Matthew Lister

Matthew is a creative urban place maker, real estate development strategist, and designer. As a Managing Director at Gehl US, he focuses on the intersection of real estate strategy and the design and activation of great public spaces. Often working at multiple scales with both private and public clients, he works to develop aspirational yet economically sustainable and implementable solutions.

Matthew also brings expertise in collaborative engagement with diverse communities in the urban change and development process, and is a visiting Assistant Professor at Pratt Institute in New York City.

Matthew will explore the convergence of urban design, public space, and economic vitality and resilience in American cities—focusing on how design can spark joy and improve quality of life.

Key Themes:

• Human-Centered Urban Design: How cities can be designed to prioritize the needs and experiences of the people that visit and live in them.
• Public Space Activation: Strategies to create vibrant, multifunctional public spaces that foster community engagement, well-being, and moments of joy.
• Data-Driven Design: How insights from urban research and data can shape better, more responsive urban environments.
• Social Infrastructure: The critical role of social infrastructure in fostering connections, building resilience, and bringing people together.
• Low-Cost Interventions and Experiments: How temporary, low-cost interventions—such as tactical urbanism, pop-up parks, and street closures—can drive long-term change and bring joy back to American downtowns.

Matthew will draw from his extensive work at Gehl, where he leads efforts to create human-centered urban spaces and places across the Americas.

About Gehl - 

Partner, Managing Director of the US offices of Gehl. Gehl is based in Copenhagen Denmark and opened offices in New York and San Francisco in spring 2014, expanding Gehl's presence in the Americas. Gehl brings a particular focus on design and implementation of ideas that improve the human environment of cities, drawing on 40 years of research on public life and public spaces around the world.

Welcome Matthew!

Harrison D/C

Harrison A/B

Anthony Wayne A

Anthony Wayne B

Creating a Canvas for All: How Fort Wayne's Public Art Program Champions Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion| 1 CM Equity

Fort Wayne's public art program isn't just about beautifying the city; it's about weaving a vibrant tapestry that reflects the rich diversity of its residents. This session will delve into how the program is fostering a more equitable and inclusive Fort Wayne.

Sherese Fortriede, AICP

Community Development Administrator / Senior Planner in Planning and Policy Department for the City of Fort Wayne

Amanda Golden

Managing Principal and Co-Founder of Designing Local. 

Réna Bradley

Réna is Secretary of the Indiana Arts Commission, and a board member of Creative Women of the World, the Fort Wayne Allen County Airport Authority, and the Fort Wayne Urban League

How Planners and Developers Can Collaborate to Create Vibrant Incremental Development Ecosystems |1 CM

 A vibrant incremental development ecosystem requires planners and developers to understand and collaborate with one another. Small scale developer Mike Keen and City Planner Tim Corcoran will share how the two groups have been able to do this during the last several years in South Bend, Indiana. Topics addressed include the 12-Steps to Town Making, and how the City has collaborated with small scale developers through zoning changes, a sewer reimbursement program, pre-approved plans, and support of networking and educational activities with participants in the local incremental development ecosystem.

Tim Corcoran

Tim Corcoran is Director of Planning & Community of City Resources in South Bend, Indiana.

Mike Keen

Mike Keen is Managing Partner of Hometowne Development LLC, and a Partner with Neighborhood Evolution.

Uncovering Your Community's Economic Impact: Quantifying Economic Development with Data-Driven Insights|1 CM

Imagine proving that your community and placemaking investments are not just promising but backed by solid evidence, leading to more strategic and effective future investment. How would that strengthen your story? New technologies now allow us to not only uncover exactly how many people visited your place and distinguish between local residents, visitors and employees, but how much money they spent during their visit. In this session, planners will learn how to harness the power of data to tell compelling stories that effectively communicate to the public, developers, policymakers, and funders with data. By integrating location intelligence and foot traffic data gaining valuable geodemographic insights, we can thoroughly evaluate both established and newly developed places, determine where further investments or new services are needed, and ensure current programming & policies are grounded in accurate visitation data. Join us to see how data-driven storytelling can turn your visionary ideas into concrete realities, demonstrating the true value of your placemaking initiatives.

Michelle L. Johnson

Michelle serves 

Senior Strategist at SmithGroup

Jeff Kerr

Jeff Kerr serves as the Director of Planning and Land Development at the Greater Sandusky Partnership. 

In Pursuit of Economic and Environment Resilience: Transforming Worthington’s Outdated Industrial Corridor to an Eco Innovation District | 1 CM S&R

Worthington (Ohio), a fully developed land locked community with few options for new development was faced with regional growth pressures, unprecedent demand for housing, zoning code that goes back to the 1970s.  An obvious path to continued economic growth is redevelopment of the existing industrial Northeast Area, which represents 13% of the land of the City and enjoys a low vacancy rate. However, the City’s dependence on payroll (income) taxes has grown to 75% of all City revenues, increasing the need to keep and attract businesses to the area. Worthington is also in a highly competitive market for office, commercial, and industrial users and the Northeast Area boasts a near hundred percent occupancy. But because of the age and types of uses located here, this compact area is experiencing significant change and has the opportunity to reinvent itself. Recognizing this, City leadership realized the time to reinvent, recalibrate, and reposition this outdated industrial area is now.

