The Rhode Island Department of Health will join Better Block Foundation, Bike Newport, PlacemakingX, the Urban Guild, City University of New York, Roger Williams University, and other current partners: The King's Foundation, the Congress for the New Urbanism, INTBAU, UN-Habitat, HealthBridge Canada, The Seaside Institute, and more, for a landmark gathering
Aerial view of Newport, its walkable downtown and harbor area.
NEWPORT, RI - The 60th International Making Cities Livable (IMCL) conference is set to occur in this beautiful coastal town in just over two months' time, with topics including coastal flooding, urban resilience, climate-friendly planning, affordability, diversity, transportation choice and walkability, health and well-being, and other front-line challenges for cities and towns.
The conference title is "Making Cities Livable: Research Into Communication, and ACTION." During the intensive, intimate symposium, leading researchers will join policymakers, practitioners, and NGO heads to assess the latest research and case study lessons, considering both new and existing neighborhoods, cities and towns. Accepted and invited speakers come from every continent except Antarctica.
Our venue is the beautiful Bois Doré estate, made available through the generous sponsorship of Fairfax and Sammons Architects. The building is very close to the main street of Newport, and to a number of hotels, inns, and B&Bs. It includes a main plenary space and a number of spaces for breakout sessions and meetings.
Newport is readily accessible by train from New York, Boston and Providence, via the Amtrak station in Kingston (a short distance away by bus, taxi or Uber). Bus connections are also available in Providence and other cities.
Case studies will assess successes and lessons learned, with a focus on practical and effective actions. We will explore the latest research and its application to current challenges, as well as ongoing collaborations to facilitate additional research and development of new tools and strategies among the partners.
In addition to new and emerging challenges, we will also explore emerging research on the impact of the built environment and its aesthetics for livability, health and well-being, for all residents. We will assess the lessons for professionals who recognize their responsibility to serve the needs of users, and not simply satisfy their own technical or artistic prerogatives.
Representatives of Newport and Rhode Island institutions will participate, as well as national and international participants and partners. The former include the Rhode Island Department of Health, Bike Newport, and Roger Williams University, as well as others to be announced shortly. They will join senior representatives of The King's Foundation (UK), the Congress for the New Urbanism, the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture, and Urbanism (INTBAU), UN-Habitat, HealthBridge Canada, The Seaside Institute, PlacemakingX, The Urban Guild, and others to be announced.
Participants will have the opportunity to participate in tours of notable locations in Newport and Providence. The tours will occur on Friday prior to the opening reception, on Monday after the conference, and in some cases, during the conference itself. More information will be announced soon.
The Early Bird registration rate ends on Thursday, February 29th.
We hope you will join us! More information can be found here: https://www.imcl.online/2024-newport
Newport's main street, within walking distance of our conference venue.
