THE MAYORS’ 

INSTITUTE ON 

CITY DESIGN 
Of all the programs sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, it is hard to 

imagine one that has done more tangible public good than the Mayors’ Institute on City 

Design. Since its creation almost twenty years ago, the Institute has graduated more than 

625 mayors, many of whom have returned to their cities with a renewed sense of purpose 

and a newfound belief in the power of design.

The inspiring results can now be documented. Cities have been reconnected to their 

waterfronts, highways replaced by tree-lined boulevards, new civic buildings well located 

and beautifully designed. Even a short list of this program’s many accomplishments 

demonstrates the positive leadership and informed counsel the Mayors’ Institute has 

provided to communities across the nation. 

My conversations with the program’s alumni, without exception, have yielded 

compelling stories of specifi c physical outcomes that would not have occurred without the 

inspiration and education offered by the Institute. Some of these are discussed in the pages 

ahead.

The Arts Endowment is convinced that skillful civic design makes a concrete impact on 

the character of a community and the lives of its citizens. For this reason, we will continue 

our strong support of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design as one of the agency’s signature 

programs. I am grateful to our partners, the American Architectural Foundation and the 

U.S. Conference of Mayors, for their stewardship of this program. I hope that you will join 

us in helping the Institute bring its powerful message to even more mayors and cities.

Dana Gioia

Chairman

National Endowment

for the Arts

Helping Communities 

Design Their Futures

Vance Jacobs
Carol Coletta

Executive Director

The Mayors’ Institute on 

City Design

Ron Bogle

President & CEO

The American Architectural 

Foundation

J. Thomas Cochran

Executive Director

The U.S. Conference of 

Mayors

“America is defi ned by its 

cities. And cities are defi ned 

and made memorable by their 

landmarks, their waterfronts, 

their neighborhoods, their 

great public spaces. No one 

has more infl uence on a 

city’s design than its mayor, 

and that’s why the Mayors’ 

Institute on City Design is so 

powerful. It brings together 

mayors with designers who 

help them implement their 

vision for their cities in the 

best possible way. That’s 

why the U.S. Conference of 

Mayors is such an enthusiastic 

partner in the Mayors’ 

Institute.”

“Since 1986, the Mayors’ 

Institute has been elevating 

city design as a priority for the 

chief elected offi cials of our 

cities. We are preparing for an 

era in which design will be at 

the top of the agenda for cities 

that want to compete and 

succeed. These are dynamic, 

innovative times, which only 

elevate the need for the 

Institute.”

“The greatness of this nation 

is directly linked to the 

greatness of our cities. They 

are the centers of commerce, 

culture and creativity. One 

thing is certain: no one has 

more impact or infl uence 

on the quality of city 

development than its mayor. 

A mayor who understands 

design—the issues of scale, 

diversity, public spaces and 

livability—is a mayor shaping 

a city that will succeed.”

3
Jeff B. Speck

Director of Design

National Endowment for 

the Arts

Design is the one art that surrounds us every day, whether we want it to or not, and its 

quality can have a profound effect on the quality of our lives. Nowhere is this more evident 

than in the American city, where the ground is literally layered with generation after 

generation of design decisions, some for good and some for ill, that together constitute the 

public realm. This environment is the work of many hands, but no single hand can be said 

to have as profound an impact as that of the American mayor. Such was the realization of 

Charleston’s Joseph P. Riley, as he wrote to his friend Jaquelin Robertson:

I have often said that I am the chief urban designer of my city. By that I mean 

that because of my position as mayor, I have many opportunities to affect 

proposed developments...making them better for the city or allowing them to 

be ordinary—or worse.

In this 1985 letter, Mayor Riley fi rst proposed the idea of a program that would give 

mayors a better understanding of how design could be used to improve their cities. After 

some discussion, the two men presented the concept to Adele Chatfi eld-Taylor at the 

National Endowment for the Arts, who agreed to fund a Mayors’ Institute on City Design.

The fi rst Institute, held in 1986 at Thomas Jefferson’s “Academical Village” at the 

University of Virginia, surprised even its creators. The energizing effect of bringing mayors 

and designers together in an intimate setting, apart from the day-to-day concerns of running 

a city, was immediately evident. The mayors spread the word, and demand for similar 

workshops led to two new national Institutes every year. In 1990, four regional Institutes were 

also created, to reach a wider range of cities. These Institutes are hosted by design schools 

across the country, including Harvard University, the University of Texas, and University of 

California at Berkeley, among others. 

Now, as for the past decade, a Mayors’ Institute takes place somewhere around the 

country every 60 days.

The Mayors’ Institute 

on City Design

John Carnett, Popular Science

4
The Mayors’ Institute on City Design is based on one simple premise: that 

in American cities, design matters. Or, more precisely, that physical design is a 

fundamental tool that mayors can wield to positively affect the social well-being 

and economic vitality of their cities.

The structure of the Institutes has remained the same since its inception: 

eight mayors, eight designers, and eight problems, all locked in a room for two 

and a half days—no staff, no media, no sound bites or grandstanding—just 16 

men and women talking about design. Each mayor brings his or her city’s most 

critical urban design issue to discuss and, following the case-study method, 

general principles evolve out of specifi c problems. 

Despite the intimate nature of its proceedings, the Institute has graduated 

more than 625 mayors. Many of these are still in offi ce, and a half dozen are 

either in Congress or in a governor’s mansion. The program has also graduated 

over 400 designers—nationally known experts like Henry Cobb and Billie 

Tsien—who have often commented on learning as much from the mayors as the 

mayors have learned from them. Design is a two-way street, and the Mayors’ 

Institute was founded both to educate mayors about design and to educate the 

design community about the latest practical needs of our cities. 

Recognized in 2000 with a Presidential Award for Design Excellence, the 

Mayors’ Institute acknowledges that cities are the biggest and most complex 

things that humans create. When they are made well, we all fl ourish. Indeed, the 

design of our urban environments affects not just how we live, but who we are. 

As Winston Churchill put it, “We make our cities and then our cities make us.”

The central goal of the Institute remains much the same as it was in 1985: 

to inspire mayors to make the most of their powerful role as the chief designers 

of their cities. As observed by the Boston Globe’s Robert Campbell: 

Nobody else is designing the American city. A lot of people are 

designing parts of it...but no one can put together the whole 

picture in any city quite the way the mayor can. Mayors have a 

unique opportunity. The Mayors’ Institute helps them seize it.

Mayor John Hickenlooper 

confers with Susan 

Rodriguez of Polshek 

Partnership Architects 

over the design of Denver’s 

Union Station Plaza.

“I am deeply indebted 

to the National 

Endowment for the 

Arts for the opportunity 

to participate in the 

Mayors’ Institute. 

Although I knew 

what I wanted to do 

in Newark when I 

became mayor in 1986, 

this program taught 

me the tremendous 

value of good design 

in rebuilding a city to 

make it attractive and 

easily accessible to 

residents, commuters, 

and visitors.”

Sharpe James

Mayor of Newark, NJ

MICD 7, 1989

5
America was settled by people who desired a rural, agrarian experience. But now we are 

the largest urban nation in the world. Increasingly, the daily lives of most Americans are 

infl uenced by towns and cities. The extent to which our towns and cities are places of beauty, 

order, and inspiration is the extent to which this civilization in America will thrive.

Who is chiefl y responsible for the successful design of a city? The mayor is. But until 

the Mayors’ Institute, few mayors realized this responsibility and opportunity. 

We mayors exhaust ourselves with lots of decisions—political, personnel, budget. But 

100 years from now, there will be no real evidence of how we made those decisions. In 

contrast, a decision about the physical design of a city will infl uence the city and its people 

for generations. This was my awakening: that mayors can be and should be the chief urban 

designers of their cities.

Mayors are quick studies. They are smart, or they wouldn’t get elected. They are 

adroit; they can handle problems and challenges and quickly become learned in them. But 

few have any real experience or training in their greatest responsibility, the physical design 

of the city. And all design decisions come across the mayor’s desk. 

Mayors come to the Institute as regular people, but I promise you, they leave as zealous apostles of good urban design. You can see the light bulbs go off in their minds. They 

start fi dgeting. They can’t wait to get home. They want to get it going, whether it reaffi rms 

instincts they had or they are secretly alarmed by the bad decisions they have made. At one 

recent Institute, a mayor said, “Stop! Wait! Don’t say anything. I have to make a phone call. 

They are doing the wrong thing back home. I have to stop them before it is too late.”

They not only leave the Mayors’ Institute as changed people, but they go home and 

they change their cities. More than 625 mayors have gone back with new opportunities and 

responsibilities and duties.

I can take you from Anchorage to West Palm Beach, from Honolulu to Boston, and 

show you parks and fountains, new downtowns, restored Main Streets, affordable housing 

skillfully designed, splendid public grounds, and so much more that has been shaped by a 

mayor’s participation in the Institute. 

