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Review of ULI Idaho's "Designing Great Cities"
October 29, 2018
ULI Women’s Leadership Initiative Hosts “Designing Great Cities.”
The keynote speaker at the event was Dakota Keene, an associate principal at Mithün, a design firm based in Seattle. Dakota began with some thoughts on leadership, and how important it is to seek out new ideas and others’ perspectives. She shared her experience designing projects all over the country. She started at home with a project in Seattle designed to provide maximum accessibility for all to businesses and public space. We then went across the country to New York and Miami for some projects that were able to reclaim the perception of public space to make it enjoyable for everyone. Next up were some examples of public/private partnerships, using examples of the Perot Family Offices in Dallas and the Grove right here in Boise. After a few more examples, we ended up back in Seattle for a project called Leaves of Remembrance, designed to give hope and comfort to the city’s homeless.
The panel then took Dakota’s ideas and discussed how design and planning could improve various aspects of life in Boise and the Treasure Valley. Nora Carpenter presented on social equity, Ellen Campfield Nelson on access to healthcare, Alison Tate on crime deterrence, Kelli Badesheim on transportation, and Karen Bubb on arts and culture. It became apparent that these different fields are overlapping and that the future planning of our cities needs to include all of the key principles in equity, transit, healthcare, safety, and art.Written by YLG Member, Drew Morgan