We Went and We Met: Inspiration and Networking at ULI NWA Place Summit
“Pound for pound, the greatest concentration of smart people in one location talking about the vital importance of safe transportation design.”
This year’s ULI Northwest Arkansas Place Summit occurred in November in Bentonville—a hub of placemaking itself.
Bentonville Moves Coalition, naturally, had a presence at the summit. The two-day event brought together leaders in land use and the built environment, including Coalition members Luke Powers and Bret McCormick.
They, along with other city and community leaders, heard from several influencers in active transportation design. Coalition members also gained valuable connections, ideas and momentum to move forward with BMC’s mission to build safer streets and stronger connections within our city.
The ULI NWA Place Summit was organized by the Urban Land Institute (ULI), which exists to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide.
A thought-provoking two days, for sure, the summit also spurred inspiration of a “life proven possible,” as McCormick coined the event’s takeaway.
During the Place Making and Systemic Change forum, for example, presenters offered inspiring real-world examples of urban traffic design that place priority on pedestrians and bicyclists. Panelist Wes Marshal, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado Denver and author of Killed By a Traffic Engineer, lit up the room by saying, “We operate under the falsity that if we all follow the traffic rules, we’ll all be safe. Our design is broken.”
“Recognizing the fatal shortcomings of our current designs contrasted by the quality-of-life benefits enjoyed by other communities that are tracking decades ahead in urban traffic design, ‘a life proven possible,’ is certainly within our grasp in Northwest Arkansas,” said McCormick.
The Coalition’s Luke Powers said that he was impressed by the importance ULI and the summit placed on safe transportation in communities. “While other developed countries are getting safer overall for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists, roadways in the U.S. are getting more dangerous,” Powers said. “This summit is seeking solutions.”
Additional summit highlights include:
More Than a Street Project: Springfield’s Grant Avenue Parkway—a transformative two-mile urban street project in Springfield, Missouri, connecting downtown Springfield with The Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium. The project features a road diet, multiuse side path, landscaping and placemaking elements to integrate previously divided urban neighborhoods.
From Concept to Community: Innovative Solutions for Inclusive Homeownership in Cottage Courtyards—renovating, designing and developing communities that create affordable homeownership for diverse socioeconomic groups. This session highlighted the efforts of The Blue House Project a non-profit that has built 120 houses for people who have experienced the “Cliff Effect.”
Did you know? The Cliff Effect, according to the Economic Pathways Coalition, occurs when a family’s income increases enough that they lose eligibility for public assistance supports like food, childcare and housing, but not enough to afford these on their own. The result is that an increase in wages leads to a decline in their standard of living.
