Author Archives: jesshanff

RSVP for Upcoming event: Leadership Through Landscape

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Special Event: Leadership Through Landscape

Leadership Through Landscape
Exploring the Power of Place and
Its Influence on Public Leadership and Sustainability Policy

June 6, 2013 ~ 6:00 PM

Artisphere ~ 1101 Wilson Boulevard ~ Arlington VA 22209

Mayor Bob

Join the Virginia Tech’s Metropolitan Institute (MI) and the Arlington Economic Development (AED) in welcoming back Sir Robert Harvey to Arlington, VA. Introduction from the Right Honorable Michael Moore, New Zealand Ambassador to the United States.

For the past 25 years Bob Harvey (still known affectionately as Mayor Bob) has infused the diverse dimensions of sustainability throughout his work as an elected official, international peace envoy, President of the New Zealand Labour Party, businessman, and most recently Chairman of the Auckland waterfront authority. A charismatic speaker and visionary thinker, Harvey came to sustainability through his strong personal and professional bond with the amazing landscape of Auckland’s west region. As a young leader of a local surf club at Karekare Beach, Harvey’s respect and reverence for Waitakere’s rugged coastline and temperate rainforest set the foundation for one of his first political activities — advocating for national legislation that permanently protects the Waitakere Rainforest and Ranges from encroaching suburban development. For Mayor Bob, Leadership through Landscape does not end with acts of conservation and preservation, but becomes a starting point for a dialogue with nature, understanding the landscape, listening to the landscape, and learning from the landscape in ways that reflect the values of New Zealand’s indigenous Maori culture. Building on these themes, Mayor Bob will offer his insights and observations on how sustainability leaders in the US can leverage their own landscapes to support their work in making sustainable communities.

MI and AED welcomes the Right Honorable Michael Moore, New Zealand Ambassador to the US, for introducing Mayor Bob; and commentators, Jay Fisette, Vice Chair, Arlington County Board and Susannah Drake, ASLA, AIA, Principal, delandstudio, New York City.

 The Full Flier is available here.  Please RSVP by June 4th.

Making Cycling Irresistible: A talk with Ralph Buehler

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moco-speaker-series-2012Take a look around and it’s easy to see that cycling is booming. The roads of Washington, D.C. are crisscrossed with bike lanes, and the District-based Capital Bikeshare program bills itself as the largest in the nation.

To delve into how good planning equates to safe, accessible, enjoyable cycling, Virginia Tech professor and Metropolitan Institute Faculty Fellow Ralph Buehler will present at the Montgomery County Planning Department’s speaker series on Tuesday, April 9. His talk, Making Cycling Irresistible: Lessons from Europe and North America, will link transportation and land-use policies with bike use.

Continuing education credits (1.5 hours) have been approved for planning professionals.

Who: Ralph Buehler, Assistant Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning, Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech
What: Making Cycling Irresistible: Lessons from Europe and North America
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 9
Where:
Park and Planning Headquarters auditorium
8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring
Learn more:
www.montgomeryplanning.org/department/speaker_series

Lecture Series: “Corridor of Cool: A Tale of Washington’s U Street”

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Join us for the kick-off of the 2013 Spring MI+SPIA Lecture Series
 Virginia Tech Research Center, Arlington, VA

Hosted by: Urban Affairs and Planning Program
All events will convene at the Virginia Tech Research Center Arlington
900 N Glebe Rd, Arlington, VA 22203
RSVP by February 26th

“Corridor of Cool: A Tale of Washington’s U Street”  
A Lecture by Blair Ruble, Thursday, February 28th

East/West Falls Church Room

6:00 – 6:30 PM Q&A Session for potential Urban Affairs and Planning (UAP) graduate students
6:30-7:30 PM (Presentation)
7:30-8:30 (discussion)
Light Refreshments will be served

Full Flyer Available here.

