Columbus Design Institute launches the Indiana Main Street: Mayors’ Workshop Post COVID-19
For Immediate Release
December 2, 2020
This free, invitation-only, online workshop will focus on the challenges cities are experiencing on their Main Streets and in their Downtowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, while looking optimistically towards a safe, post-COVID-19 next summer. Mayors and other leaders from their communities will engage leading design and transportation experts as they present case studies from each of their cities. The workshop will take place online over three sessions from December 3 through December 10. The five Indiana mayors and cities selected to participate are:
Mayor Tom DeBaun, Shelbyville
Mayor James Lienhoop, Columbus
Mayor Rod Roberson, Elkhart
Mayor Emily Styron, Zionsville
Mayor Joseph Thallemer, Warsaw
The workshop is inspired and supported by the Mayors’ Institute of City Design (MICD), a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the United States Conference of Mayors. Mayors’ Workshop Post COVID-19 builds upon Columbus Design Institute’s work last year, when it was one of three institutions selected to host a MICD Regional Session. The 2019 session featured six mayors and eight design and development leaders from around the country.
“We’re thrilled to work with so many talented leaders and organizations to create a program that will have a direct benefit to Indiana communities and beyond,” said Richard McCoy, Executive Director of Landmark Columbus Foundation, which directs the Columbus Design Institute program. “There is a pressing need to strategize how to best bring our main streets back to life next year through the power of good design.”
Each mayor will have the opportunity to learn from a team of design experts about current trends across the country and then present about their community and its particular design challenges in a workshop format. The Design Resource Team is:
Leila Aman, City of Milwaukie (Milwaukie, OR)
Julia Day, Gehl (New York, NY)
James Lima, James Lima Planning + Development (New York, NY)
Justin Garrett Moore, New York City Design Commission (New York, NY)
Ken Ray, Toole Design (Silver Springs, MD)
There will also be Columbus Design Institute Project Team members and few guest presenters.
“Main Streets are the heartbeats of our communities,” said Rick Johnson, Board Chair of Landmark Columbus Foundation, the parent organization of Columbus Design Institute. “This is a great opportunity to work with leaders across the state to make a difference in their communities.”
Summary materials will be made freely available on the Columbus Design Institutes’ website after the workshop.
About Columbus Design Institute
Columbus Design Institute is a technical service initiative that promotes the Value of Good Design that built Columbus. It collaborates with partners through its design process to encourage meaningful investments in the sustainable and equitable development of communities.
About Landmark Columbus Foundation
Landmark Columbus Foundation cares for, celebrates, and advances the cultural heritage of Columbus, Indiana. To fulfill its mission the organization directs three locally-engaged and globally-connected programs that are interwoven in their impact and networks: Landmark Columbus, Exhibit Columbus, and Columbus Design Institute.
Press Contact:
Richard McCoy
richard@landmarkcolumbus.org
812-657-0995
