A focus on effective implementation for livable cities and towns, with the theme of "The Ecology of Place: Learning from Nature, Culture and History"... in an inspiring and instructive region of Italy, at a delightful time of year
ABOVE: Scenes from the beautiful venue and surrounding hill town of the 61st International Making Cities Livable (IMCL).
CORTONA, ITALY - The 61st International Making Cities Livable (IMCL) will be held here October 29-November 1, 2024, with a focus on the specific challenges and resources for building and rebuilding livable cities and towns. Topics will include walkability and bikability, transportation reform, public spaces, climate-friendly planning, food quality and food equity, placemaking, cities for children, nature-based solutions, regional economies, lessons of Italian hill towns, and much more.
In addition to plenary and keynote speakers, 54 abstracts have been accepted for breakout sessions on a rich variety of livability topics. Partners in the conference include UN-Habitat, The King's Foundation (UK), the Congress for the New Urbanism, the World Farmers' Markets Coalition, several universities, and our gracious hosts, the City of Cortona.
Speakers will include global leaders in livable and sustainable urbanism. Ben Bolgar, M.V.O., of the King's Foundation in London will speak about new research on walkability and health. David Brain, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate at the University of Notre Dame, will speak on "Place Networks by Design: Building a Civic Ecology of Place." Kostas Mouratidis, Ph.D. of the University of Copenhagen will discuss fascinating and important new research on urban form, health and and well-being. Vikas Mehta, Ph.D. of the University of Cincinnati will speak on US policy on walkable public spaces and transportation, and report on his discussion on this topic with presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Global leaders in practice also will speak, including Victor Dover, a leader in walkable street design, and principal of Dover Kohl & Partners; Jim Brainard, long-time mayor of the remarkable suburban retrofit success story, Carmel, Indiana; Bill Lennertz, founder of the National Charrette Institute; and Liz Moule, a co-founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism, and principal of Moule & Polyzoides. Also speaking will be current CNU president Mallory Baches, on the work of the CNU on diverse and affordable housing in the context of livable cities and towns.
Speakers will also discuss new research findings on urban health, well-being and user experience, and the implications for practice and policy. They will include Alexandros Lavdas, Ph.D., Senior Researcher at the Institute for Biomedicine, EURAC in Bolzano, Italy; Ann Sussman and Abigail Sekely of The Human Architecture and Planning Institute; and Cleo Valentine, researcher at the University of Cambridge, who will discuss new medical findings on the health impacts of architecture and urban form.
The conference will also offer tours of the region, including a walking tour of Cortona, and a day tour of splendid Pienza, Italy offered by our partner, Seaside Institute. The tour will be led by David Mayernik, an Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame in Rome. He is a Fellow of @theamericanacademy in Rome, and the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts,Manufactures, & Commerce at RSA, and author of the book Timeless Cities: An Architect's Reflections on Renaissance Italy.
This gathering will offer an excellent opportunity to share with global leaders the latest work in urban well-being, ecology, diversity, connectivity, and quality of life, and the tools and strategies needed to make effective progress. We will also examine the case studies of Italian and European small towns and their agrarian regions, and their challenges and opportunities as lessons for other places around the world. A number our our attendees will be participating in the World Urban Forum in Cairo, Egypt the next week, held by our partner UN-Habitat, and the IMCL conference will therefore serve as a fitting preparatory event.
NOTE TO STUDENTS! The Call for Abstracts for student presentations and posters will remain open until August 31st. Student presenters (with ID) are able to register at a significant discount, and can also take advantage of single-day registrations. There are also scholarship funds available through a number of outside organizations, including the International Journal of Geo-Information's 2024 Travel Award (link here). You can submit a no-obligation abstract for the IMCL conference here: https://www.imcl.online/cfa-cortona
---
The International Making Cities Livable (IMCL) conference series was begun in 1985 by a Viennese medical sociologist and a British architectural and urban scholar who met at the University of California, Berkeley. Henry and Suzanne Lennard were passionate about sharing the best evidence-based lessons of great cities and towns to improve the quality of life for all. To do it, they brought together many of the world’s most innovative and successful mayors, planners, economic development specialists, designers, developers, NGO officials, and researchers and scholars.
In the years since its founding, the IMCL has become a unique, intimate, peer-to-peer gathering of global city leaders and researchers, typically hosted in beautiful and instructive case-study locales. While we recognize that online education is an increasingly important professional development component, the IMCL believes there is no substitute for a component of face-to-face and on-the-ground immersive learning, personally sharing effective tools and strategies in small group exchanges to drive positive change.
MORE INFORMATION: https://www.imcl.online/
​
Comments