Enroll Now! Regional Planning for Equitable Outcomes

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The Metropolitan Institute is pleased to sponsor this special module for VT graduate students in the National Capital Region and Blacksburg. Mariia Zimmerman, Visiting Fellow with the Metropolitan Institute, brings a wealth of practical planning and policy knowledge to the classroom in light of her experience working in Congress, for HUD’s Office of Sustainable Housing and Development, and as a national expert in transit oriented development through Reconnecting America. This one-time-only module will explore the challenges of planning for equitable and just communities at the regional level.

Module: Regional Planning for Equitable Outcomes
Instructor: Mariia V Zimmerman, Visiting Fellow with The Metropolitan Institute, National Capital Region, Old Town Alexandria, Virginia Tech
Location: Alexandria, VA with PolyCom connection for Blacksburg students
Structure: One Unit (2-day) module with lecture and class exercise.  UAP 5224 Metropolitan Topics
Friday, March 1, 5pm-9pm and Sat, March 2, 9am-5pm

Regional planning efforts have seen a resurgence in large, medium and smaller communities in response to recent federal funding support, greater awareness of global economic competitiveness needs, and funding challenges at the state and local levels. Regional planning efforts which incorporate integrated strategies to coordinate transportation, housing and economic development, ideally, can engender more cost-effective strategies for achieving multiple benefits and improved chances for implementation through engaging a multiplicity of constituencies, advocates, and political champions. Emerging in these regional planning conversations is an increased focus on using regionalism to advance equitable outcomes whether measured by increased access to transportation options, greater employment and educational opportunities for low-income and racial cohorts, and expanding the supply of affordable housing throughout the region. This module will explore the growth of integrated regional planning strategies, with specific highlights pulled from among HUD’s regional sustainable communities grantees and other non-federally supported regional plans. The module includes a specific focus on the ways in which equity at the regional scale is being addressed in these plans and in accompanying federal and state policies.

About the Instructor: Ms. Zimmerman served as Deputy Director for the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities at the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Mariia worked previously worked at Reconnecting America and the Center for Transit-Oriented Development where she lead the organization’s policy work and spent six years on Capitol Hill as Chief of Staff for Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s (D-OR) Washington DC office. She also spent time at the Federal Transit Administration where she was recognized for her work with DOT’s modal administrations to implement the newly created Transportation and Community and System Preservation (TCSP) program, and served on the President’s Council for Sustainable Development and the White House Climate Change Task Force.

Schilling to Speak at NLC

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Joe Schilling

Joe Schilling has been invited to speak at the 2012 National League of Cities (NLC) Congress of Cities and Exposition. The annual conference brings thousands of city officials together from across the country to share resources, learn new innovations and explore the challenges and opportunities facing cities today. This year’s conference is being held November 28 – December 1 in Boston, MA.

Schilling will be presenting at the “Comprehending Comprehensiveness: Getting Started with Sustainability” session, to be held on Friday, November 30th, at 9:00 am. As an expert on sustainability planning, Schilling will be sharing his insight and understanding of sustainability plans and sustainability frameworks for strategic policy planning with conference participants. At the session, Schilling will be joined by Jamie Kidwell, City of Ann Arbor, and Peter Brandom, City of Hillsboro. The workshop will focus on community-wide sustainability planning and strategies. Community-wide sustainability is difficult to define and is often less about the individual topics – energy, transportation, waste, or water – and more about the intersections and interactions among them. In this session you’ll hear about the tangled, complex, and dynamic world of community sustainability and identify strategies to approach and navigate through a planning process that sees the forest and the trees.

Additional conference programming will highlight three overarching strategies for cities: building sustainable communities, promoting strong local economies and strengthening neighborhoods and families. Each of the strategies will be explored through keynote addresses, workshops, peer networking sessions, mobile workshops, leadership training seminars, the City Showcase and the Exhibit Hall. For additional conference information and a detailed schedule visit: www.nlccongressofcities.org.

The National League of Cities is dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans.

