's cities and towns more livable for all of their inhabitants."

Dr. Sven von Ungern-Sternberg, Governor, State of South Baden, Germany

"Congratulations for your extraordinary and successful effort. The Conference holds a magnifying glass to the world’s best cities, revealing why, and how they work."

Benjamin Thompson, FAIA AIA Gold Medalist

"Love for our cities unites all of us in this unique, impressive conference, with participants from different countries, with different professional backgrounds, but with one purpose: making our cities more livable."

Antonio Casellati Former Mayor, City of Venice, Italy

"Thank you for the utterly fascinating conference in Santa Fe... It has been a long time since I have been intellectually stimulated and been involved with such international creativity and innovations. The conference energized me and I was able to bring back ideas and information to my city."

Councilmember Stephanie Karlin, Avondale, AZ

"What an amazing conference! One of the best professional events I have ever attended!! Well-structured, extremely well-organized and super-high quality of both the presenters and materials presented."

Dr. Mirela Newman, Coordinator, Urban Studies Graduate Program, S Conn St. University

The Forgotten Child

“There is no topic more crucial to the well-being of our cities and of our democracy, and no one more qualified to give it the thoughtful attention it deserves.”