Joseph Riley

Mayor of Charleston, 

South Carolina

“...a decision about the physical 

design of a city will infl uence the city 

and its people for generations.”

Design and the 

American Mayor

6
The former mayor of Sacramento sent me a note a few months ago that 

said, “Remember, Mayor, I came to the Institute with a design issue, but what 

I learned was that we hadn’t protected our state capitol. I went back, brought in 

designers, and we created a new planning requirement so that large buildings 

couldn’t be built right in front of the state capitol of California.” 

The mayors go home accepting the responsibility of being their city’s chief 

urban designer. They don’t go back as architects or landscape architects or planners. They go back as leaders, accepting the responsibility to make the physical 

development of their cities more worthwhile.

Now, these are physical things that lend themselves to statistics. But in the 

fi nal analysis, it is the human experience that counts. That is what this is about. 

We built a waterfront park in our city that could have been a gated, highrise, private, big-tax-base center. Instead, we made it a beautiful park for all 

people. And one morning right after we built the park, I was jogging past, and I 

saw a fellow sitting on the edge of the park. I didn’t disturb him, but I saw him 

again two weeks later. I knew this fellow. He had epilepsy. His job was sweeping 

up in front of a fi lling station and shining shoes. He rode a bicycle and lived 

with his mother. He couldn’t travel; Charleston was his entire world. And I said, 

“I saw you, Clarence, at the park the other morning. You go there often?” And 

he said, “Yes, I go every day.” And I asked, “Why?” He said, “Mayor, because it 

is so beautiful, and I love it when the sun comes up, and the big ships are coming into the harbor.”

In our country now, it is not the whippoorwill on the fencepost along a 

rural trail that is a daily experience for most Americans. Rather, it is the streets 

and public places in cities. Because of the work of the Mayors’ Institute on City 

Design, these daily experiences for our citizens are increasingly those of beauty, 

order, and inspiration worthy of a great nation. 

“The Mayors’ Institute 

was one of the most 

rewarding experiences 

I have had as mayor. It 

allowed me to talk about 

big visions with great 

minds in a collegial 

setting mayors can’t often 

experience. I came back 

refreshed, refocused 

and more determined 

than ever to improve 

the quality of design in 

my city. I would strongly 

encourage anyone lucky 

enough to be invited to 

take advantage of this 

great opportunity.”

R. T. Rybak

Mayor of Minneapolis, MN

MICD 33, 2004

Charleston’s 

Waterfront Park

7
Participating 

Mayors’ Cities and 

Host Universities

LEGEND

participating mayor(s)