Megha SinhaI

AICP  / LEED AP BD+C

Principal in the Urban Planning & Design practice at NBBJ’s Columbus office. 

R. Lee Brown

AICP

Director of Planning & Building for the City of Worthington

Nate Green

Partner and Managing Director at Montrose Group

Sayee Mudholkar

AICP  /  LEED GA

Associate Urban Planner/Designer in the Urban Planning & Design practice at NBBJ’s Columbus office. 

Collaborative Change: how Public Private Partnerships are Creating a Dynamic Downtown.

1.25 CM

Walking Tour - Meet at the Hilton Hotel Lobby.

11:00 am - 12:20 pm

If you have not been to Fort Wayne lately, you are going to be blown away by downtown’s transformation. Fort Wayne received several hundred million dollars of private investment over the past decade, several hundred million more currently under construction, and even more in the pipeline. None of these projects would have been possible without partnerships between the public and private sector, the community’s willingness to invest public money in quality of place initiatives, and a good plan. This walking tour will highlight the catalytic projects that contributed to downtown’s resurgence and dive into the arrangements that made them possible. The tour will begin at Parkview Field (downtown baseball stadium) and focus on the Harrison Street Corridor. Total distance traveled will be about ¾ mile.  

Pre Registration required for this tour.

Yes, we Kahn!!  Preserving a legendary architect's building for the 21st century | 1.25 CM

Walking Tour - Meet at the Hilton Hotel Lobby.

11:00 am - 12:20 pm

Louis Kahn was prolific in modern architecture, with notable works including the Salk institute Campus in La Jolla, California and the First Unitarian Church in Rochester, New York. Kahn designed the Arts United Center in 1973, allegedly his only project in the midwestern United States. As Arts United undertakes an ambitious capital campaign, visit the performance venue to glean campaign member's methods on preserving, modernizing, and expanding the venue into the 21st century, with little compromise to Kahn's original vision.

Pre Registration required for this tour.

Harrison D/C

Harrison A/B

Anthony Wayne A

Anthony Wayne B

Lights, Sidewalk, Action: How New Public Health & Safety Interventions are Revitalizing Neighborhoods & Communities | 1CM

This session will delve into the transformative impact of the High Street CPTED Pilot in Northwest Fort Wayne and Dr. Amelia Clark, PhD’s analysis of public health issues in the same community, highlighting the interconnectedness of safety and health in community revitalization.

Project Focus: The High Street CPTED Pilot

Initiated in response to community concerns about rising crime, the High Street CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) Pilot has significantly improved neighborhood safety. Beginning with the installation of streetlights in early 2022 and progressing through multiple phases informed by community engagement, the project has successfully reduced total crime by 53.7%. This pilot serves as a model for how targeted environmental changes can foster safer, more vibrant communities.

Dr. Clark has dedicated her career to improving health equity by addressing social determinants of health in economically disadvantaged communities. Focusing on the same community where the High Street CPTED Pilot is implemented, Dr. Clark will discuss critical public health concerns. Her work emphasizes a human rights approach to public health, demonstrating how addressing these fundamental rights can lead to significant improvements in community health and well-being. 

Dr. Amelia Clark

DrPH, Global Health Leadership, Indiana University

Dr. Amelia Clark is the Executive Director of the Center for Integrated Public Health Education and Research (CIPHER) at the University of Saint Francis.

Megan Grable

Neighborhood Planner with the Department of Neighborhoods and the Refugee & Immigrant Services Liaison for the Mayor's Office.

Officer Adam Hartman

Officer Hartman serve as Fort Wayne Police Department’s CPTED liaison to the residents, organizations, and businesses in Fort Wayne since receiving his certification.

Affordable Housing 101 | 1 CM

"Affordable Housing" is an issue that faces nearly every community in America, but it is often poorly understood by elected leaders and community members. This presentation will provide answers to the questions of what affordable housing is and how affordable housing is produced and financed. After attending this presentation, all attendees will be better equipped to engage in housing policy discussions in their communities. Attendees will learn: - How the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) works; - What a Housing Choice Vouchers is and how they are used; - What a Project Based Voucher is and how they are used; - Why there always seems to be a gap in financing affordable housing deals; - The importance of State and Local sources of funding for affordable housing; - and much more!

Geoff Milz, AICP

Director of Development at Pennrose

PUDs – a 75-yr fad? Are they here to stay? | 1 CM

This session will explore the pros/cons of PUDs and review modern approaches communities can use to enable innovation without using a PUD.

