Report from Potsdam, Site of the 62nd IMCL, October 15-18, 2025 - Our 40th Anniversary Year!

Michael Mehaffy
May 18
4 min read

The beautiful city in the Berlin region is a fascinating laboratory of old and new lessons for livable cities

ABOVE: Executive Director Michael Mehaffy reports from the annual Wine Market festival in the beautiful Luisenplatz square of Potsdam, adjacent to our October 2025 conference venue. A full video report with travel practicalities is below.

POTSDAM, GERMANY - What can we learn from European cities and towns about making a more livable future? What can we learn from each other?

The International Making Cities Livable (IMCL) was founded on the belief that there are enormous effective lessons to share about what works -- as well as what does not. In many ways, Europeans are world leaders in livability innovations, from bike infrastructure to street design to public transportation, and much more. Other countries also have their lessons to share on livable innovations, development trends and financial mechanisms. The United States, for example, is a leader in tax increment finance and other financial implementation tools, and Canada is a leader in negotiated development for public-realm benefits.

A 'cycle track" next to a sidewalk in Potsdam. Bike lanes added to street lanes can be dangerous, effectively widening the street and encouraging speeding.

All of us have much to learn from the emerging research in planning, architecture, environmental psychology, sociology, and other fields. Too often, these lessons remain in "silos", behind academic walls or national borders. That's why the IMCL has always been an international, cross-sector, interdisciplinary, peer-to-peer gathering of researchers, practitioners, city leaders and other "doers", sharing the latest research, practices and case studies, and to drive forward effective changes.

This last week we traveled to Potsdam to prepare the next conference, October 15-18, 2025. We're checking the conference spaces, reception venue, hotel availability and quality, and travel logistics. We want to ensure that this IMCL conference -- the 62nd in the series -- provides the rich immersive lessons that have characterized all these gatherings.

This year marks an especially timely moment for the IMCL series that began in 1985 - making this our 40-year anniversary. Founders Henry Lennard, a Viennese medical sociologist, and Suzanne Lennard, a British architectural scholar, were passionate about sharing the best lessons from Europe and around the world to drive progress toward more livable cities and towns. The conferences have brought together many of the world's urban leaders in research, policy and practice, and we have seen participants come back to their home cities and towns to make real and inspiring progress. Our last conference brought together speakers from every continent except Antarctica.

This year, we will gather with urban leaders from Berlin and Potsdam, and others from Europe and the world. In addition to learning about frontier research, policy and practice, we will have an opportunity to explore Potsdam's rich history up to its dynamic present, with in-depth presentations and tours.

With Christian Zedler, custodian of the Friedenskirche in Potsdam.

Our conference in Potsdam will begin with an evening reception on the 15th of October at the beautiful Friedenskirche, a historic church complex at the gateway of the spectacular Sanssouci Park, before moving to the nearby MAXX Hotel Sanssouci, adjacent to the beautiful Luisenplatz square and Potsdam's Brandenburg Gate. There are also many other nearby hotels and B&Bs, as well as restaurants, cafes and bars. Indeed, the city has transformed in recent years into a model of livability.

Meeting with Marie-Sophie Schildt, Group and Convention Manager for the MAXX Hotel Sanssouci

The MAXX Hotel Sanssouci offers us an ideal venue location, and very comfortable facilities. For those who want to stay there, the hotel has 136 rooms in a variety of sizes, configurations and prices. Marie-Sophie Schildt, Group and Convention Manager for the hotel, has confirmed all the details of our stay. The main conference room adjoins a garden, and other breakout rooms are next to an outdoor terrace and indoor bar and cafe.

ABOVE (L-R): The exterior of the MAXX Hotel, and the terrace adjoining one of the breakout rooms in the historic building to the left, and the restaurant and bar in the new building to the right. The garden is in the rear.

The Hotel am Luisenplatz and Wiener Cafe, adjacent to the MAXX Hotel Sanssouci.

Travel practicalities. Potsdam is easily accessible from the Berlin airport on the S-Bahn and local tram, or from other parts of Europe by train. In addition to Potsdam's inspiring lessons and delights, there are also many nearby sights in Berlin and the region. We are working to arrange walking tours of Potsdam and the region.

A video report with travel logistics is above, and additional photos from our prep trip are below! For more information, please visit https://www.imcl.online/potsdam-2025.

ABOVE, the Friedenskirch, adjacent to our hotel venue and site of our opening reception.

The MAXX Hotel Sanssouci (at center) and the lively street with cafes and other nearby hotels.

The main street of Potsdam, Brandenburgerstrasse.

A pavilion at the spectacular Sanssouci Park.

Roman Baths at Sanssouci, designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

An example of a Potsdam "parklet" made into an urban room.

The Roman Baths by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, currently under renovation and due for completion in the next few months. That means this remarkable building should (fingers crossed) be open by the time of our conference.