Suburban Summit - May 18, Westland

Register for the Suburban Summit by May 11!

Date: May 18, 2015

Location: Westland City Hall, 36300 Warren Rd., Westland, MI 48185 

Chair Bill Wild, Mayor, Westland

Michigan suburbs have faced a variety of challenges in recent years. Local governments, businesses, and residents took a hit during the recession. Changing demographics for a more connected lifestyle from both millennials and empty-nesters have increased the need to think innovatively about suburban redevelopment.

What can suburbs do to breathe new life into these underperforming properties? Join us for a day full of solutions. Share ideas with your colleagues on what has worked in your community and hear from experts in the field on how to transform sites into gems.

  

9:00 am - Registration & Networking

9:30 am - Welcome

                 Chair Mayor Bill Wild, Westland

9:40 am    The Business Case for Place, Anthony Minghine, Associate Executive Director & COO, Michigan Municipal League

The economic model in Michigan is broken, and what is needed is a new way forward.  How have the last decade's economic factors impacted local finances, and what can new strategies mean for municipal budgets?    

10:00 am - Trends and Finance in Suburban Communities, Mark Nickita, AIA, Archive DS

Among the many challenges that our suburban communities face are the dual impacts of declining revenue and underutilized commercial property.  The recent recession deepened the challenge in both of these areas.  As our economy improves, it is important for local leaders to understand the interrelations between how you can breathe new life into underperforming commercial buildings and improve your community’s bottom line.

This session will outline current municipal financial conditions, detail the historic ROI behind suburban commercial development, and offer bold, innovative strategies for making your city’s commercial properties more competitive and improve your tax base.

11:00 am - Retrofitting Suburbia, Ellen Dunham-Jones, Professor of Architecture and Urban Design, Georgia Tech, Co-Author of Retrofitting Suburbia
If core cities are conventionally understood as old places with new buildings versus suburbs as newer places with simulations of older buildings, how do we make sense of suburban retrofits?  How do these projects challenge expectations of responsible design—both in terms of respect for the immediate context and increasing the competiveness of the suburb and the metropolitan areas?  How should we evaluate their success?
 

12:30 pm - Networking Lunch

1:15 pm - Hands-on Mapping, Ellen Dunham-Jones

An interactive discussion involving local case studies on retrofitting suburban sites, applying the lessons learned, and sharing ideas to jump-start your community’s efforts.  Attendees are encouraged to bring their own examples to the meeting for feedback.

2:30-3:30 pm - Debunking the Myth & Wrap Up, Jennifer Rigterink, Manager of Redevelopment Ready Communities (MEDC)