Todd Kinskey

FAICP

Todd is employed by ZoneCo, a consulting firm headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, that specializes in writing zoning codes, subdivision regulations and various other development regulations. 

Jonathan Wocher

AICP, LEED GA

Jonathan Wocher is a Principal with McBride Dale Clarion in Cincinnati.                                          

Does it have to be so difficult? Rethinking public engagement in a polarized world | 1 CM Equity

In today's polarized world, effective community engagement is more critical than ever to successful, equitable planning. It requires novelty, innovation, and occasionally, risk. This session will delve into what is at the core of good planning: capturing the intuition and lived experiences of all community members, including traditionally hard-to-reach populations.

The session will start by outlining the inherent challenges and successes of incorporating diverse voices into the planning process, drawing on experiences from the OKI region and beyond, including insights from Selma, AL, and Grand Rapids, MI. Unlike typical qualitative research approaches, this session focuses on practical strategies for real-world engagement.

Participants will explore the complexities of outreach, communication, and engagement through shared stories and examples from various projects. The session will highlight the necessity of customizing engagement strategies to fit the unique needs of each community, emphasizing the importance of going to where people are rather than relying solely on traditional gatherings, showcasing the value of a well-informed Steering Committee, and assessing the cultural nuances of a place.

Jamie A. Greene

FAICP

Founder and principal of Planning NEXT, a community planning firm based in Columbus, Ohio

Sarah Bongiorno

Director at Planning NEXT

Andrew Souders

Planner at Planning NEXT 

Harrison D/C

Harrison A/B

Anthony Wayne A

Anthony Wayne B

Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Comprehensive plan - It's About Time | 1 CM

The Fort Wayne, Indiana Parks and Recreation Department has been operating under the direction of an 18 year old comprehensive plan. Beginning in 2023, we engaged one of the countries most experienced park system planners, Design Workshop, to create a new, ambitious comprehensive plan to guide public space development over the next 10 years. Fort Wayne is one of the fastest growing cities in the midwest and the planners were challenged to help Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation keep pace with the overall city growth.

Kurt Culbertson

Fellow of the AICP, Fellow of the ASLA

Principal and founder of Design Workshop.

Alec Johnson

Deputy Director of Redevelopment for the City Fort Wayne and the Executive Director of the Redevelopment Commission

From Complete Streets to Vision Zero: Current Trends in State and Local Policies | 1 CM

Communities across Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana are experiencing a pandemic of traffic violence that has impacted vulnerable road users at higher rates, especially during the pandemic. This session will explore what state and local governments in the three state area are doing to decrease the burden of injuries and deaths on streets and roads in both rural and urban settings by promoting the adoption of the next generation of Complete Streets and Vision Zero policies. Speakers will explain the trends, discuss the policy implications, and provide a framework for how to effectively adopt your own policy that protects vulnerable road users.

Pete Fritz

FAICP

Fritz is the Healthy Communities Planner with the Indiana Department of Health, Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity.

Brandon Burgoa

Statewide Pedestrian and Bicycle Coordinator, INDOT’s Greenfield District Planning Liaison, and Indiana’s Scenic Byways Coordinator.

Marjorie Hennessy

AICP

Health by Design's Active Living Program Manager. 

Keith Lovan 

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Pedestrian and Bicycle Coordinator

Off the Shelf and Into Action, How to Create an Implementable Comprehensive Plan | 1 CM

We’ve all heard it. “The plan sat on the shelf.” There are different things planners can do to create plans that get results. This session will discuss the “implementable comprehensive plan” which has grown as a movement in Pennsylvania. Presenters will highlight keys for plan content, process, and participants. Facilitated discussion and case studies will examine how to better involve elected officials and the public, undertake problem-solving work sessions, design workable action plans, and create capacity for implementation.

Denny Puko

Self-employed consultant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He worked 15 years at PA Department of Community and Economic Development assisting local planning throughout Pennsylvania. He worked 27 years in Pennsylvania county planning, notably as executive director at Mercer County. 

Jim Pashek

RLA, LEED Green Associate

Founding partner of Pashek+MTR, a planning and landscape architecture firm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

Ethics for Planners | 1 CM Ethics

This session will be an interactive dialogue about ethical principles and guidelines that professional planners face. It will cover the AICP Code of Ethics and will apply the Code to the 2024 "Ethics Case of the Year" developed by the AICP Commission and other real world scenarios

Todd Kinskey

FAICP

Senior City Planner

Zone Co

C. Gregory Dale

FAICP

Founding Principal with McBride Dale Clarion. 

From Vision to Reality: A Walking Story of Creating a New Riverfront Park and Lessons Learned. 

1.25 CM

Walking Tour with transportation provided if preferred or needed.  Meet at the Hilton Hotel Lobby.

