Late last year, I immersed myself in the study of walkability, New Urbanism, livable communities, business improvement districts (BIDs), and placemaking. I read about the subjects, talked with experts, and attended meetings in both my prior home town Austin and my newly adopted home Washington D.C.
If you are unfamiliar with the term, “walkable urbanism” was coined by The Brookings Institution’s Christopher Leinberger and is defined as a place where most daily needs can be met within walking or rail-transit distance, and where place managers strategize the process of making places better.
A BID is a defined area within which businesses pay an additional tax (or levy) in order to fund projects within the district’s boundaries. It’s a “place within a place,” often with unique goals, problems, and identities apart from the larger city or county containing it.
Place management is a growing field and, over the past 15 years, many have been demanding it, especially Millennials and Baby Boomers. According to AARP, by the year 2030, one in three Americans will be 50+ years old, and most of them want to age in place. AARP’s Livable Communities program is designed to help create this type of community for all ages.
In October, Every Body Walk! held the inaugural three-day Walking Summit, sponsored by the Surgeon General and Kaiser Permanente. These programs were created to increase public awareness that “walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week really can improve your overall health and prevent disease.”
Getting involved at these community-level events was easy and rewarding, and I would highly suggest participating, whether it’s in local or national events, or webinars. It’s a great way to learn more and meet not only the speakers but the attendees. There are events in this space by other well-known organizations. I’d recommend that you put them on your calendar if you are able to, and follow them on social media and Meetup groups. You will learn about future events and be provided with resources.
Sometimes you may find that information and topics overlap, and you may hear some of the same speakers, but repetition clarifies what you have already learned and allows better information retention. Not only that, but it also provides you with more networking opportunities with your peers, more personal attention, and the ability to to ask your most pressing questions. I follow many groups, which is how I learned of an event on walkability called ULI Washington – Implementing Walkable Urban Development and Place Management, co-sponsored by the aforementioned Leinberger and held at George Washington University.
As usual, event organizers provided marketing materials at our table, this time about a two-and-a-half-day executive education seminar taught by Leinberger. Even though I frequently attend similar events and follow these issues on social media, I would have never heard of this seminar if I hadn’t attended the ULI Washington event.
I had been following Leinberger’s work since hearing him speak in Austin on how to develop vibrant and walkable neighborhoods as part of the Imagine Austin speaker series. I really enjoyed his ULI-sponsored presentation and wanted to learn more about walkable urban places (Leinberger calls them “WalkUPs”). So in typical fashion, I followed up with Leinberger and asked if full scholarships were available.
There was a spot for me, and I completed the Certificate in Walkable Urban Real Estate Development & Place Management. Yes, there was a little overlap with the ULI Washington event (with three of the same speakers). But the program expanded on the subject, applying place-management techniques onto the 43 WalkUPs located in the D.C. Metro Area. Furthermore, there was ample time for discussions, Q&As, and walkable tours of the Ballston BID, Capital Riverfront BID and Downtown D.C. BID.
By getting involved, asking questions, and remaining engaged, I came away with a strategy for implementing walkable urbanism, I made some terrific professional connections, and I furthered my commitment to the need for walkable communities.
Photo of Detroit by Michigan Municipal League