Community Planning

Chris Kennedy attended the Build Maine Conference on November 6 in Lewiston, Maine.  Build Maine was hosted by the Congress for the New Urbanism's Maine Chapter (CNU Maine) with GrowSmart Maine, the Maine Municipal Association (MMA), and the Maine Real Estate & Development Association (MEREDA). 

The lineup of speakers was particularly intriguing.  Build Maine was able to bring together a handful of the most influential practitioners in the field of Community Planning, Complete Street Design, Walkable Communities and Strategic Real Estate Development.  It was a great opportunity to get refreshed and reinforce UK Architects' knowledge and skill sets in Community Planning issues.  To get a better idea of the concepts that were communicated during the conference here is list of links that are worth checking out:

Jeff Speck author of Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time, and principal of Speck & Associates LLC.

Charles Marohn President and Co-founder of the non-profit Strong Towns.

Steve Mouzon Principal of Mouzon Design, one of the nation's urban thought leaders.

Victor Dover, Principal of Dover, Kohl & Partners Town Planning and coauthor of Street Design: The Secret to Great Cities and Towns.

In addition to the excellent speakers, it was also an opportunity to take a walking tour of Lewiston and Auburn, Maine, two classic Northern New England mill towns, split by the Androscoggin River.  The conference was held at the Bates Mill Complex that has been undergoing a phased renovation into offices, restaurants and housing.