3:15 pm  - 4:45 pm

This walking tour of Promenade Park will give an overview of the Riverfront Fort Wayne initiative, with a focus on how the inclusion of construction management considerations early in the planning and design process can improve decision making and project outcomes, along with lessons learned along the way. 

Transportation provided.  Pre Registration required for this tour.

Harrison D/C

Harrison A/B

Anthony Wayne A

Anthony Wayne B

Unlocking Financial Resources: Effective Strategies for Funding and Grants in Your Organization | 1 CM

Join us for an engaging session on grant writing, where you'll learn essential skills to secure funding. Covering grant types, finding opportunities, crafting proposals, and the application process, our experts offer practical tips and real-life examples to empower both novices and experienced grant seekers.

Jonathan Blake

AICP

Senior Planner

RJL Solutions

McKenzi Kumpf

Director of Grants & Strategic Planning, RJL Solutions

Steven Reinoehl

Director of Grants Management, RJL Solutions

Practical DEI applications – small and big ideas | 1 CM Equity

Members of the APA-KY Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee will present a diversity snapshot of our profession, exploring it from various angles. We’ll examine how recognizing one's position within the spectrum of power and privilege can improve our interactions with the communities we serve. The panelists will share their personal experiences in the planning field, especially as individuals from marginalized groups, and will discuss their ongoing efforts to advance diversity and inclusion in regional planning and design. Participants will be given practical tools for incorporating elements of diversity, equity, and inclusion into their everyday work.

This session is designed to be a welcoming and open forum where we encourage the audience to reflect on their own understanding of equity. We’ll collectively explore strategies for fostering more diverse membership, effectively serving the public interest, expanding opportunities for all, and addressing the needs of disadvantaged groups.

Samantha Castro

AICP

Senior Associate and leader of the Lexington, Kentucky office of the planning, architecture, and landscape architecture firm of TSW Design

She is Chair of the American Planning Association Kentucky Chapter’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee and sits on the National APA Change Ambassador Group.

Josh Sommer

AICP

Planner III for the City of Paducah.  

Ryan Holmes

AICP

Principal and planner of EHI Consultants, 

Tom West

AICP

Tom is the City of Covington’s Economic Development Director. 

Signs - Murals, Flags, and Temporary Signs...Oh My! | 1 CM Law

We are nearing a decade since the 2015 Reed v. Town of Gilbert Supreme Court case that created problems for every community that had a sign ordinance. That court case appeared to mandate content-neutrality but still left some gray areas regarding to what extent. In 2022, we have some answers from a more recent SCOTUS case out of Austin, Texas, but it still seems like a challenge to address critical issues such as murals, flags, and temporary signs. The purpose of this session is to provide an update on the legal cases that have come along since Reed and look at how communities are rethinking their sign regulations.

Wendy Moeller

FAICP

Principal and owner of Compass Point Planning in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

Jonathan E. Roach

Managing Associate of Frost Brown Todd

Andy Videkovich

AICP

Planning Manager at Planning and Development Services of Kenton County

Harrison D/C

Harrison A/B

Anthony Wayne A

Anthony Wayne B

Expanding the country’s first urban service boundary - Lexington, KY walks the line between needing housing and protecting the Bluegrass | 1 CM

The future of Lexington, KY hinges on balancing urban growth with rural preservation. The country’s first Urban Service Area was established in 1958, helping shape Lexington's vibrant community. In 2023, Lexington's Planning Commission recommended a 2,800-acre expansion across Fayette County, following the decision to expand by the Urban County Council. Tunnell, Spangler & Associates, Inc. (TSW) was tasked with developing a master plan for this expansion, covering land use, infrastructure, and green spaces, along with a funding strategy and regulatory approach.

Samantha Castro

AICP, LEED ND

Senior Associate and leader of the Lexington, Kentucky office of the planning, architecture, and landscape architecture firm of TSW Design

Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor is the Long-Range Planning Manager within the City of Lexington’s Division of Planning

Hal Baillie

AICP

Principal Planner of Long-Range Planning for the City of Lexington, Kentucky

Working Together to Guide Rural Collaborations: How county planning can help lift local communities| 1 CM

Throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, time and money are short in smaller communities. Many local villages, towns, and townships lack the resources needed to undertake planning for the future. This session will use case study examples to delve into the advantages of countywide comprehensive planning as a foundation for collaborative planning efforts that can help smaller communities that might not otherwise have the capacity to plan. The session will include lessons from Wayne County, Ohio, which is seeking to build off the success of its county plan through innovative collaboration along local jurisdictions.

This session will explore how counties, despite their own time and resource constraints, can work with local governments in identifying and prioritizing what values are unique to them and their residents, which could range from farmland preservation to infrastructure needs, and help coordinate creative approaches to addressing needs.

