Insights

On Friday May 3, 2019, at the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies, the Place Leadership Project convened a research workshop entitled Mobility Making the Place to discuss the rapidly evolving field of transportation and mobility. A diverse set of stakeholders from across the Washington region shared how their districts were grappling with the challenging issues of transportation and how these issues intersect with the transformation of their urban places.
Following these important “on the ground” perspectives, Tom Madrecki, Director of Urban Innovation and Mobility at UPS and Steve Moore, Executive Director at the Southwest Business Improvement District, gave some higher-level insights into the changing face of mobility. Whether delivering thousands of packages to thousands of locations across a city or delivering thousands of visitors to some of the region’s most incredible events, these leaders found the cross-section of place and mobility inextricably linked.
Finally, our event wrap-up included two heavy hitting panels with experts discussing the difficulties of long-range planning, funding, implementation and winning public support for some of the transportation innovations we know will be necessary to address some of our most daunting urban challenges. 
Continue reading “Mobility Making the Place”

A Keynote Address Delivered by Philip Sheldrake at the Georgetown University “New Faces of Place Management” Research Forum which convened over 50 local non-profit organizations from across the Washington Metropolitan Region to discuss emerging practices in place-based community development. The forum was organized by the Georgetown Urban & Regional Planning program as part of its Place Management Project. Continue reading “Why Place Matters”

On Nov. 2, 2018, the opening session of the first research workshop hosted by Georgetown University celebrated the diversity and vitality present in different kinds of place management organizations across the region. Whether described by size, stakeholders, governance, metro location, urban context, responsibilities or activities…each organization was different, but united in sustaining their community and place in their own way.
After the first session, Philip Sheldrake, Visiting Fellow of the Georgetown Global Cities Initiative and Fred Kent, founder of the Project for Public Spaces, delivered inspiring keynote addresses meant to reinforce attendee’s commitments to making great places centered around and built for people.
Following these inspiring talks, attendees broke into various working groups focused on topic areas including: Research and Reporting Practices, Public Realm and Parks, Investment Management, Social Inclusion and Health & Well-being. Continue reading “Inaugural Research Workshop: New Directions in Place Management”