Friends and Colleagues,
Congress delivery feels like a
never ending project. As soon as we close the doors on one, we are
running in service of another, all while having a third (or fourth!)
on the back burner. But, this constant work is in service of
delivering an incredibly important part of CNU’s reason of existing:
it is our prime opportunity to convene, educate, and collaborate with
our membership; to demonstrate our values as an organization and lead
progress across the movement in these areas; and to call on the power
of our multidisciplinary attendees to unite, solve problems, and push
our collective practice of New Urbanism forward. It’s not a
conference, or a club, or dog and pony show. It’s an intentional,
curated gathering - and everything we do in putting it together is
deliberate.
CNU staff at CNU 31
If you’ve been here a few years -
or decades - you may have heard tell of the Congress Rethink. What started as a member-led effort to
reform Congress delivery in service of what I’ve described above is
now an ongoing and incremental evolution of our organization’s largest
program. Incrementalism here is key. You would have seen small bits of
change last year in Charlotte - efforts to elevate Main Stage
conversations to set the tone and topics for each days’ sessions;
ongoing refinement of session formats and delivery to reduce the
feeling of being “talked at”; workshops that provided all attendees
with the opportunity to work together on an issue that was impacting
the local host city; and a Congress Focus that provided a foundational
problem space for every discussion. All of these things will be in
Cincinnati as well - improved, evolved, and elevated. Particularly,
I’m excited about:
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17 foundational and intermediate
classes creating a new “New
Urbanism Starter Course” that takes our old model of core / 101
sessions and elevates them with the intention to combine a deeper
understanding of our founding principles with the focus on Restorative
Urbanism. Those new to CNU and those who have been coming for years
can all benefit from this comprehensive improvement.
-
Over 85
classes and meetings that
touch climate, housing, transportation, zoning, and design. The
sessions, which will be added to and refined over the next two weeks,
are organized by topic and day - so that the Main Stage discussions
kick-off a day-long conversation that attendees can track and build on
throughout their sessions.
-
Two opportunities for workshopping
together, including a comprehensive look at the ways the design and
development of the built environment and its supportive systems fail
to be considered in climate action planning, including the
Green
Cincinnati Plan to build
a model climate action plan that includes improvements to (and
measurements from) the built environment - as well as a workshop to
develop a Restorative Urbanism Handbook that continues to build our
collective toolkit for undoing harm caused by planning and
policy.
-
30
tours of Cincinnati and
the surrounding region that provide deeper context for understanding
the focus on Restorative Urbanism.
- Expanded
opportunities for networking, socializing, and professional growth
throughout the week - from those you expect (ENU’s Mentorship Huddles
and topical happy hours) to those you may have missed in recent years
(rumors of a CNU Midwest-sponsored Debate Night are
bubbling).
-
And there’s still time to help shape
the program: Short
Format Presentations are
currently being curated on a rolling basis, providing opportunities
for new voices and those who did not get sessions selected to present
and get feedback on their ideas.
Plus, the hotel is a stunner!
Photo credit: Hilton Cincinnati Netherland
Plaza
Mallory and I are dedicated to
delivering the most educational, practice-expanding,
connections-building Congress each year in service of the mission of
CNU and our members (existing and future). This year, the programmatic
components of CNU 32 demonstrate how this steadfast dedication
combined with a joint understanding of our goals results in a Congress
that is more than re-thought. It’s elevated and evolved. And I hope
that you’ll
join us.
Best,
Margaret
Gattis Executive Director [log in to unmask]
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