🗞️ (Updated Eventbrite Link) Incremental Urbanism With Rik Adamski, APA Community Engagement Interest Group Events, & more!
March 20, 2025 edition
EngagingCities shares outstanding work by our network of planners and changemakers, who actively involve their communities in creating better places and a brighter future.
🔥 Fireside Chat with Rik Adamski
“ If you want to do something great, you do it by small increments, you take small bets, and then if it's working, you keep going.”
Rik Adamski is the President of Ash & Lime, as well as a co-founder of the Storefront Renaissance League. He emphasizes the importance of bottom-up, incremental approaches to planning, highlighting the significance of understanding and enhancing the human experience in urban spaces. He discusses the nuances of practical urban planning, from the importance of getting the details right to fostering community pride through small, impactful actions.
Rik underscores the importance of empowering local stakeholders. By engaging with community members and small business owners, planners can identify immediate actions that make a meaningful impact. Whether it's enhancing storefronts, introducing pop-up retail, or activating public spaces, Rik’s approach advocates for tangible results through iterative, community-engaged processes. This episode is rich with examples, principles, and actionable steps for policymakers, planners, and community leaders aiming to create vibrant, resilient places.
📧 Contact Rik on LinkedIn
🌐 Visit ashlime.com
Key Takeaways
🎯 The Power of Small Bets: The conversation touches on the principle that achieving great things often starts with small, manageable actions. By emphasizing low-risk initiatives, communities can experiment and identify strategies that resonate with their specific needs, encouraging continued engagement and development.
🧐 Rethinking Urban Development: Traditional large-scale urban development projects often overlook the human experience. For instance, the disparity between investments in downtown Dallas and the community’s liveliness highlights the need for planning that considers human interaction and vibrant spaces over just physical structures.
🤗 Humility in Planning: Rick highlights that successful engagement requires humility and recognizing that cities and planners do not have all the answers. A planner’s role is to equip and empower local communities to take ownership of their development and recovery.
💬 The Importance of Community Conversations: Rick’s insights reveal how engaging authentically with community members, whether through informal settings like local pubs or organized events, fosters trust and generates crucial insights about their needs and desires.
🎨 Art as a Catalyst for Engagement: Large public artworks and engaging storefront displays can transform a plain space into a captivating area that draws interest. Incorporating art into planning encourages community identity and pride.
🧑🤝🧑 Resourceful Networking: The episode underscores the importance of connecting local leaders with experts and practitioners in community planning. Building relationships with specialists can provide invaluable support and fresh ideas for local challenges.
🏬 Creating a Sense of Place: As discussed, the goal of revitalization should be to cultivate spaces that residents are proud of and want to return to. Investing effort into experience-centric initiatives can encourage younger individuals to return, fostering community continuity and commitment.
📅 Engaging Events
💻 APA Community Engagement Interest Group Virtual Meet & Greet
Thursday, March 20, 2025 | 12:00–1:00 PM PST
Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/a50We6sWQh21l0UicaJwSQ
☕ In-Person Meetup and Networking at the APA National Conference in Denver
Monday, March 31, 2025 | 1:30–3:30 PM MDT
Updated link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1292649111289?aff=oddtdtcreator
🤝Join the APA Community Engagement Interest Group
Membership is free and open to anyone, regardless of APA membership status.
Join here: https://www.planning.org/divisions/groups/community-engagement
Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/apa-community-engagement
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🧰 Resources
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Visit https://www.engagingcities.org/resources and contribute today!
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