host university

8

MT

ID

NV

WY

OR

WA

CA

UT

AZ

NM

CO

AK

HI

Arizona State University

University of California—Berkeley

Southern California Institute of Architecture

Anchorage

Gilbert

Glendale

Goodyear Mesa

Peoria

Phoenix

Prescott

Scottsdale

Tempe

Tucson

Yuma

Alameda

Anaheim

Azusa

Berkeley

Beverly Hills

Carmel-by-the-Sea

Chula Vista

Culver City Claremont

Del Rey Oaks

East Palo Alto

Eureka

Fremont

Gonzales

Greenfi eld

Hayward

Hemet

Irvine

King City

Long Beach

Marina

Modesto

Monrovia

Monterey

Monterey Park

Oakdale

Oxnard

Palm Springs

Pasadena

Petaluma

Rialto

Richmond

Riverside

Sacramento

Salinas

San Bernadino

San Jose

San Leandro

San Mateo

San Rafael

Sand City

Santa Ana

Santa Barbara

Santa Clara

Santa Cruz

Santa Rosa

Santee

Seaside Soledad

Stockton

Temecula

Torrance

Oakland

Aurora

Boulder

Colorado Springs

Denver

Fort Collins

Lakewood

Littleton

Pueblo

Thornton

Maui Honolulu

Wailuku Lihue

Caldwell

Boise

Idaho Falls

Nampa

Bozeman

Missoula

Billings

Henderson Las Vegas

Reno

Las Cruces

Roswell

Albuquerque

Santa Fe

Farmington

Astoria

Milwaukee

Portland

Corvallis

Springfi eld

Lake Oswego

El Paso

Ogden

Salt Lake City Park City

Provo

Murray Sandy City

Bremerton

Mount Vernon

Seattle

Vancouver

Kent

Bellevue

Everett

Federal Way Wenatchee

Bellingham

Spokane

Redmond

Yakima

Tacoma

Cheyenne
9

NE

SD

ND

MN

WI

IA

KS

OK

TX

LA

AR

MO

MS

AL

GA

FL

TN

KY

IN

IL

MI

SC

NC

VA

WV

PA

OH

NY

MD

DE

NJ

CT RI

MA

VT

NH

ME

PR

Washington 

University

Georgia Institute of Technology

Harvard University

Massachusetts Institute 

of Technology

Princeton University

University of Cincinnati

University of Illinois—Chicago

University of Maryland

University of Michigan

University 

of Minnesota—

Twin Cities

University of North Carolina—Charlotte

University of Pennsylvania

University of Texas—Austin

University of Virginia

Tulane University

Bessemer Birmingham

Huntsville

Mobile

Prattville

El Dorado

Fayetteville

Hot Springs

Jonesboro

Little Rock

North Little Rock

Texarkana

West Memphis

Bridgeport

Danbury

Groton City

Hartford

Middletown

New Britain

New Haven

Norwalk

Stamford

Cumberland

Newport

Pawtucket

Providence

Warwick

Woonsocket

Attleboro

Brockton

Cambridge

Haverhill

Lawrence

Lynn

New Bedford

Newton

Northampton

Auburn

Augusta

Gardiner

Lewiston

Portland

Pittsfi eld

Quincy

Springfi eld

Concord

Franklin

Manchester

Nashua

Burlington

Montpelier

Rutland

Wilmington

Annapolis

Baltimore

Bowie

Frederick

Hagerstown

Asbury Park

Atlantic City

Bordentown

Burlington

Camden

East Orange

Edison

Elizabeth

Hackensack

Highland Park

Hightstown

Hope

Irvington

Manahawkin

Newark

Old Bridge

Orange

Paterson

Perth Amboy

Plainfi eld

Pleasantville

Port Norris

Princeton

Princeton Junction

Red Bank

South Amboy

South Bound Brook

Stewartsville

Trenton

Vineland

Lambertville

Washington, DC

Bradenton

Fort Lauderdale Fort Myers

Jacksonville

Lakeland

Lauderhill

Miami

Miami Beach

North Miami

Orlando

Port St. Lucie

St. Petersburg

Tallahassee

West Palm Beach

East Point

Augusta

Savannah

Roswell

Macon

Athens

Atlanta

Chicago

Arlington Heights

Evanston

Champaign

Alton

Belleville

Decatur

Maywood

Bartlett

East St. Louis

Highland Park

Naperville

Rockford

Palatine

Springfi eld

Peoria

Schaumburg

Elkhart

Evansville

Bloomington

Carmel

Indianapolis

Kokomo

Fort Wayne

Gary

Terre Haute

Vincennes

South Bend Clinton

Council Bluffs Bettendorf

Cedar Rapids

Dubuque

Waterloo

Des Moines Davenport

Lawrence

Manhattan

Hutchinson

Kansas City

Topeka

Wichita

Frankfort

Lexington

Bowling Green

Covington

Paducah

Louisville

Owensboro

Crowley

Alexandria

Bossier City

Lake Charles Baton Rouge

Covington

Shreveport

Mandeville

New Iberia

Monroe

New Orleans

Grand Rapids Inkster

Ann Arbor

Dearborn Lansing

Livonia

Kalamazoo

Kentwood

Saginaw

Southfi eld

Monroe

Muskegon

Taylor

Eden Prairie

Golden Valley

Burnsville

Duluth

Minneapolis

Hibbing

South St. Paul

St. Paul

Moorhead

Rochester

Biloxi

Greenville

Gulfport

Hattiesburg

Jackson

Long Beach

Meridian

Natchez

Oxford Tupelo

Vicksburg

Columbia

Jefferson City Chesterfi eld

Kansas City

St. Joseph

St. Louis

St. Charles

University City

Omaha

Grand Island

Lincoln

Mount Vernon

Poughkeepsie

Rome

Syracuse

Albany

Buffalo

Oneonta

Freeport

Newburgh

Utica

Niagara Falls

Ithaca

Binghamton

Saratoga Springs

Rochester

White Plains

Schenectady

Asheville

Fayetteville

Greensboro Raleigh

Durham

Chapel Hill

Salisbury

Charlotte

High Point

Gastonia

Winston-Salem

Huntersville

Grand Forks

Minot

Fargo

Findlay

Mansfi eld

Solon

Cincinnati

Columbus

Dayton

Lima

Dublin

Akron

Canton

Gahanna

Kettering

East Cleveland

Cuyahoga Falls Toledo

Marion

Zanesville

Tulsa

Oklahoma City

Allentown

Easton

Lancaster

State College

Chester

Altoona

Wilkes-Barre

Bethlehem

Pittsburgh

Erie

York

Reading

Charleston

Hilton Head

Rock Hill

Columbia

Spartanburg

Greenville

Sioux Falls

Rapid City Huron

Clarksville Bristol

Kingsport

Franklin Knoxville

Chattanooga

Nashville

Jackson

Edinburg

Galveston

Laredo

Sugar Land

Beaumont

Brownsville

Dallas

Fort Worth

Denton

Abilene

Austin

Texarkana

Euless

DeSoto

Corpus Christi

Midland

Irving

Waco

San Antonio

Alexandria

Chesapeake

Norfolk

Roanoke

Charlottesville

Bristol

Virginia Beach

Cape Charles

Portsmouth

Danville

Williamsburg

Richmond

Charleston

Wheeling

Green Bay

Kenosha

Neenah

Brookfi eld

Racine

Appleton

Madison

Greenfi eld

Waukesha

Milwaukee

Bayamon

San Juan
ALABAMA

Bessemer Quitman Mitchell 

Birmingham Richard Arrington, Jr.

 Bernard Kincaid 

Huntsville Steve Hettinger 

Mobile Michael C. Dow 

Prattville Jim Byard, Jr.

ALASKA

Anchorage Tom Fink 

 Rick Mystrom 

 Mark Begich

ARIZONA

Gilbert Wilburn Brown 

 Cynthia Dunham 

Glendale Elaine M. Scruggs 

Goodyear William Arnold 

Mesa Keno Hawker 

Peoria Ken Forgia 

Phoenix Terry Goddard 

Prescott Paul Daly 

Scottsdale Herbert Drinkwater 

 Sam Campana 

Tempe Neil Giuliano 

Tucson Tom Volgy 

Yuma Marilyn Young

ARKANSAS

El Dorado Mike Dumas 

Fayetteville Fred Hanna, Jr.

 Dan Coody 

Hot Springs Helen Selig 

Jonesboro Hubert A. Brodell 

Little Rock Lottie Shackelford 

 Jim Dailey 

North Little Rock Patrick Henry Hays 

Texarkana Danny Gray 

West Memphis Keith Ingram

CALIFORNIA

Alameda Ralph Appezzato 

Anaheim Tom Daly 

 Curt Pringle

Azusa Cristina Cruz Madrid 

Berkeley Shirley Dean 

 Tom Bates

Beverly Hills Meralee Goldman 

 Vicki Reynolds 

Carmel-by-the-Sea Sue McCloud 

Chula Vista Tim Nader 

Claremont Karen Rosenthal Koehler 

Culver City Edward Wolkowitz 

 Sandra J. Levin 

 Jozelle Smith 

Del Rey Oaks Jack Barlich 

East Palo Alto Sharifa Wilson 

Eureka Nancy Flemming 

Fremont Gus Morrison 

Gonzales Matt Gourley 

Greenfi eld J.M. Romo 

Hayward Michael Sweeney 

Hemet Lori Van Arsdale 

Irvine Larry Agran 

King City John Myers 

Long Beach Beverly O’Neill 

Marina Jim Perrine 

Modesto Peggy Booth Mensinger 

 Carol Whiteside 

Monrovia Lara Blakely 

Monterey Dan Albert 

 Dan Albert 

Monterey Park Rita Valenzuela 

Oakdale Pat Kuhn 

Oakland Elihu Harris 

Oxnard Manuel Lopez 

Palm Springs Ron Oden

Pasadena William E. Thomson, Jr.

 Rick Cole 

 Bill Bogaard 

Petaluma Patricia Hilligoss 

Rialto John Longville 

Richmond Rosemary Corbin 

 Irma Anderson 

Riverside Terry Frizzel 

 Ronald Loveridge 

Sacramento Anne Rudin 

 Heather Fargo 

Salinas Anna Caballero 

San Bernadino Judith Valles 

 W. R. “Bob” Holcomb

San Jose Lawrence Stone 

San Leandro Ellen Corbett 

 Shelia Young 

San Mateo Sue Lampert 

San Rafael Albert J. Boro 

Sand City David Pendergrass 

Alumni Mayors as of September 2004

More than 625 mayors have participated in the 

Mayors’ Institute on City Design.

“The Mayors’ Institute 

on City Design has 

played a pivotal role in 

carrying out my vision 

for the City of Anaheim. 

What I learned there 

has facilitated better 

collaboration among 

our planners and traffi c 

engineers, and the fresh 

perspective we gained 

will add tremendous 

value to our downtown 

revitalization plan now 

underway. The Mayors’ 

Institute is based on 

the idea that the most 

valuable asset a city 

can build is a better 

community, but that 

intangible asset can 

only be achieved 

through tangible, 

deliberate means.” 

Curt Pringle

Mayor of Anaheim, CA

MICD 33, 2004 

10
Santa Ana Tom Lutz 

Santa Barbara Sheila Lodge 

 Marty Blum 

Santa Clara Judy Nadler 

Santa Cruz Katherine Beiers 

Santa Rosa Sharon Wright 

 Michael Martini 

Santee Jack Doyle 

Seaside Jerry Smith 

 Don Jordan

Soledad Richard Ortiz 

Stockton Joan Darrah 

 Gary Podesto 

Temecula J. Sal Muñoz 

Torrance Dan Walker

COLORADO

Aurora Paul E. Tauer 

Boulder Linda Jourgensen 

 Leslie Durgin 

Colorado Springs Mary Lou Makepeace 

Denver Wellington Webb

 John Hickenlooper 

Fort Collins Susan Kirkpatrick 

 Ann Azari 

 Michael Powers 

Lakewood Linda Morton 

 Steve Burkholder 

Littleton Pat Cronenberger 

 Susan Thorton 

Pueblo Corinne Koehler 

Thornton Noel Busck

CONNECTICUT

Bridgeport Joseph Ganim 

Danbury Gene Eriquez 

Groton City Dolores Hauber 

Hartford Carrie Saxon Perry 

 Mike Peters 

 Eddie Perez 

Middletown Domenique Thornton 

New Britain Lucian Pawlak 

New Haven John DeStefano, Jr.

Norwalk William Collins 

Stamford Dannel Malloy

DELAWARE

Wilmington James Sills, Jr.

 James Baker 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Washington Anthony Williams

FLORIDA

Bradenton Wayne Poston 

Fort Lauderdale Robert O. Cox 

 Jim Naugle 

Fort Myers Wilbur C. Smith III

 Bruce T. Grady 

 Jim Humphrey 

Jacksonville John Delaney 

Lakeland Ralph L. “Buddy” Fletcher 

Lauderhill Richard Kaplan 

Miami Manuel Diaz

Miami Beach Neisen Kasdin 

North Miami Christine Moreno 

Orlando Glenda Hood 

Port St. Lucie Robert Minsky 

St. Petersburg David J. Fischer 

Tallahassee Dorothy Inman-Crews 

 John Marks

West Palm Beach Nancy Graham 

 Joel Daves 

 Lois Frankel

GEORGIA

Athens Gwen O’Looney 

 Doc Eldridge 

 Heidi Davison

Atlanta Shirley Franklin 

Augusta Charles DeVaney 

 Bob Young 

East Point Patsy Jo Hilliard 

Macon Lee Robinson 

 Tommy Olmstead 

 Jim Marshall 

 C. Jack Ellis 

Roswell Jere Wood 

Savannah Susan Weiner 

 Floyd Adams, Jr.

 Otis Johnson

In Miami Beach, design preservation has been 

credited with a dramatic economic turnaround.

“As a new mayor, the 

workshop provided me 

with a great opportunity 

to establish a paradigm 

on how to evaluate my 

city’s urban fabric. It 

was also important 

for me to sit down 

with fellow mayors to 

discuss urban concerns 

and address challenges 

we tackle each day in 

our respective cities.” 

