Please join us!

47th International

Making Cities Livable Conference on

TRUE URBANISM:
CITIES FOR HEALTH & WELL-BEING

& Exhibit on

SUCCESSFUL URBAN PLAZAS & NATURE SPACES

Co-Sponsors: City of Portland, Portland Metro Council.

The Governor Hotel
Portland, OR
May 10-14, 2009

On behalf of my colleagues at the Metro Council, I am pleased to welcome you to the Portland metropolitan region for the 47th International Making Cities Livable Conference. We are pleased that our region continues to serve as a model for urban planning and smart growth. We hope that you will find time to explore some of the neighborhoods and communities that make us known for livability and smart planning.

The Portland metropolitan region comprises 25 cities in three counties. The Metro Council, responsible for land-use and transportation planning, regional facilities and parks, is committed to a thriving region that invests in community and quality of life. From curbing sprawl to protecting and investing in natural areas, we believe that the best way to plan for our future is to create it now. Plans must be implemented to create great places.

I hope you will enjoy the range of amenities offered by Portland, our region's vital core, and the surrounding cities and town centers. While there's a lot to be proud of in our region, we have challenges ahead. Just as you are here to study our example, I look forward to gaining my own fresh perspectives from your visit here.

David Bragdon
Metro Council President

The 47th Conference Report is now available

Read a summary of papers presented at the 47th Conference in Portland, OR.

Read more...

Invited Speakers & Presenters (partial list)

• Mayor Sam Adams, Portland, OR
• Susan Anderson, Director, Bureau of Planning & Sustainability, Portland, OR
• Congressman Earl Blumenauer, 3rd District Oregon.
• David Bragdon, Metro President, Portland, OR
• Trevor Budge, Senior Lecturer, Humanities & Social Sciences, La Trobe University, AUSTRALIA
• Elizabeth Burton, Professor of Architecture & Well-Being, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, ENGLAND, UK
• Peter Chamberlin, Building & Planning Director, Town of Windsor, CA
• Gary Coates, Professor, Victor Regnier Distinguished Faculty Chair, Dept of Architecture, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
• George Crandall, FAIA, Crandall Arambula, Portland, OR
• Noelle Dobson, Director, Healthy Eating Active Living, Portland, OR
• Sandra Dotlic, Urban Architectural Studies, Kassel University, GERMANY
• Louisa Franco, MPH, Policies for Livable Active Communities & Environments, L.A. Co. Dept. of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
• Avery Goldstein, Ph.D., Professor, Child Development & Family Studies, Cal. State University Long Beach, CA
• Susan Goltsman, FASLA, Principal, MIG, Inc., Berkeley, CA
• Michael Grove, Principal, Sasaki Assoc. Inc., Watertown, MA
• Charles A. Hales, Sr. Vice President, Transit Planning, HDR, Portland, OR
• Daniel Iacofano, Ph.D., FAICP, ASLA, Principal, MIG, Inc., Berkeley, CA
• Prof. Richard Jackson, MD, MPH, Chair, Dept. of Environmental Health Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles. Former Director, Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute, University of Michigan.
• Robin Kearns, Ph.D., Professor of Geography, University of Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
• Bill Lennertz, AIA, Exec. Director, National Charrette Institute, Portland, OR
• Robert Liberty, Metro Councilor, Portland, OR
• Sylvia Lovely, President, NewCities Institute, Lexington, KY
• Matthew McKenna, President & CEO, Keep America Beautiful, Inc., Stamford, CT
• Dee Merriam, FASLA, Community Planner, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC), Atlanta, GA
• Lynne Mitchell, Research Fellow, School of the Built Environment, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, ENGLAND, UK
• John Natua, Public Health Advisory Committee, NEW ZEALAND
• Karen Peterson, Ph.D.Professor, Human Development, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA
• Rick Phillips, R.A., Director of Urban Design for N. California, HNTB Corp., Oakland, CA
• Thomas C. Sammons, Professor, Director, Community Design Workshop, University of Louisiana, Lafayette, LA
• Eiron Schofield, Living Architecture, Ketchum, ID
• Susanne Siepl-Coates, Professor, College of Architecture, Planning & Design, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
• Janet Smith, Co-Director, Voorhees Center, Urban Planning & Policy, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
• Sue Smith, National Director of Education, Keep America Beautiful, Inc., Chicago, IL
• Katrien Van Liefferinge, School of Architecture, Landscape & Design, Leeds Metropolitan University, ENGLAND, UK
• Governor Dr. Sven von Ungern-Sternberg, Freiburg, GERMANY

Special Portland Program:

Courtyard housing & shared streets. Human scale multifamily housing housing. Infill urban housing.
Results of design competition. Integrating diversity and income.

