Municipal Development Events Set to Begin April 22 in Bentonville
by March 28, 2016 12:03 am 125 views
The first-ever Placemaker Summit and Small Developer Bootcamp, a gathering of urban planners, developers, civic organizations and municipal leaders from across five states, is planned for April 22–24 in downtown Bentonville.
The Placemaker Summit will be at the Meteor Guitar Gallery at 128 W. Central Ave. and the Small Developer Bootcamp will be at Tavola Trattoria at 108 S.E. A St.
The three-day series of events will bring in planners from throughout Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
It will explore place-based strategies that strengthen a community, the economy and a unique sense of place vital to staying competitive in the 21st century, according to a press release from the Northwest Arkansas Council, one of several partners for the event.
“While our downtowns in the region are in various stages of revitalization, this event highlights the power of coordinated, regional place-making work and provides an opportunity to share our experiences while learning from other communities across the state and mid-South,” Mike Harvey, chief operating officer of the council, said in the release.
According to the release, the event will feature speakers, interactive panel discussions, immersive tours, small discussion groups, informative workshops and one-on-one opportunities with national industry leaders.
While the Placemaker Summit will focus on creating and implementing the big plans, the Small Developer Bootcamp will provide hands-on experience for incremental private sector development necessary to fuel those plans, according to the release. The boot camp is a project of the Incremental Development Alliance (IDA), a national nonprofit organization focused on training, coaching and connecting people to create neighborhood scale, small development projects in their communities.
Other event partners include the Walton Family Foundation, the Arkansas Municipal League, Main Street Arkansas, the Arkansas Times and Block, Street & Building magazine.
Registration and more information is available at www.blockstreetbuilding.com.