Eddie A. Perez

Mayor of Hartford, CT

MICD 32, 2002

Courtesy of and photo by James Russell

11
HAWAII

Honolulu Jeremy Harris 

Lihue JoAnn Yukimura 

Maui Alan Arakawa

Wailuku Linda Crockett Lingle 

IDAHO

Boise Dirk Kempthorne

 Brent Coles 

Caldwell Garret Nancolas 

Nampa Tom Dale 

Idaho Falls Thomas V. Campbell 

ILLINOIS

Alton Donald Sandidge 

Arlington Heights Arlene Mulder 

Bartlett Catherine Melchert 

Belleville Roger Cook 

Champaign Dan McCollum 

 Gerald Schweighart 

Chicago Joan Barr 

Decatur Terry Howley 

East St. Louis Debra Powell 

Evanston Lorraine Morton 

Highland Park Daniel M. Pierce 

Maywood Joseph Freelon 

Naperville A. George Pradel

Palatine Rita Mullins 

Peoria David Ransburg 

Rockford Charles E. Box 

 Doug Scott 

Schaumburg Alan Larson 

Springfi eld Karen Hasara

INDIANA

Bloomington Tomilea Allison 

Carmel James Brainard 

Elkhart James P. Perron 

Evansville Russell Lloyd 

Fort Wayne Paul Helmke 

 Graham A. Richard 

Gary Thomas Barnes 

 Scott King 

Indianapolis Bart Peterson 

Kokomo Stephen J. Dailey 

South Bend Joseph Kernan 

 Stephen J. Luecke 

Terre Haute James Jenkins 

Vincennes Belle Kastin

IOWA

Bettendorf Ann Hutchinson 

Cedar Rapids Lee Clancey 

 Paul Pate 

Clinton LaMetta Wynn 

Council Bluffs Tom Hanafan 

Davenport Thomas Hart 

 Charles Brooke 

Des Moines Preston Daniels

 Frank Cownie 

Dubuque Terrance Duggan 

Waterloo Bernard L. McKinley 

 John Rooff III

KANSAS

Hutchinson Frances Garcia 

Kansas City Carol Marinovich 

Lawrence Robert Walters 

Manhattan Edith Stunkel 

Topeka Harry “Butch” Felker

 Joan Wagnon 

Wichita Bob Knight

KENTUCKY

Bowling Green Eldon Renaud 

Covington Denny Bowman 

Frankfort William I. May, Jr.

Lexington Pam Miller 

Louisville Jerry Abramson 

 Dave Armstrong 

Owensboro David Adkisson 

Paducah Geraldine Montgomery

Alumni Mayors continued

In central Indianapolis, the Waterfront Capital City 

Landing project has tranformed a no-man’s land 

into a new focus for urban life.

“I was a new mayor who 

had inherited a plan 

to replace our main 

street with a 45-mph 

throughway. I knew in my 

gut this was wrong, but 

I wasn’t sure what to do 

about it. Thanks to what 

I learned at the Institute, 

I could get away with 

saying “over my dead 

body.” My participation 

encouraged me, taught 

me and gave me the 

contacts I needed to stop 

the throughway and then 

reallocate the money 

toward a redesign and 

revitalization effort that 

is now underway, saving 

our downtown core. But 

for the Mayors’ Institute, 

I doubt we would have 

ended up saving the four 

city blocks that are now 

being rebuilt.”

Jim Marshall

U.S. House of 

Representatives

Former Mayor of 

Macon, GA

MICD 21, 1996 

Courtesy of White River State Park, © Banayote Photography, Inc.

12
LOUISIANA

Alexandria Edward G. Randolph, Jr.

Baton Rouge Tom Ed McHugh 

Bossier City George Dement 

Covington Keith Villere 

Crowley Isabella delaHoussaye 

Lake Charles Willie Mount 

 Randy Roach 

Mandeville Eddie Price 

Monroe Robert Powell 

 Abe Pierce 

 Melvin Rambin 

New Iberia Cliff Aucoin 

 Ruth Fontenot 

New Orleans Ray Nagin 

Shreveport Hazel Beard 

 Robert “Bo” Williams 

MAINE

Auburn Lee Young 

Augusta William Burney, Jr.

Gardiner Patricia Bourgoin 

Lewiston James Howaniec 

 John Jenkins 

 Kaileigh Tara 

Portland Thomas Allen 

 John McDonough 

 Karen Geraghty

MARYLAND

Annapolis Ellen Moyer 

Baltimore Kurt Schmoke 

Bowie Gary Allen 

Frederick James Grimes 

Hagerstown Steven Sager

MASSACHUSETTS

Attleboro Judith Robbins 

Brockton John Yunits, Jr.

Cambridge Alice Wolf 

Haverhill Theodore Pelosi 

Lawrence Kevin Sullivan 

 Patricia Dowling 

Lynn Patrick McManus 

New Bedford John K. Bullard 

 Rosemary Tiernay 

 Fred Kalisz, Jr.

Newton Thomas Concannon 

Northampton David Musante, Jr.

 Mary Ford 

Pittsfi eld Gerald S. Doyle, Jr.

Quincy James Sheets 

Springfi eld Robert Markel 

 Michael J. Albano

MICHIGAN

Ann Arbor Elizabeth Brater 

 Ingrid Sheldon 

 John Hieftjie 

Dearborn Michael Guido 

Grand Rapids Gerald R. Helmholdt 

 John Logie 

Inkster Edward Bivens, Jr.

Kalamazoo Robert Jones 

Kentwood William Hardiman 

Lansing Terry J. McKane 

 David Hollister 

Livonia Robert Bennett 

 Jack Kirksey 

Monroe C.D. “Al” Cappuccilli 

Muskegon Fred Nielsen 

Saginaw Gary Loster 

Southfi eld Donald Fracassi 

Taylor Gregory Pitoniak

MINNESOTA

Burnsville Elizabeth Kautz

Duluth Gary Doty

 Herb Bergson

Eden Prairie Gary Peterson 

 Jean Harris

Golden Valley Mary Anderson 

Hibbing Richard Nordvold 

Minneapolis Sharon Sayles Belton 

 R.T. Rybak

Moorhead Mark Voxland 

Rochester Chuck Hazama 

 Chuck Canfi eld 

South St. Paul Katherine Trummer 

St. Paul George Latimer 

 James Scheibel 

 Norm Coleman

MISSISSIPPI

Biloxi A.J. Holloway 

Greenville C. C. “Frank” Self

Gulfport Ken Combs 

 Robert Short 

Hattiesburg Johnny Dupree 

Jackson Kane Ditto 

 Harvey Johnson, Jr.

Long Beach Robert Bass 

Meridian Jimmy Kemp 

 John Robert Smith 

Natchez David Armstrong 

 F. L. “Hank” Smith 

Oxford Patricia Lamar 

Tupelo Larry Otis

Vicksburg Robert Walker

“As mayor of Minnesota’s 

capital city, St. Paul, I 

realized that it was going 

to be important not only 

to have a plan for the 

future design of the city, 

but I would also need 

to fi nd ways of working 

with designers, business 

owners, and residents 

to implement that plan. 

The Mayors’ Institute on 

City Design prepared me 

for ways to refl ect and 

recognize the importance 

of creating an enduring 

vision for the future of the 

city, but more importantly, 

for generating solutions 

to make that vision a 

reality.”

Norm Coleman

U.S. Senate

Former Mayor of 

St. Paul, MN

MICD 19, 1995 

13
MISSOURI

Chesterfi eld Nancy Greenwood 

Columbia Mary Anne McCollum 

 Darwin Hindman 

Jefferson City Louise Gardner 

Kansas City Emanuel Cleaver II

 Kay Barnes 

St. Charles Robert Moeller 

 Patricia York

St. Joseph Glenda Kelly 

St. Louis Vincent C. Schoemehl, Jr.

 Freeman Bosley, Jr.

 Clarence Harmon 

 Francis Slay 

University City Janet Majerus

MONTANA

Billings James E. Van Arsdale 

 Chuck Tooley 

Bozeman Tim Swanson 

 Steve Kirchhoff 

Missoula Daniel Kemmis 

 Mike Kadas

NEBRASKA

Grand Island Ken Gnadt 

Lincoln Bill Harris 

 Mike Johanns 

 Don Wesely 

 Coleen Seng

Omaha Hal Daub

NEVADA

Henderson James Gibson 

Las Vegas Jan Laverty Jones 

Reno Pete Sferrazza 

 Jeff Griffi n

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Concord William Veroneau 

Franklin Brenda Elias 

Manchester Ray Wieczorek 

 Bob Baines 

Nashua Rob Wagner 

 Bernard Streeter

NEW JERSEY

Asbury Park Kevin Sanders 

Atlantic City James Whelan 

Bordentown WIlliam D. Nine, Jr.

Burlington Herman Costello 

Camden Aaron Thompson 

 Milton Milan 

East Orange Cardell Cooper 

 Robert Bowser 

Edison George Spadoro 

Elizabeth J. Christian Bollwage 

Hackensack John F. Zisa 

Highland Park Meryl Frank 

Hightstown Amy I. Aughenbaugh 

Hope Timothy McDonough 

Irvington Sara Bost 

Lambertville David DelVecchio 

Manahawkin Carl W. Block 

Newark Sharpe James 

Old Bridge Barbara Cannon 

Orange Robert Brown 

Paterson Martin Barnes 

Perth Amboy Joseph Vas 

Plainfi eld Albert McWilliams 

Pleasantville Ralph Peterson, Sr.

