The AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION – CHICAGO METRO SECTION invites you to attend the May 21, 2010 Program
Planning in Shrinking Cities (& Suburbs) While the term Shrinking Cities has grown in popularity recently, the fact is that cities don’t shrink – their boundaries stay the same and so do their service areas. Economies and populations decline and as a result public revenues drop making it increasingly difficult to pay for the services that need to be provided across the city. Detroit and Flint, Michigan, Cleveland, Dayton and Youngstown, Ohio, St Louis, Missouri, Buffalo, New York and many other formerly vibrant manufacturing cities in the northeast and the Midwest are facing terrible problems of decline and disinvestment. We know that at its heart this is an economic issue. Yet, economies are metropolitan wide, often larger regional phenomena. How then are older suburbs faring? Are the troubles that curse post industrial cities also eroding the quality of life and opportunities for people in inner ring suburbs and beyond? Equally interesting is the upward trend of the elite economic cities – Chicago being one of them, that have become part of the global economy and have successfully jumped from industrial-based to knowledge-based economies. Yet, Chicago has also lost population over the last 50 years. The presenters of this session will address the nature of the problems of distressed cities, the outlook for recovery and current approaches being tried to turn such cities around. Attention will be given to the shrinking cities problems that we find in area suburbs. Finally, we will address what planners and planning can contribute to the resolution of these entrenched urban problems.
SPEAKERS:
Jacques Gourguechon, AICP, Principal, Camiros, Ltd. Jacques is leading a multi-year planning program that is addressing the shrinking city issues facing Buffalo, New York. Larry Lund, Principal, Real Estate Planning Group. Larry has been working in Detroit with Eastern Market to develop retail food outlets. He has also recently worked in Flint, Michigan on expanding the Flint Market. He will discuss the problems and opportunities in developing retail in shrinking cities. Ruth Wuorenma, President, Neighborhood Capital Institute. Ruth works with heritage industrial areas on redevelopment strategies that attract desired new investment by merging their self-identification with macro-economics.
WHEN:
Friday, May 21, 2010, 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.
WHERE:
The Sullivan Center (former Carson Pirie Scott Building) 33 South State Street, Suite 400 Chicago, IL 60603
COST:
$15 paid at the door (or $5 for students that RSVP by May 14). Session fee is payable at registration. Checks should be made payable to APA-CMS.
RSVP:
Please e-mail apachicagometrosection@yahoo.com by May 14. Note that seating for this event may be limited, and RSVPs will be collected on a first-come basis.
QUESTIONS:
For information about the program, please contact Jacques Gourguechon at 312-922-9211 or jgourgue@camiros.com
CM CREDITS:
Two and a half (2.5) AICP CM Credits pending.