The University of Kentucky College of Design was recently selected as one of three Regional Hosts for the Mayor’s Institute on City Design (MICD). The session will be held on October 10-12 in a variety of locations around Lexington and marks the first time the conference has been held in the state.
The Mayors’ Institute on City Design is a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the American Architectural Foundation and the United States Conference of Mayors. Since 1986, the Mayors’ Institute has helped transform communities through design by preparing mayors to be the chief urban designers of their cities.
An MICD session consists of a two and one-half day workshop at which fewer than twenty participants -- typically eight mayors and a team of interdisciplinary design professionals -- discuss design and development issues that each city mayor is currently facing.
The University of Kentucky and City of Lexington was chosen due to the unique opportunities the City and University currently have in both the Arena District and Centrepointe developments.
Lexington Mayor Jim Gray is an alumnus of MICD, participating in a session in September of 2011 in Charleston, SC, and will serve as the host mayor of the conference.
Michael Speaks, Dean of the College of Design, is serving as the project coordinator and will facilitate the production of the event.
MICD is a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) leadership initiative designed to foster an understanding of and appreciation for the role of design in creating vibrant, livable cities, and the importance of mayors as advocates for good design.