17 Fellows Selected for Inaugural Strong Cities Strong Communities (SC2) Fellowship

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The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), Cleveland State University (CSU), and the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech have launched the Strong Cities Strong Communities (SC2) Fellowship Program with the selection and placement of 17 fellows working to build local capacity in seven SC2 pilot communities: Chester, PA; Cleveland, OH; Detroit, MI; Fresno, CA; Memphis, TN; New Orleans, LA; and Youngstown, OH.

The fellows have varied backgrounds, ranging from planning and economic development to workforce development and program management. Over the next two years, they will work on a variety of high priority projects in each of the communities, including small business development, grant writing, vacant property management, and the creation of data-driven economic strategies.  A full list of fellows and brief bios can be found here.

The full press release is available online here.

Scholar of the Week: Derek Hyra

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Congratulations to Faculty Fellow, Derek Hyra, for being recognized as the Scholar of the Week by the Office of the Vice President of Research. Dr. Hyra is the author of The New Urban Renewal: The Economic Transformation of Harlem and Bronzeville (University of Chicago Press 2008). He is currently working on his second book, which investigates the topics of race, class, and revitalization in Washington, DC’s Shaw/U-Street neighborhood.

Learn more on Dr. Hyra’s Faculty Fellow Showcase.

The New Urban Renewal: The Economic Transformation of Harlem and Bronzeville, Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 2008. (Click Here to Order)

Making Cycling Irresistable: Ralph Buehler makes the case in Sweden

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Bicycling in cities is booming, for many reasons: health and environmental benefits, time and cost savings, more and better bike lanes and paths, innovative bike sharing programs, and the sheer fun of riding.

Faculty Fellow, Ralph Buehler, reports on cycling trends and policies in cities in North America and Europe, and offers information on such topics as cycling safety, cycling infrastructure provisions including bikeways and bike parking, integration of cycling with public transportation, and promoting cycling for women and children. Dr. Buehler presented a talk on “Making Cycling Irresistible” at the CyCity Conference in Stockholm, Sweden in September 2012.

The presentation emphasizes that bicycling should not be limited to those who are highly trained, extremely fit, and daring enough to battle traffic on busy roads. Buehler describes ways to make city cycling feasible, convenient, and safe for commutes to work and school, shopping trips, visits, and other daily transportation needs. The presentation makes clear that successful promotion of city cycling depends on coordinating infrastructure, programs, and government policies.

Dr. Buehler is the co-editor of a forthcoming book on cycling, called City Cycling, published my MIT Press. Pre-order your copy online here.

Vacants to Value: How Baltimore is tackling vacant properties

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East Baltimore Stoops

East Baltimore Stoops

Joseph Schilling was recently interviewed on the Baltimore NPR-affiliate on the Vacants to Value program. The program focuses on selling the vacants in specific transitioning neighborhoods.

Listen to the whole story here.

Schilling speaks to the importance of community engagement when addressing vacant property concerns. The Metropolitan Institute hosts the Vacant Property Research Network, which shares information between researchers, practitioners, and the community.

CPAP Special Event: The Seven Trends That Will Transform Local Government Through Technology

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Wednesday, October 17, 2012 from 5 PM to 6:30 PM 
Please join us for a CPAP Roundtable on Leadership and Administration 

Guest Speakers: Dr. Alan Shark, Executive Director, Public Technology Institute and Craig Fifer, MPA, Deputy Director of Communications, City of Alexandria, Virginia

Dr. Shark will share first-hand his thoughts on his new book, The Seven Trends that Will Transform Local Government Through Technology and lay out a vision for public managers at every level of government. He has interviewed hundreds of CIOs, city and county managers, and elected leaders that have helped shape many of his thought-leadership books over the past several years. As a case study, Mr. Fifer will highlight several of the City of Alexandria’s technological innovations that are transforming how the city serves the public today.

Free and open to the public, although registration is required 

Learn more and register at this link
http://cpapalexlocalgovtechn.eventbrite.com