Mayor Dayne Walling In NYC For Mayor's Institute On City Design Conference

Flint Mayor Dayne Walling is spending the week in New York City attending the Mayors' Institute on City Design (MICD) conference. Mayor Walling is one of six mayors from across the country who has been invited to attend the session. The MICD is taking place April 14–16 in New York City and is the first in MICD’s 24-year history to be held in America’s largest city.

As an invited Mayor to the conference, Mayor Walling’s expenses to attend are covered by the MICD. “This is an excellent opportunity for me to connect with some of the best urban planners in the country. What I take away from this experience will be invaluable as we begin comprehensive master planning in the city of Flint,” said Mayor Walling.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is hosting Mayor Walling along with Mayor Carl Brewer, Wichita, KS; Mayor George K. Heartwell, Grand Rapids, MI; Mayor Lori C. Moseley, Miramar, FL; Mayor Joseph C. O’Brien, Worcester, MA; Mayor A. C. Wharton Jr., Memphis, TN; and Mayor Jay Williams, Youngstown, OH.

MICD has assembled an outstanding resource team to guide the mayors through the design process: Robert Freedman, MRAIC, AICP, LSUC, Director of Urban Design, Toronto, Canada; Gordon Gill, AIA, Partner, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, LLP, Chicago, IL; Toni L. Griffin, Urban Design and Planning for the American City, Newark, NJ; Walter J. Hood Jr., Principal, Hood Design, Oakland, CA; Michael P. Kelly, General Manager, New York City Housing Authority, New York, NY; Bonnie Nelson, Principal, Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, San Francisco, CA; and Russell Perry, FAIA, LEED AP, VP and Managing Director, SmithGroup, Washington, DC.

The Mayors’ Institute on City Design is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the United States Conference of Mayors and the American Architectural Foundation. Since its inception in 1986, the Mayors' Institute has worked with more than 800 mayors, transforming communities across the country by preparing mayors to become the chief urban designers of their cities. Industrial waterfront conversion, transit-oriented development, public housing redesign, neighborhood sustainability, and civic space design are just a few of the topics addressed at recent meetings of the Mayors’ Institute.