Why Livable Cities Matter Now More Than Ever: Learning from Europe and the Baltics on Cities, Culture, and Democratic Resilience

Global Urban Leaders Will Convene in Beautiful Latvia for IMCL’s 63rd International Conference on Livable Cities, July 6-10, 2026

ABOVE: The beautiful and livable cities of Jelgava (top) and Riga (bottom), offers many lessons on how to recover from disruptions to achieve a healthy and prosperous city.

By Jim Brainard, International Making Cities Livable

The upcoming International Making Cities Livable (IMCL) conference in Riga and Jelgava, Latvia, is more than a discussion about architecture and urban planning. It is also a reminder of the importance of cultural ties, democratic values, and international friendships during a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty.

For Carmel, Indiana, the conference carries special significance because Jelgava is one of Carmel’s Sister Cities. The relationship itself has an interesting history. Carmel resident Andris Bērziņš, who serves as Honorary Consul of Latvia to the State of Indiana, helped strengthen ties between Carmel and Latvia. During the ceremony recognizing him as consul, the Latvian Ambassador to the United States visited Carmel. After touring Carmel’s urbanized center — including its walkable downtown, public spaces, architecture, and cultural investments — discussions began about finding a Sister City relationship for Carmel in Latvia, and those conversations quickly led to the partnership with Jelgava.

Carmel has also played a role in the International Making Cities Livable movement over the years by hosting an IMCL conference and helping arrange another conference in Carmel’s Sister City of Cortona, Italy. These conferences bring together architects, planners, scholars, and civic leaders from around the world to exchange ideas about place-making, walkability, transportation, architecture, and civic life.

As Vice-Chair of the International Making Cities Livable conferences and former mayor of Carmel, I have had the opportunity to work with cities across the world to better understand how communities preserve identity, create meaningful public spaces, and recover from political, economic, and social disruption. These conferences are not simply academic exercises. They are opportunities to strengthen relationships between democratic nations and support traditional values rooted in civic culture, local identity, beauty, freedom, and human dignity.

That support for Latvia and the other Baltic states is especially important today because of their geographic position bordering Russia and the continuing aggressiveness of the Russian government. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia endured decades of Soviet occupation and fought hard to reclaim their independence, democratic institutions, and cultural identity. Their experience serves as a reminder that freedom, local culture, and self-government should never be taken for granted.

Jelgava itself offers an important lesson in resilience. The city was heavily damaged during World War II during battles between Nazi and Soviet forces with only a handful of buildings still standing at the end of the battle. Much of it was rebuilt during the Soviet era, often with utilitarian architecture that ignored local traditions and human scale. Yet Jelgava retained one of the most important foundations for long-term recovery: a strong urban grid and historic civic structure.

As Soviet-era buildings age and are eventually replaced or renovated, there is a tremendous opportunity to restore architectural beauty and civic character. Jelgava Mayor Rāvins once humorously remarked that Eastern Europe contains some of the “best museums of ugly Soviet architecture in the world.” Yet behind the humor lies an important truth: cities such as Jelgava now have the opportunity to gradually repair façades, improve streetscapes, and reclaim architectural traditions that reflect their own history and culture.

That process is one of the most valuable aspects of the IMCL conferences. By bringing together some of the world’s leading architects, urbanists, and planners, the conference creates opportunities for workshops and collaborative sketches that may help guide the future evolution of cities such as Jelgava. The goal is not to impose outside solutions, but to help communities strengthen their own identity and create more durable, beautiful, and human-scaled urban environments.

These same principles influenced Carmel’s own transformation through investments in walkability, public spaces, roundabouts, trails, public art, and cultural institutions such as the Palladio-inspired concert hall. The belief has always been that cities should not merely function efficiently, but should also inspire people and strengthen civic life.

The Sister City relationship between Carmel and Jelgava reflects that shared vision. Through international cooperation, cultural exchange, and the study of successful urban places, cities can learn from one another while building friendships that strengthen communities, democratic values, and cultural understanding around the world.

The International Making Cities Livable conference reminds us that cities across the world share common challenges and common aspirations. Through partnerships, cultural exchange, and thoughtful planning, communities can learn from one another while preserving the beauty, identity, and civic values that make great places endure.

I encourage those interested in architecture, urbanism, public policy, and the future of cities to join us in Riga and Jelgava for this important international conversation.

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More information about the 63rd IMCL conference is at https://www.imcl.online/latvia.