Port Norris George Garrison 

Princeton Barbara Boggs Sigmund 

Princeton Junction Shing-Fu Hsueh 

Red Bank Edward McKenna, Jr.

South Amboy John O’Leary 

South Bound Brook JoAnne B. Schubert 

Stewartsville Robert Zelley 

Trenton Arthur J. Holland 

 Douglas Palmer 

Vineland Perry Barse

Alumni Mayors continued

The New Jersey Performing Arts Center invites 

audiences to a once derelict corner of downtown 

Newark.

Courtesy of New Jersey Performing Arts Center, © Jeff Goldberg/Esto

“Having participated in 

the program and then 

seeing the positive 

results in my city, I 

would recommend 

the Institute to every 

mayor. Sometimes you 

get so wrapped up in 

the day-to-day issues of 

your city that it is hard 

to see the forest for 

the trees. The Mayors’ 

Institute allowed me 

to think outside the 

box and to learn from 

other mayors who had 

already tackled similar 

problems. In every 

respect, it was a very 

positive experience.”

Sue Myrick

U.S. House of 

Representatives

Former Mayor of 

Charlotte, NC

MICD 4, 1988

14
NEW MEXICO

Albuquerque Louis E. Saavedra 

 Martin Chavez 

Farmington Thomas Taylor 

Las Cruces Rubén A. Smith 

 William Mattiace

Roswell Thomas Jennings 

Santa Fe Samuel Pick 

 Debbie Jaramillo

NEW YORK

Albany Thomas M. Whalen III

Binghamton Juanita Crabb 

 Richard Bucci 

Buffalo Anthony Massielo 

Freeport Arthur Thompson 

Ithaca Alan J. Cohen 

Mount Vernon Ernest Davis 

Newburgh Audrey Carey 

Niagara Falls James Galie 

 Irene Elia

Oneonta David Brenner 

Poughkeepsie Paul Buccellato 

Rochester Thomas P. Ryan, Jr.

 William A. Johnson, Jr.

Rome Joseph Griffo 

Saratoga Springs Almeda Dake 

Schenectady Karen Johnson 

 Albert Jurczynski 

Syracuse Matthew Driscoll 

Utica Timothy Julian 

White Plains Alfred Del Vecchio 

 S. J. Schulman

NORTH CAROLINA

Asheville Charles Worley 

Chapel Hill Kenneth Broun 

 Rosemary Waldorf 

 Kevin Foy

Charlotte Sue Myrick 

 Patrick McCrory 

Durham Nicholas Tennyson 

 William Bell

Fayetteville Marshall Pitts, Jr.

Gastonia Jennifer Stultz

Greensboro V. M. Nussbaum, Jr.

 Carolyn Allen 

High Point Rebecca Smothers 

Huntersville Kim Phillips 

Raleigh Tom Fetzer 

Salisbury Susan Wear Kluttz 

Winston-Salem Martha S. Wood 

 Jack Cavanagh 

 Allen Joines

NORTH DAKOTA

Fargo Bruce Furness 

Grand Forks Mike Polovitz 

Minot Orlin Backes

OHIO

Akron Donald Plusquellic 

Canton Sam Purses 

Cincinnati Roxanne Qualls 

Columbus Michael Coleman 

Cuyahoga Falls Don Robart 

Dayton Rhine McLin

Dublin Joel Campbell 

East Cleveland Wallace Davis 

Findlay John Stozich 

Gahanna Rebecca Stinchcomb 

Kettering Marilou Smith 

Lima David Berger 

Mansfi eld Lydia Reid 

Marion Jack Kellogg 

Solon Robert Paulson 

Toledo Carty Finkbeiner 

Zanesville Marilyn Swope

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma City Ronald Norick 

 Kirk Humphries

 Mick Cornett 

Tulsa Rodger A. Randle 

 Susan Savage

OREGON

Astoria Edith Henningsgaard 

Corvallis Helen Berg 

Lake Oswego Judie Hammerstad 

Milwaukie Carlyn Tomei 

Portland J. E. “Bud” Clark

Springfi eld Bill Morrisette

“It was an awesome 

experience networking 

with my colleagues. 

We all had a common 

goal of building today 

for a positive tomorrow 

through revitalization 

of our cities. I highly 

recommend that 

mayors who have 

not participated in 

this program take 

advantage of it.”

Michael Coleman

Mayor of Columbus, OH

MICD 30, 2001

15
PENNSYLVANIA

Allentown Joseph S. Daddona 

 William Heydt 

Altoona Thomas Martin 

Bethlehem Kenneth Smith 

 John Callahan

Chester Barbara Bohannan 

Easton Thomas Goldsmith 

Erie Joyce Savocchio 

 Richard Filippi 

Lancaster Janice C. Stork 

 Charlie Smithgall 

Pittsburgh Tom Murphy 

Reading Warren Haggerty, Jr.

State College William Welch 

Wilkes-Barre Lee Namey 

 Thomas D. McGroarty 

York Charles Robertson

PUERTO RICO

Bayamon Ramón Luis Rivera 

San Juan Baltasar Corrada del Rio

RHODE ISLAND

Cumberland Frank Gaschen 

Newport Robert McKenna 

 David Gordon 

Pawtucket James Doyle

Providence Vincent Cianci, Jr. 

Warwick Scott Avedisian 

Woonsocket Francis Lanctôt

SOUTH CAROLINA

Charleston Joseph P. Riley, Jr.

Columbia T. Patton Adams 

 Robert Coble 

Greenville William D. Workman III

 Knox White 

Hilton Head Thomas Peeples 

Rock Hill Betty Jo Rhea 

 Doug Echols 

Spartanburg James Talley 

 William Barnett III

SOUTH DAKOTA

Huron Merle D. Lewis 

Rapid City Jerry Munson 

Sioux Falls Jack White 

TENNESSEE

Bristol Sue Ojanen 

Chattanooga Gene Roberts 

 John Kinsey 

Clarksville Don Trotter 

 John Piper 

Franklin Thomas Miller

Jackson Charles Farmer 

Kingsport Ruth Montgomery 

Knoxville Victor Ashe 

Nashville Philip Bredesen 

 Bill Purcell

TEXAS

Abilene Gary McCaleb 

Austin Frank Cooksey 

Beaumont Evelyn Lord 

 David Moore 

Brownsville Ygnacio Garza 

 Patricio Ahumada 

 Henry Gonzalez 

 Blanca Vela 

 Eddie Trevino, Jr.

Corpus Christi Mary Rhodes 

Dallas Laura Miller 

Denton Euline Brock 

DeSoto Richard Rozier 

Edinburg Joe Ochoa 

El Paso William Tilney 

 Raymond Caballero 

Euless Mary Lib Saleh 

Fort Worth Kay Granger 

 Kenneth Barr 

Galveston Janice R. Coggeshall 

 Barbara Crews 

Irving Morris Parrish 

Laredo Saul N. Ramirez, Jr.

 Elizabeth “Betty” Flores 

Midland Robert E. Burns 

San Antonio Lila Cockrell 

 Howard Peak 

 Ed Garza

Sugar Land David Wallace

Texarkana James Bramlett 

Waco Robert Sheehy, Sr.

 Mike Morrison

Alumni Mayors continued

“The two days at the 

Mayors’ Institute 

absolutely changed my 

thinking on the design 

and placement of our city 

library. Now we have a 

wonderful new Robert 

Stern building directly 

on axis with our state 

capitol, when it might 

very well have ended up 

on a much less successful 

site. I came back from 

the Institute with a new 

process and a new way of 

thinking about the city.”