Participants will discuss effective strategies for grouping townships based on their specific needs, pooling resources, and building trust and facilitating conversations around sensitive topics like zoning. The session will focus will be on fostering collaboration and leveraging partnerships with not just governments, but local organizations as well, including institutions, foundations, and interest-based groups that are already organized and eager to make progress on tough issues. 

The session will help uncover practical approaches for both setting aspirational goals—such as completing comprehensive plans or instituting zoning—but also taking immediate action in areas where there is already momentum and fostering a spirit of collaboration that over time can create a launchpad for more ambitious action.

Sarah Kelly

AICP

Director at Planning NEXT, a community planning firm located in Columbus, Ohio. 

Jennifer Kiper

Planning Director for Wayne County, Ohio. 

Not Your Everyday Staff Report: Re-thinking Development Procedures for Equity and Transparency | 1 CM Equity

Fact! Effective and engaging staff reports don’t need to be an anomaly. Discover how changes to your staff reports can increase transparency and the community’s understanding of the planning process. Investigate how consistent and accessible development procedures can ensure equitable decisions and encourage greater inclusivity for minority business enterprise (MBE) and start-ups. Learn how to address shortcomings in staff reports and hear practical techniques your municipality can implement tomorrow to improve communication with the public, applicants, and governing bodies. Recommendations to make every day planning tasks and processes more accessible to the public will also be presented.

Paul Lippens

AICP

Vice President, McKenna.

Mario Ortega

AICP

Principal Planner, McKenna

The Road to AICP: Process, Preparation, and Passing

This session will cover the basics of the AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners) process, offer tips to help you prepare for the AICP examination, and review how to maintain your credential after becoming certified. Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the process with others.

Christine Dersi Davis

AICP

Executive Director of the American Planning Association, Ohio Chapter (APA Ohio)

Eric Anderson

AICP, CPSM

Director of Planning Services,

KZF Design

Harrison D/C

Harrison A/B

Anthony Wayne A

Anthony Wayne B

Full Disclosure - Historic Preservation | 1 CM

Historic Preservation Commissions (HPCs) commonly struggle with notifying new owners of Local Historic District (LHD) properties. Residential sales disclosures do not include LHDs, or historic designations, so notice and recognition is seldom at the forefront of a transaction.  In a real estate sales listing, historic district designation can be a tool for promotion of neighborhoods and historic properties, but historic designation can also be seen as a sure way to hinder sales, due to fear of "preservation police."  Disclosure of designation is also often missed at closing tables because a large number of title companies do not require a signature by the buyer stating their acknowledgment of the designation. The Fort Wayne HPC has developed new partnerships and tools to inform Realtors, buyers, and the public about LHDs, and what it means to own property in an LHD. The session will include the perspective of an experienced Realtor and managing broker in ways to work with real estate professionals for maximum benefit. 

Nate Lefever

Planner I - City of Fort Wayne Historic Preservation & Culture 

Creager Smith

Planner II - City of Fort Wayne Historic Preservation & Culture 

Beth Walker

President

Fairfield Group Realtors

Vice Cahir, City of Fort Wayne Historic Preservation Commission

Retail Gap Analysis | 1 CM

The overall size of the commercial real estate market has increased since 2010, with growth leveling off in 2018 and 2019 and falling in 2020. The sector has shown signs of a mild recovery, but vacancies are also increasing. Consumer preferences show a continued shift towards purchasing goods from online retailers. While the recent COVID-19 pandemic and increase in remote work accelerated this trend, it was already established before 2020, indicating a fundamental shift in how shoppers purchase their goods. 

In this environment, municipalities must be more strategic about their retail and office clusters, with downtown commercial districts especially vulnerable to changing market dynamics. A handy tool for cities and towns to employ is a retail gap analysis, which identifies the proportion of household expenditures spent on consumer goods in a shopping district’s trade area. Utilizing this analysis, cities and towns can avoid devoting too much land area in our land use maps and communities. Especially in an environment where more consumers are switching to an online platform, choosing instead to focus on growth industries that still rely on “bricks and mortar” to serve their patrons. 

Matthew O’Rourke

AICP

Planning and Economic Development Group Leader at American Structurepoint, Inc.

The Power of Regionalism: Building a Regional Capital Improvement Program of Transit Supportive Infrastructure | 1 CM

The Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), in partnership with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), City of Columbus and others is embarking on an $8B transit and transportation expansion campaign within Central Ohio: the LinkUS Mobility Initiative (LinkUS). Along with constructing five new bus rapid transit lines, expanding fixed-route and on-demand services, encouraging equitable transit-oriented development and workforce opportunities, LinkUS proposes a funding program dedicated to building out a network of transit supportive infrastructure (TSI), such as sidewalks, paths, trails, and additional transit stop improvements. 