Sustainable Portland
New achievements in urban transit. Improving the bicycle network - "Green Boxes" & bike parking. Increasing walkability. Principles of compact mixed use and transportation planning. Green building & housing. Increasing mixed use loft living in the Pearl District.

Portland's regional planning strategy
Regional planning politics. Democracy, planning & livability
at the regional scale. Integrating land use and transportation
planning. Developing compact, human scale mixed-use at transit nodes. Facilitating commuting by transit. Social demography of urban revitalization. Complete Communities.

Walking tours
Getting around the city by bike, light rail, streetcar, bus and tram. Portland, city of parks & public art. The "Green" mixed-use Pearl District. Historic Waterfront District. Sustainable buildings & parks.

Special Exhibit: SUCCESSFUL URBAN PLAZAS & NATURE SPACES

• New & restored urban plazas
• New & restored urban nature spaces
• Network of new/restored urban nature spaces

Presentation topics include: (partial list)

• Cities for health & well-being
  Urban planning for physical & social health. Active
  living & the walkable, bikeable city. Planning for
  commuting by foot and bike. Land Use principles for the healthy city. Health effects of sprawl. Sprawl, lack of community & social pathology. Dangers of social isolation for the young & the elderly. Psychological
  effects of the built environment. Making streets work
  to improve social & physical health.
  
  
• Public places for social life & civic engagement
  How the built environment shapes civic engagement. Social life, dialogue & political awareness. Generating community & social well-being in the public realm. Influence of social life on health. Beautiful places & well-being. Community festivals & social well-being. Teenagers' social development & community spaces. Reviving plazas & town squares.
  
  
• Nature in the urban environment
  Importance of contact with nature for health & well-being. Natural urban places for exercise,
  adventure, relaxation & stimulation. Natural beauty & well-being. Designing & restoring parks, community gardens, wild areas. Restoring biodiversity.
  
  
• Mixed-use urban fabric
  New neighborhoods with mixed-use fabric. Urban
  regeneration through mixed-use infill & restoration. New designs for human scale multifamily mixed-use. Innovative lofts & flex units.
  
  
• Urban villages / suburban towns
  Transforming a suburban shopping center into a mixed-use town center. Overcoming resistance to compact development. Creating urban villages around public transit hubs.
  
  
• Regional planning for healthy cities
  Sustainable regional transportation & land-use
  planning. Promoting regional identity. Curbing sprawl. Focusing development in town centers. Achievements in limiting big box retail.
  
  
• Integrating transit and land-use
  Make towns - instead of traffic planning & housing
  development. Evaluating TODs: case studies.
  Including transit in development review. Environmental justice in transportation planning. Innovative new TOD projects.
  
  
• Guidelines for child-friendly communities
  No child left inside. Importance of contact with nature for health & well-being. Neighborhoods for independent mobility. How children learn spatial skills, autonomy & self-assurance. Learning social skills in the public realm. The responsibility of familiar adults. Impact of the built environment on child development.
  
  
• Traditional town planning
  Historical models. Regional architecture & identity. Hierarchy of building types. Street, square and block. Location & significance of civic buildings. Central places & civic awareness. What can we learn from Europe?
  
• Community participation
  Designing a neighborhood vision. Planning with citizen participation. Community architecture & urban design. Innovative community gardens & nature areas. Limitations of community
  participation.
  
  
• Green buildings, green neighborhoods
  Sustainable land-use planning & urban design.
  Sustainable community development. Achieving
  LEED Gold. Green buildings, healthy buildings.
  LEED neighborhood development. Regional planning for sustainability.
  
  
• Innovative teaching models
  Health & the built environment: teaching the connections. Urban planning for healthy communities. Teaching mixed use urban fabric. Principles of urban sustainability. Teaching community participation in architecture, landscape architecture & urban design.

Note: 14 AICP Certification Maintenance Credits available.

The Governor Hotel

The Conference will take place at the Governor Hotel, at 614 SW 11th Avenue. The hotel consists of two fine historic buildings, one of which, with its magnificent renaissance style ballrooms and meeting rooms, was originally built for the Elks Club.

The hotel is downtown, at the crossing point of the MAX light rail line and the streetcar lines.

To make reservations at the special conference rates please call 503-224-3400, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it mentioning that you are with the International Making Cities Livable Conference. The hotel has a limited number of rooms so early reservations are advised.

Arriving in Portland

If you fly to Portland you can catch the MAX light rail directly from the baggage claim area at the airport (fare $1.95). MAX will take you to within one block of the Governor Hotel.

Register for this conference