Phil Bredesen

Governor of Tennessee

Former Mayor of 

Nashville, TN

MICD 20, 1996 

16
UTAH

Murray Daniel Snarr 

Ogden Glenn Mecham 

 Matthew Godfrey 

Park City Bradley Olch 

Provo Lewis K. Billings 

Salt Lake City Palmer DePaulis 

 Deedee Corradini 

 Ross “Rocky” Anderson 

Sandy City Steven Newton

VERMONT

Burlington Peter Clavelle 

Montpelier Ann Cummings 

Rutland Jeffrey Wennberg

VIRGINIA

Alexandria Patricia Ticer 

Bristol Jerry Allen Wolfe 

Cape Charles Alex Parry 

Charlottesville Frank Buck 

 Alvin Edwards 

Chesapeake William Ward 

Danville Linwood Wright 

Norfolk Joseph A. Leafe 

 Mason Andrews

 Paul Fraim 

Portsmouth Gloria Webb 

Richmond Timothy Kaine 

Roanoke David Bowers 

 Ralph K. Smith 

Virginia Beach Robert G. Jones 

 Meyera Oberndorf 

Williamsburg John Hodges

WASHINGTON

Bellevue Connie Marshall

Bellingham Tim Douglas 

 Mark Asmundson 

Bremerton Louis Mentor 

Everett Peter Kinch 

 Edward D. Hanson 

Federal Way Debra G. Ertel 

 Mahlon “Skip” Priest

Kent Dan Kelleher 

Mount Vernon Skye Richendrfer 

Redmond Rosemarie Ives

Seattle Greg Nickels

Spokane Jack Geraghty 

 John Powers 

Tacoma Karen Vialle 

 Brian Ebersole 

 Bill Baarsma 

Vancouver Bruce Hagensen 

Wenatchee Earl Tilly 

Yakima Pat Berndt 

WEST VIRGINIA

Charleston Jay Goldman 

Wheeling John Lipphardt 

 Nicholas Sparachane 

WISCONSIN

Appleton Dorothy Johnson 

 Timothy Hanna 

Brookfi eld Kathryn Bloomberg 

Green Bay Samuel Halloin 

 Paul Jadin 

 James Schmitt

Greenfi eld Timothy Seider 

Kenosha John Antaramian 

Madison Joseph Sensenbrenner 

 Sue Bauman 

Milwaukee John Norquist 

Neenah Marigen Carpenter 

Racine Gary Becker

Waukesha Carol Opel

WYOMING

Cheyenne Don Erickson

Richmond’s Canal Walk turns a piece of industrial 

heritage—a barge canal—into a popular urban 

amenity.

“It was the most important 

program that I attended 

as a mayor. Throughout 

my three terms, I kept 

coming back to what 

I had learned at the 

Institute and applying it 

to my city. I can think of 

at least three specifi c 

success stories that 

were the direct result of 

my participation. These 

include the creation of a 

grand boulevard in the 

place of a torn-down 

overpass, the rebuilding 

of our downtown library, 

and the reorientation 

of the city toward its 

waterfront. Honestly, in 

terms of what will last 

beyond me into the future, 

the Mayors’ Institute had 

a greater infl uence than 

anything else I did while 

in offi ce.”

Kay Granger

U.S. House of 

Representatives

Former Mayor of 

Fort Worth, TX

MICD 11, 1991 

Courtesy of Wallace Roberts & Todd, LLC

17
Joan Abrahamson—Jefferson Institute / Douglas Allen—Hargreaves Associates / Stan Allen—Field Operations / Douglas Allen—Georgia Institute of Technology / Karen Alschuler—Simon Martin-Vegu

The Great American Station Foundation / Elinor Bacon—E.R. Bacon Development / Adele Fleet Bacow—Policy and Management Associates / Susan Balmori—Balmori Associates / Andrew Baque—

Craig Barton—University of Virginia / Cheryl Barton—Ken Kay Associates / Charles Bartsch—Northeast-Midwest Institute / Mary Catherine Bateson—George Mason University / Constance Beaumon

Bell—University of Maryland / Dena Belzer—Strategic Economics / Ralph Bennett—University of Maryland / Daniel Bennett—University of Arkansas / David Bergmann—Economic Research Associat

University of Pennsylvania / Edward Blakely—University of Southern California / Warren Boeschenstein—University of Virginia / Chuck Bohl—University of Miami / J. Max Bond— 

Bothwell—Urban and Landscape Design / Roberta Brandes Gratz—Author / H. Alan Brangman—Georgetown University / Benjamin Bratton—Southern California Institute of 

House / Terry Brooks—Development Services / Catherine Brown / J. Carter Brown / Joseph Brown—EDAW / Will Bruder— Will Bruder Architects / Simeon 

Walkable Communities / Tom Buresh—University of Michigan / Carol Burns—Harvard University /Taylor MacDougall Burns Architects / Shirl Byron—Morgan 

Campos—Jones & Jones / Michael Carmichael—EDAW / Elaine Carmichael—ERA Associates / Donna Carter—Carter Design Associates / Colin Cathcart—

Cincinnati / Rick Chellman—TND Engineering / Susan Child—Child Associates / Jeffrey Chusid—University of Texas / John Clark—The John A. Clark Company / 

Virginia / David Collins—City of Knoxville / Paula Collins—Western Development Group / Nancy Rutledge Connery / Robert Conradt / Judith Corbett—Local Government Commiss

Cox—University of Virginia / David Crane—University of South Florida / Dana Crawford—Urban Neighborhoods / David Crockett—Chattanooga Institute for Sustainability / Wal

Deborah Dalton—University of Oklahoma / Elizabeth Danze—University of Texas / Deborah Darden—Lackawanna Field Offi ce, National Park Service / Robert Davis—Seaside Community Dev. Co

Deakin—University of California at Berkeley / Mario di Valmarana—University of Virginia / Eduardo Diaz—San Antonio Dept of Arts & Cultural Affairs / David Dillon—Dallas Morning News / Hank Dit

Dock—Meyer Mohaddes Associates / Harry Dodson—Harry Dodson Associates / Kathy Dorgan—Dorgan Architecture and Planning / Victor Dover—Dover, Kohl, & Partners / John Dowlin—Hamilton 

of Maryland / Ruth Durack—Urban Design Center of Northeast Ohio / Juan Echaniz i Sans / Stanton Eckstut—Ehrehnkrantz & Eckstut Architects / John Eddy—Arup / Julie Eizenberg—Koning/Eizenb

Filson—Tulane University School of Architecture / Robert Fishman—University of Michigan / Nancy Fleming—SWA Group / Kristina Ford—New Orleans City Planning / Ronald Forman—Audubon Institute

& Roy / Dennis Frenchman—Lane Frenchman & Assoc. / Leslie Gallery / Elizabeth Gamard—Tulane University / Mario Gandelsonas—Princeton University / Harvey Gantt—Gantt Huberman Archit

Architecture / Patricia Gay—Preservation Resource Center / Robert Geddes—Geddes Demshak Architecture & Planning / Stephanie Gelb—Battery Park City Authority / Rosalie Genevro—The Architect

/ Nathan Glazer—Harvard University / Parris Glendening— Smart Growth Leadership Institute / Harold Glover / Deborah Goddard—Harvard University / Terry Goddard—

District / Udo Greinacher—University of Cincinnati / Rick Greiwe—Downtown Cincinnati, Inc. / Toni Griffi n—District of Columbia Offi ce of Planning / Maxine Griffi th—Phil

Halsband—RM Kliment & Frances Halsband Arch. / Robert Harris—University of Southern California / Pamela Hawkes—Ann Beha Associates / Laurie Hawkinson—

California at Berkeley / Tom Hester—Civitas / Chamelle Hicks— CHPlanning / Tony Hiss—Author / John Hoal—Washington University / David Hollenberg—National Park 

Darby, & Levin / William Hudnut—Urban Land Institute / Ray Huff—Huff + Gooden Architects / Steven Hurtt—University of Maryland / Ernest Hutton—Hutton Associates 

Public Schools / Gloria Jeff—Federal Highway Administration / Ronald Jensen—Arizona State University / Carlos Jimenez— Carlos Jimenez Studio 

Mark Johnson—Civitas / Grant Jones—Jones & Jones / Mary Margaret Jones—Hargreaves Associates / Ellen Dunham Jones—Georgia Institute of Technology / Dennis 

Urban Development / John Keene—University of Pennsylvania / Douglas Kelbaugh—University of Michigan / Katharine Kelley—Green Street Properties / Michael Kelly—

Scenic Byways Project / Judith Kinnard—Schwartz Kinnard Architects / Jack Kirkland—Washington University / Niall Kirkwood—Harvard University / Richard Koshalek—Art 

Kruckemeyer—Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Walter Kulash—Glatting Lopez Kercher Anglin / Michael Kwartler—New School for Social Research / Florence Lad

Association / Tom Leader—Tom Leader Studio / M. David Lee—Stull & Lee / Ruthann Lehrer—Long Beach Preservation Offi ce / Ralph Lerner—Princeton University / Paul Levy—C

Lockwood—Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas / Edward Logue—Logue Development / Nellie Longsworth—Preservation Action / J. Carson Looney—Looney Ricks Kiss / Milton Lopes—University of

Lyndon/Buchanan Assoc / John MacManus—Teng Associates / Janet Majerus / Michael Manfredi—Weiss & Manfredi / Roger Martin—Martin & Pitz Assoc / Tom Martinson / Thom Mayne—

State University / William McDonough—University of Virginia / Brian McGrath—PATH Architects / Jill McGuire—Regional Arts Commission / Alistair McIntosh—Sasaki Associates / Segwick 

& Building Services / Elizabeth Meyer—University of Virginia / Norman Millar—Woodbury University / Iris Miller—Catholic University / David Mohney—University of Kentucky / Harvey 

Eric Owen Moss— South California Institute of Architecture / Anne Vernez Moudon—University of Washington / Jennifer Moulton / Grover Mouton—Tulane University 