As the MPO for the greater Columbus region, MORPC has the responsibility of establishing and administering the TSI program and developing a capital improvement program (CIP) of projects, estimated at a total of $300 million over a five-year CIP. Over the last two years, MORPC has convened staff and leadership from each local jurisdiction within COTA’s service area to develop a committee structure, program policies, and a draft CIP to prepare for a November 2024 local ballot measure.

Parag Agrawal

AICP

Chief Mobility and Infrastructure Officer, and Senior Director of Programming at the Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission. 

Elliott Lewis

P.E.

Principal Planner at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC)

Maria Schaper

AICP

Transportation Study Director Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) 

More than just a “Public Meeting” – Fostering Equitable Community Engagement |1 CM Equity

Engagement is at the heart of successful urban planning, ensuring that projects align with the needs and aspirations of the residents, business owners, and visitors of a community. This education session aims to explore and discuss best practices for urban planners to enhance community engagement strategies. By sharing insights and successful case studies, participants will gain valuable knowledge to create more inclusive and effective plans and planning processes.

Presenters will explore methods to identify and understand the unique characteristics, needs, and challenges of diverse urban communities and delve into approaches for incorporating principles of equity into planning and engagement, ensuring that projects contribute to fair and inclusive community development. Real-world case studies will also be presented to illustrate successful community engagement initiatives, allowing participants to glean practical insights.

Participants will learn how to create a public engagement plan that takes into account the unique communications assets and needs of a community, as well as practical strategies to enhance community engagement. By attending this session, urban planners will be better equipped to navigate the complexities of community engagement, ultimately contributing to more sustainable and community-driven urban development.

Key outcomes of the session are expected to include increased awareness of community engagement best practices, enhanced skills in designing inclusive planning processes, knowledge of tools, technologies and techniques for community involvement, and insights into promoting equity in urban planning. Participants will leave better equipped to contribute to community-driven planning.

Engagement is at the heart of successful urban planning, ensuring that projects align with the needs and aspirations of the residents, business owners, and visitors of a community. This education session aims to explore and discuss best practices for urban planners to enhance community engagement strategies. By sharing insights and successful case studies, participants will gain valuable knowledge to create more inclusive and effective engagement plans and planning processes.

Eric Anderson

AICP

Vice President and Director of Planning Services at KZF Design, a Cincinnati-based architecture, engineering, interior design and planning firm. 

Mimi Rasor

Founder of Rasor, a public relations firm based  in Cincinnati.

Abby Stainfield

AICP

Planner at KZF Design

Empty to Engaging: Enhancing Public Spaces Through Alleyway Activation and Public Art in Downtown Fort Wayne. | 1.25 CM

10:30 am - noon

Meet at Washington St. doors at the Grand Wayne Center for this Walking Tour.

The Downtown Improvement District in partnership with City of Fort Wayne have been focused on activation of downtown alleyways and public spaces through implementation of recommendations of the 2019 Downtown Public Realm Action Plan and public art installations through the Art This Way program.  This walking tour will explore a four-block area of the downtown and discuss the Public Realm Action Plan and the Art This Way program, the mechanisms for development and implementation of projects, and some stories about the artists and the art.  Be sure to bring your camera! You’ll want to snap some selfies along the way!

Pre Registration is required for this tour.

Preserving the Past, Building the Future: Reinvigorating the Historic Landing District.

1.25 CM

10:30 am - noon

Meet in Hilton lobby for this Walking Tour.

Fort Wayne received the moniker “Summit City” for being the highest point on the Wabash and Erie Canal.  The Landing served as a crucial part of Fort Wayne’s growth and importance in the region.  The site retained its historic charm after the demise of the canal era and became Fort Wayne’s first local historic district in 1965.  Come see how the Landing has been reinvigorated for 21st century standards and continuing to win over locals and visitors alike.

Pre Registration is required for this tour.

Harrison D/C

Harrison A/B

Anthony Wayne A

Anthony Wayne B

How to market a site and attract developers inside and outside an RFP process | 1 CM

Fort Wayne has experienced much success attracting regional developers through an open request-for-qualification process. This session will describe how we undertake this process, and the lessons we've learned along the way. It includes site marketing, creating a development vision, knowing what developers are looking for, and managing the process. It is geared toward mixed-use projects because they are more fun, but the principes are broadly applicable.

Joe Giant

AICP

Redevelopment Administrator for the City of Fort Wayne Division of Community Development. 

Lindsey Maksim 

Redevelopment Specialist and Brownfields Coordinator for the City of Fort Wayne Division of Community Development. 