Univer sit y of Pennsylvania / Patricia O’Brien—Patricia O’Brien Landscape Architecture / Cheryl O’Neil—Torti Gallas CHK / Gary Okerlund—Okerlund & Associates / 

Padjen Architects / Mahendra Parekh—Morgan State University / Peter Park—City of Denver Community Development and Planning / Barbara Parmenter—University 

University of Texas / Robert Peck— Washington Board of Trade / Barton Phelps—Barton Phelps and Assoc / Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk—

P o o l e — P O O L E Design / William Porter—MIT School of Architecture and Planning / Harry Porter—University of Virginia / Shelley 

Associates / Roxanne Qualls—Former Mayor of Cincinnati / Samina Quraeshi—University of Miami / Dennis Rash—University of North 

Reiter—Urban Instruments / Michael Replogle— Environmental Defense Fund / Nicholas Retsinas—Harvard University / James Richards / Robert 

Technology / Mark Robbins—National Endowment for the Arts / Ian Robertson—The Robertson Company / Jaquelin Robertson—

University of Washington / Donald Royse—Washington University / Margie Ruddick—University of Pennsylvania / Frank Russell—

/ Donovan Rypkema—Place Economics / Joaquin Sabate i Bel—CCRS Architects / Carl Safe—Washington University / Stanley Saitowitz— Saitowitz & Associate

Scheer—Scheer & Scheer / Mark Schimmenti—University of Tennessee / Roger Schluntz—University of New Mexico / Thomas Schmid— Center for Disease Co

Matthew Seltzer / Siddhartha Sen—Morgan State University / Richard Sennett—New York University / John Shaw—Rancon Financial Corp / Donald Shea—

Merrick Sklarek—Jerde Partnership / Daniel Slone—McGuire, Woods, Battle and Boothe / Ken Smith—Ken Smith Landscape Architect / Janet Marie Smith—T

California at Berkeley / Richard Sommer—Harvard University / Michael Sorkin—The Michael Sorkin Studio / Michael Southworth— University of California at Berkeley / Mic

Architecture / Dianne Steinbach—City of Madison Planning & Development / Frederick Steiner—University of Texas / James Stockard—Harvard University / Roy Stric

Associates / Eric Swanson—The LandBank Group / Marilyn Taylor— Skidmore Owings and Merrill / William Taylor—University of Cincinnati / Ralph T

Pennsylvania / Susan Torre—Team for Environmental Architecture / Harriet Traurig / Billie Tsien— Tod Williams Billie Tsien & Associates / Gregory Tu

University / Karen Van Lengen—University of Virginia / Thomas Vint / David Walters— University of North Carolina at Charlotte / Richard Ward—Develop

/ Cynthia Weese—Washington University / Martha Lampkin Welborne—Surface Transit Project / Peter Werwath—The Enterprise Foundation / Richard We

Michael Willis—Michael Willis & Associates / Patricia Wilson—National Trust for H i s t o r i c Preservation / James Wines—SITE / Thomas Wright

Alumni Faculty as of September 2004

More than 400 design professionals have served as resource team 

members at the Mayors’ Institute on City Design.

18
ue Winkelstein Morris / Andrew Altman—District of Columbia Offi ce of Planning / Thomas Anding—University of Minnesota / John Archer—University of Minnesota / Elmo Baca—

—Urban Design Center of Northeast Ohio / Julie Bargmann— University of Virginia / Jonathan Barnett—University of Pennsylvania / Richard Baron—McCormack Baron & Assoc / 

nt—National Trust for Historic Preservation / Laurie Beckelman—World Monuments Fund / Robert Becker—Audubon Institute / William Beetle—New Jersey Department of Transportation / Matthew 

tes / Fred Bernstein—Author / Anita Berrizbeitia—University of Pennsylvania / Mina Wright Berryman—National Endowment for the Arts / Jay Biggins—Stadtmauer, Bailkin-Biggins / Eugene Birch—

Davis, Brody & Assoc / Ben Boozer—South Carolina Downtown Development Association / Amy Bortz—Towne Properties / Peter Bosselman—University of California at Berkeley / Stephanie 

Architecture / Joseph Breiteneicher—Philanthropic Initiative / Susanne Brendel-Pandich—National Trust for Historic Preservation / Todd Bressi—Pratt Institute / Annette Bridges—Scott Joplin 

Bruner—Bruner-Cott, Associates / Charles Buki—Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp. / John Bullard—University of Massachusetts / Ignacio Bunster-Ossa—Wallace Roberts & Todd / Dan Burden—

State University / Bruce Cain—University of California at Berkeley / Peter Calthorpe—Calthorpe Associates / Mark Cameron—Morgan State University / Robert Campbell—The Boston Globe / Mario 

Kiss & Cathcart Architects / Karen Chapple—University of California at Berkeley / Adele Chatfi eld-Taylor— American Academy in Rome / Jay Chatterjee—University of 

Janine Clifford—Clifford Planning / Henry Cobb— Pei, Cobb, Freed, & Partners / Rick Cole—Former Mayor of Pasadena / Richard Collins—University of 

sion / Fernando Costa—City of Fort Worth Planning Department / John Costonis— Vanderbilt University / Leland Cott—Harvard University / Maurice 

lter Cudnohufsky—Walter Cudnohufsky & Associates / Richard Dagenhart—Georgia Institute of Technology / Diane Dale—University of Virginia / 

rp. / Thomas Davis—University of Texas / Marleen Davis—University of Tennessee / John de Monchaux—Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Elizabeth 

tmar—Reconnecting America / David Dixon—Goody, Clancy, & Associates / Michael Dobbins—Atlanta Planning & Development Commission / Fred 

County Commission / Robert Dripps—University of Virginia / Andres Duany—Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. / Joseph Duckworth—Arcadia Communities, Inc. / Karl DuPuy—University 

berg Architecture / Merril Elam— Scogin, Elam & Bray / Nan Ellin—Arizona State University / Russell Ellis—University of California / Ray Farris—Tuscan Development / Ronald 

e / Harrison Fraker—University of California at Berkeley / Iain Fraser—Washington University / Philip Freelon—The Freedom Group Architects / Eduardo Freer—Johnson, Johnson 

tects / Kathleen Garcia—Wallace Roberts & Todd / Alexander Garvin—NYC 2012 / Augustin Garza—Garza Group / Ray Gastil—The Van Alen Institute / Don Gatzke—Tulane School of 

ural Leaque of New York / Robert Gibbs—Gibbs Planning Group / Deirdre Gibson—National Park Service / Tom Gilmore—Gilmore Associates / Adam Glaser—Washington University 

Former Mayor of Phoenix / Joan Goody—Goody, Clancy & Associates / Vince Graham—Civitas / Ken Greenberg—Greenberg Consultants / Randy Gregson—Downtown Development 

ladelphia Planning Commission / Jerry Gutenschwager—Washington University / Sharon Haar—University of Illinois at Chicago / Gary Hack—University of Pennsylvania / Francis 

Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects / Duncan Hazard—Polshek Partnership Architects / Clifton Henry—Hammer, Siler, George and Associates / Randolph Hester—University of 

Service / Cindy Holler—Fannie Mae / Michael Holleran—University of Colorado / Walter Hood— University of California at Berkeley / Philip Howard—Howard, 

Inc / Thomas Hylton / Betsy Jackson—International Downtown Association / Allan Jacobs— Universty of California at Berkeley / Clifford Janey—Rochester 

/ Anthony Johns—Morgan State University / Carol Johnson—Carol R.Johnson Associates / William Johnson—Peter Walker/William Johnson & Partners / 

Jones—Virginia Polytechnic Institute / John Kaliski—Urban Studio / Peter Katz—The Citistates Group / Jerold Kayden—Harvard University / Frank Keefe—JMB 

District of Columbia Housing Authority / Sheila Kennedy—Kennedy & Violich Architecture / Fred Kent—Project for Public Spaces / Susan Kidd—Georgia 

Center College of Design / Spiro Kostof / Alex Krieger— Harvard University / Leon Krier—Architect / John Kriken—Skidmore, Owings & Merrill / Ken 

d—The Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute / Phyllis Lambert— Canadian Centre for Architecture / William Lamont—Murray Lamont & Assoc. / Robert Lane—Regional Plan 

Center City District / Robert Lewis—Development Strategies / James Lewis—Concur / Roger K. Lewis—University of Maryland / Bruce Liedstrand—City of Cathedral City / Stephen 

f Georgia / Fidel Lopez—Broadacre Management Co / Weiming Lu—Lowertown Redevelopment / Donlyn Lyndon— University of California at Berkeley / 

Morphosis / Randolph McAusland—National Endowment for the Arts / Maureen McAvey—Urban Land Institute / Ron McCoy—Arizona 

Mead / Mary Means—Mary Means & Associates / Rebecca Mendez—University of California at Los Angeles / Stephen Metli—Sioux Falls Planning 

Molotch—New York University / Steven Moore—University of Texas / Linda Morgan—OENJ Cherokee Corporation / William Morrish—University of Virginia / 

/ Stan Mulvihill—Civitas Project Development / Roberta Mundie—Mundie & Associates / Nancy Nolan—Atlanta Chamber of Commerce / Enrique Norten—

Oyeshola Olatoye—Hamilton Rabinovitz and Alschuler / Laurie Olin— Olin Partnership / Steven Ortmann— Capitol METRO / Elizabeth Padjen—

of Texas / John Parsons—National Park Service, National Capital Region / Joseph Passonneau—Joseph Passonneau & Partners / Robert Paterson—

Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. / Alan Plattus—Yale University / Linda Pollak— Harvard University / Sharon Lee Polledri / Stefanos Polyzoides—Moule & Polyzoides / Kathy 

Poticha—Congress for the New Urbanism / Jerry Pratter—The Stolar Partnership / Michele Pride-Wells—University of Kentucky / Michael Pyatok—Pyatok and 

Carolina at Charlotte / William Rawn—William Rawn Assoc / Genevieve Ray— Urban Conservation & Design / Wendy Redfi eld—North Carolina State University / Wellington 

Richardson—City of Cincinnati / Hunter Richardson—The Richardson Group / John Riordan—International Council of Shopping Centers / Randall Roark—Georgia Institute of 

Cooper, Robertson & Partners / Michael Robinson—Auburn University / Susie Rodriguez—Polshek Partnership Architects / Catherine Ross—Georgia Institute of Technology / Charles Royer—

University of Cincinnati / Tim Ryan—University of New Orleans / Deborah Ryan—University of North Carolina at Charlotte / Witold Rybczynski— University of Pennsylvania 

es / Ignacio San Martin—Arizona State University / David Sawicki—Georgia Institute of Technology / Peter Schaudt—Peter Lindsay Schaudt Landscape Architecture / Brenda 

ontrol and Prevention / Mark Schuster—Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Martha Schwartz—Martha Schwartz, Inc. / Mack Scogin—Scogin, Elam and Bray, Architects / 

—Downtown Development District / William Shutkin—Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Fred Silva—Public Policy Institute of California / Roger Simmonds / Norma 

TBA Properties / Sarah Smith—Arts in Transit, Bi-State Development Agency / Kennedy Lawson Smith—National Trust for Historic Preservation / Daniel Solomon—University of 

chael Speaks—Southern California Institute of Architecture / Frank Spielberg—SG Associates / Kiril Stanilov—University of Cincinnati / Michael Stanton—Michael Stanton 

kland—University of Michigan / Donald Stull—Stull & Lee / Beth Sullebarger—Cincinnati Preservation Association / Deborah Sussman—Sussman/Pejza and Co. / Starling Sutton—Sutton and 

Tharp—Land Strategies Corporation / Bing Thom—Bing Thom Architects / Thomas Thomson—Washington University / Ross Tilghman—TDA Illinois / Anthony Tomazinis—University of 

ng—Freedman, Tung & Bottomley / Henry Turley—Turley Company / Michael Underhill—Arizona State University / Max Underwood—Arizona State University / W. Davis Van Bakergem—Washington 

pment Strategies / Sam Bass Warner / Alex Washburn— W Architecture / Elizabeth Waters / Stroud Watson—Riverfront Downtown Planning and Design Center / Gregory Weaver—Catellus Development 

sley—University of Pennsylvania / Carroll Westfall—Notre Dame University / Deborah Whitehurst—Arizona Commmunity Foundation / William Whyte—Author / William Williams—Rice University / 

—Regional Plan Association / Robert Yaro—Regional Plan Association / Patricia Zingsheim / Donald Zuchelli—ZHA / Charles Zucker—American Institute of Architects

Max Bond photo by The New York Times / Henry N. Cobb photo by Luca Vignelli. / Thom Mayne photo by Bill O’Conner, Denver Art Museum / Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk photo by Bill Wisser / Marilyn Taylor photo by Bruce Byers

19
A little more than a decade ago, downtown Louisville was isolated from the Ohio River and 

its heritage by an interstate highway, industry on the waterfront, and decades of neglect. But 

today Waterfront Park has become the “living room for the city,” where locals and tourists 

come to connect with the city’s history, stroll along the river, board riverboats, and enjoy 

outdoor festivals. 

The rebirth of the riverfront began with the election of Jerry Abramson as mayor in 

1985 and picked up momentum when he attended the Mayors’ Institute on City Design. 

Mayor Abramson was elected to offi ce in a city nicknamed “River City,” but Louisville’s 

pedestrian and recreational access to the Ohio River was severed in 1972 when an elevated 

highway along the waterfront was constructed.

From the beginning, Mayor Abramson believed that the fabric of Louisville’s downtown 

had to be stitched back together for it to function best. He turned to the Mayors’ Institute 

for guidance.

As a participant in the twelfth national Institute in 1992, the Mayor discussed his vision 

for Louisville’s downtown with the design experts around the table. These included urban 

designers, park planners, and experienced developers from other cities with revitalized 

waterfronts who were excited about the opportunity to bring their expertise to Louisville.

In a lively 90-minute brainstorming session of the sort that has become a hallmark 

of the Mayors’ Institute, these experts, Mayor Abramson, and the other invited mayors 

Jerry Abramson

Mayor of Louisville, KY

Case Study

Louisville 

Waterfront Park

20
proposed design alternatives and argued their merits, in hope that the best ideas 

would be incorporated into the city’s plan. 

Mayor Abramson returned to his city with renewed vision and vigor. The 

Mayor, the 15-member Louisville Waterfront Development Corporation that 

he created, and the fi rm Hargreaves Associates that he hired to develop a master 

plan began to deliver on the promise of the Mayors’ Institute discussions. 

“We made smart design decisions working with a great designer,” the Mayor 

said. “We assembled a strong team and involved the community in the planning. 

The park’s scale and use of space make it an appealing and long-lasting part of 

our local landscape.”

To reconnect downtown to the waterfront, streets were reconfi gured and a 

highway on-ramp was moved to open up views. Despite those changes, the river 

was still not visible from most downtown streets. To correct this problem a new 

park was gradually sloped toward the river, allowing for direct views and acting 

as a visual focal point. New lighting, public art, and water features were added to 

enliven the waterfront.

The project continues. At this time, 72 acres of waterfront have been 

converted from industrial to public space. Fundraising for an additional 13 acres 

is underway, and there are plans to build a pedestrian bridge across the river.

“From my experience with 

the Mayors’ Institute on 

City Design, I’ve gained a 

greater appreciation for 

the value of design and its 

importance in improving 

communities. As mayor, 

you can’t create a vision 

for your community 

without including design 

as a critical component.”

Jerry Abramson

Mayor of Louisville, KY

MICD 12, 1992 

Case study images courtesy of Hargreaves Associates, facing page and inset photos by John Gollings; next page, bottom by Geoffrey Carr

21
If crowds are any indication, the effort is a success. More than one million people visit 

the waterfront each year, and an estimated 5,000 people work in a waterfront district which 

once had only a hundred or so employees.

A ragged strip of industrial land bordered by railroads, junkyards, and a snarl of 

highways has become a place where residents and visitors enjoy the best of Louisville. This 

good news story is one of dozens nationwide where the Mayors’ Institute on City Design has 

played a role in the physical transformation of an American city.

22
“The opportunity to 

share ideas and probe 

concepts and plans with 

colleagues and design 

professionals over a 

two-day period is a 

rewarding experience 

that no amount of 

money can buy. In 

more than 33 years of 

professional experience, 

no program or learning 

experience has been 

more benefi cial to me 

than this one.” 

William Johnson

Mayor of Rochester, NY

MICD 17, 1994 / MICD GSA 

Special Session, 2000 

“I enthusiastically 

support the Mayors’ 

Institute. I came back 

to Lincoln excited and 

well prepared to bring 

design to basic services 

in a way that gives 

return and reward to 

the taxpayer.”

Mike Johanns

Governor of Nebraska

Former Mayor of Lincoln, NE

MICD 13, 1992

“All of the great things 

I heard about the 

Mayors’ Institute were 

proved true. I only wish 

I had made the time 

earlier to attend. The 

quality of the resource 

professionals and the 

ensuing discussions 

exceeded my high 

expectations and gave 

me some valuable 

insight into the physical 

future of my city. To 

each of my colleagues 

at the U.S. Conference 

of Mayors: If you are 

lucky enough to be 

invited, don’t pass 

up the opportunity to 

attend.”

Manuel Diaz

Mayor of Miami, FL

MICD 34, 2004 

Front cover photo © SOM / Steinkamp/Ballogg Photography
Transforming 

communities 

through design