Navigating Emerging Rural Trends through Effective Zoning Strategies | 1 CM

Within the United States, 97% of the land mass is considered rural. These rural lands face drastically different zoning and land use issues than their suburban and urban neighbors, but in many cases these unique issues are not adequately addressed in their zoning regulations. In this session we will explore recent trends and topics affecting our rural communities such as the growth of home-based businesses, economic and social changes, trends in agricultural development, agritourism, etc. The session will be led by Liz Fields, AICP of McBride Dale Clarion who is actively working on both Comprehensive Plans and Zoning Regulations in rural communities in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Robbie Miller, Planning and Zoning Administrator, and Lynn Bowen, Plan Commission President, of LaGrange County, Indiana will share their insights of what they have seen occur in their community. Approximately 45% of LaGrange County’s population identifies as Amish, making it home to the third-largest Amish Community in the United States. The nature of how this group of people lives and works has drastically changed the landscape of the County by wanting to live, work, and worship all in the same location. 

Elizabeth Fields

AICP

Public Planning Manager at McBride Dale Clarion

Taylor Corbett

Director of Planning & Zoning for Batavia Township

Robbie Miller

LaGrange County's Planning and Zoning Administrator. 

Lynn Bowen

President of the Plan Commission for LaGrange County and also serves on the County's Board of Zoning Appeals. 

Cleveland’s North Coast Lakefront: A Vision for All Clevelanders | 1 CM Equity

Cleveland, Ohio is a Great Lakes city, but for too long, we have turned our back on the region’s greatest resource and created injustices by physically and socially excluding diverse communities from Lake Erie. In 2022, new City of Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb announced a bold and transformative vision for a world class, publicly accessible lakefront that creates a welcoming destination and belongs to everyone. The vision centers around the waterfront becoming a source of healing for Cleveland’s majority-minority communities with the guiding principles of racial equity, economic opportunity, and climate resiliency. Primary objectives include safely reconnecting the historic Daniel Burnham designed Malls to the lakefront by redesigning a limited access freeway into a slow, signalized local road as well as the installation of a pedestrian-only land bridge.

The planning began by working within marginalized and vulnerable communities most negatively impacted by previous infrastructure decisions – including the erection of the “superhighway” nearly a century ago. The Master Plan for the North Coast Lakefront, led by Field Operations, insisted on an “inside-out” planning approach, initiated by listening first and starting with the public realm, key connections and community drivers first, followed by integrating building footprints (versus the more common other way around). Another unique planning approach includes telling and celebrating the “Whole History”, highlighting gaps and lived experiences which are lesser known to give weight to and honor stories of sacrifice, achievement, culture, and personhood of all. Finding ways to express this Whole History not only elevates lesser known and untold stories, but also helps to create a deeper and more layered sense of place and belonging.

The establishment of these and other shared values prioritize public realm; integrate intentional, thoughtful and equitable economic development opportunities; and center multi-modal transportation options that prioritize people over cars.

Allison Lukacsy-Love

AICP, AIA

Managing Director, Major Projects (Waterfronts and Downtown) at Greater Cleveland Partnership

Dan Shinkle

ASLA, PLA

Urban Planner for the City of Cleveland’s Planning Commission. 

Hilda Velez

a CMSD teacher and paid “credible messenger” community member engaged in surveying her neighbors in underrepresented neighborhoods. 

2024 Case Law Update | 1 CM Law

A review of land use cases from the last couple of years since the last OKI conference.

Sean S. Suder

Licensed attorney in Ohio and Kentucky.

ZoneCo Founder and Lead Principal 

Jonathan Pacheco Bell

"Embedded Planning Is The Future"

Jonathan Pacheco Bell is a Senior Embedded Planner at 4LEAF, Inc., Lecturer in Urban & Regional Planning at Cal Poly Pomona, and Vice President/Public Information Officer of the nonprofit Florence-Firestone Community Organization in South Central Los Angeles.

A practicing urban planner with over 20 years of experience spanning the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, Jonathan has expertise in community engagement, participatory design, inclusive public space, long-range plans, zoning enforcement, ordinance development, planning studies, and project management.

We welcome Jonathan to OKI and Fort Wayne!

Jonathan will speak on......

“Embedded Planning Is The Future”

Jonathan Pacheco Bell’s Embedded Planning approach revolutionizes planning practice by emphasizing street-level planning within the community rather than traditional desk-based methods. Developed by Bell in South Central LA and publicly introduced in 2018, this praxis seeks to rebuild trust and foster meaningful relationships with marginalized communities historically harmed by inequitable planning.

Embedded Planning involves planners working directly from community spaces and places, engaging residents in their everyday environments. This immersive approach helps planners gain a deeper understanding of local needs and aspirations, ensuring that community voices significantly shape planning decisions. By embedding themselves into neighborhoods, planners build strong, authentic relationships, moving beyond one-off, transactional, superficial consultations to create lasting and impactful partnerships.

Despite its support from communities, Embedded Planning has faced resistance from conventional planning practice and management, which has viewed this approach with skepticism. Working from the neighborhood to integrate community directly into planning processes challenges traditional methods and requires navigating complex dynamics between stakeholder expectations and regulatory constraints.

Since its inception, Embedded Planning has gained an international following among emerging planners who are eager to implement more inclusive practices. Bell's talk will highlight real-world case studies, reflections, and personal experiences, while also showcasing the approach's challenges and benefits. Attendees will learn how Embedded Planning fosters trust, informs better decision-making, and promotes more equitable community development. This emerging movement represents a crucial shift towards centering planning as an active and continuous process from within the community and represents the future of planning.

Harrison D/C

Harrison A/B

Anthony Wayne A

Anthony Wayne B

“The Region” – Uplifting Communities Through Transit Oriented Development in Northwest Indiana | 1 CM

The $1.5B investment in modernizing the rail is a once-in-a-generation investment in the region and one of the largest investments in the State’s history. While each community's economic growth path is different, this presentation will discuss the Region as a diverse ecosystem, the potential to compete with the Chicago MSA, and specifically dial into real initiatives designed to stem decades of disinvestment through White flight, deindustrialization, urban decay in Gary, Indiana.

Indiana’s bipartisan legislation has created economic development districts that leverage the rail investment to achieve $2.7B in projected private development, paramount to uplifting the region. Specific to Gary, special legislation has been passed to fund a new Gary Metro Station, support blight elimination downtown, build community investment from within, and fund a new convention center. This presentation emphasizes an uplifting approach toward community revitalization through transit, focusing on authenticity and equity.

Aaron Kowalski

AICP

Associate Principal and Urban Planning Consultant for the RDA at MKSK 

Dave Wellman

Director of Communications for the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority’s (RDA)

Building on industrial legacy to harness your placemaking potential | 1 CM

The Midwest is undergoing urban and suburban regeneration and at a fast clip. Cities and towns in America’s rustbelt are “writing a new chapter” with revitalization efforts after decades of manufacturing decline—and thereby regional population decline. 

Examples from Delaware, Ohio and Plainfield, Indiana demonstrate how different communities have made downtown core revitalization a major strategy to maintain population growth and sustain quality of life. As a parallel effort, these communities are paying attention also to building the next wave of light industrial areas that are raising the bar in ways that increase their competitiveness and create quality places. Through these case studies, this session will demonstrate the potential of industrial areas to build upon a community’s broader placemaking and quality of life efforts—contrary to common perceptions that such areas inherently detract from these goals. Comprehensive and area plans in these communities are helping to inspire incremental changes—design guidelines, wayfinding, integration of parks and open space, improved connectivity, buffering against residential uses, and more—to make these places not only premier residential communities but also vibrant, new industrial areas that generate excitement and investment interest while serving as a point of pride for residents. These communities are seeking to make new industrial areas true destinations, with amenities and services that complement what is already offered in the community while also growing the tax base and creating new jobs. Specific strategies around allowing for flexibility in building footprints while holding developers to a high standard and complementing private investment with public investment are critical to success.

Sarah Kelly

AICP

Director at Planning NEXT

Anna Kelsey

AICP

Planning and Zoning Administrator for the City of Delaware, OH

Nic Langford

Director of Economic Development for Delaware, OH

Eric Berg

AICP

Senior Planner, Zoning and Planning, Plainfield, IN

Unlocking Potential: Equitable Brownfield Redevelopment in Small Communities | 1 CM S&R and Equity

Brownfields can serve as a catalyst for revitalization and redevelopment in small communities, but this requires comprehensive planning and vision-setting. This panel will highlight the importance of establishing a community-wide vision for post-cleanup redevelopment, which is crucial for securing funding, enhancing community engagement, and achieving the best outcomes. Participants will gain insights into the brownfield assessment and redevelopment process, explore programs and resources that aid in planning and community engagement, and learn strategies to overcome redevelopment barriers, such as environmental assessments and liability minimization. By addressing these challenges, communities can transform underutilized properties, attract new purchasers and developers, and ultimately benefit from increased job opportunities and tax revenues.

Roxanne Anderson

Regional Director for the Kansas State University Technical Assistance to Brownfields (KSU TAB) Program

Sally Gladwell

Senior Vice President of Mannik and Smith Group.

John Morris

Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator for the Indiana Finance Authority's Brownfields Program

Ethical Considerations of Artificial Intelligence in City Planning | 1 CM Ethics

This discussion explores the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in urban and regional planning. As AI technologies become more embedded in city planning processes, ethical considerations must be at the forefront of their applications. This session provides planners with a foundational understanding of AI, showcases practical examples of how AI is currently being used in the field, and examines these practices through the lens of the AICP Code of Ethics. Attendees will leave with a greater awareness of the ethical implications of AI in their work and the tools to navigate the evolving landscape of technology-driven planning.

Philip D. Roth, PhD, AICP

Senior Planner, American Structurepoint, Inc.