What is the ‘public realm’?
The term ‘public realm’ refers to the streets and sidewalks, parks and plazas, places and spaces that connect our community. It consists of the pieces of our built environment that are shared, seen and accessed by us all. One important aspect of a thriving, healthy, livable community is good design of its public realm. A well-designed public realm makes people feel comfortable and safe in public spaces, provides access to an array of transportation choices and simply looks attractive!
Who cares about the public realm?
The public realm affects everyone in a community—residents, business owners, civic leaders, developers and anyone who uses the streets and public spaces. We all have a stake in a healthy built environment.
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Major Funding Provided By:
Other Funding Provided by:
Supporters:
Cutler Union at the Memorial Art Gallery
Lutheran Church of the Reformation
Chapel Hill, Flower City Management
Media Cosponsors:
Program Overview The Rochester Regional Community Design Center (RRCDC) invites you to attend an exciting medley of lectures, exhibits and discussions centering on how Rochester can revitalize itself through excellence in urban design. This year, the educational lecture series brings a visionary mayor, urban design practitioners, an architecture critic and renowned landscape architect to Rochester from across the country to share their experiences, stories and wisdom. Each lecture is held in an historically significant building. Co-sponsoring venues include Third Presbyterian Church, St. Mary’s Church, Cutler Union at the Memorial Art Gallery, Lutheran Church of the Reformation, Chapel Hill (formerly Sacred Heart Academy) and the Visual Studies Workshop. > Full Event Calender |
William Hudnut, III
Senior Resident Fellow, Urban Land Institute, Washington DC
William Hudnut is probably best known for his sixteen-year tenure as Mayor of Indianapolis, 1976-1991. He spearheaded the formation of a public-private sector partnership that led to Indianapolis’ emergence during the 1980s as a major American city.
Theme: First Tier Suburbs and Partnering to Promote Revitalization Benefits to Both Suburbs and City
Third Presbyterian Church, 4 Meigs Street
Thursday, January 10 • 7–9 pm
Listen to mp3:
(broadband connection required. cd version available upon request.)
Bruce Katz
Vice President and Founding Director,
Metropolitan Policy Program, Brookings Institution
Bruce Katz focuses on reforms that promote revitalization of central cities and older suburbs and enhance the ability of these places to attract, retain, and grow the middle class. He is an expert in community reinvestment and economic development.
Theme: The 2% Solution: Drawing a Critical Mass of Residents Downtown is Key to Urban Revival
St. Mary’s Church, 15 St. Mary’s Place Tuesday, February 12 • 7–9 pm
$10/advance • $15/door*
See below for our next speaker!
Robert Campbell
Architecture Critic and Pulitzer Prize recipient, Boston Globe
Campbell is a writer and architect. In 1996 he received the Pulitzer Prize for his work as architecture critic of the Boston Globe. He has lectured at more than 40 colleges and
universities and garnered innumerable awards over a career of more than 30 years. Theme: The Value of Civic/Public Space. Cutler Union, Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Avenue
Tuesday, March 4 • 7–9 pm
$10/advance • $15/door*
See below for
our next speaker!
David Boehlke
Founding Member, Healthy Neighborhoods Group
David Boehlke is a nationally recognized expert in neighborhood revitalization and our country’s leading authority on Healthy Neighborhoods. He has worked with over 100 cities and towns, emphasizing older neighborhoods with declining or stagnant populations.
Theme: Healthy Neighborhoods: a Revitalization Strategy
Lutheran Church of the Reformation, 111 N. Chestnut Street
Thursday, April 24 • 7–9 pm
$10/advance • $15/door*
See below for
our next speaker!
Richard Bernhardt , FAICP, CNU
Executive Director, Metropolitan Planning Department, City of Nashville/Davidson County
Rick Bernhardt is a town planner who strives to preserve, create, and enhance community character. Sustainable communities, neighborhoods, and places rely on community input, context-based land use decisions, and traditional neighborhood design principles. Planning policies serve to enhance sense-of-place and quality of life by building upon the character of the community versus standard land use and density based policies.
Theme: Community Character-Based Planning
Chapel Hill, 8 Prince Street
Tuesday, May 13 • 7–9 pm
$10/advance • $15/door*
Walter J. Hood, Jr.
Professor of Landscape Architecture, UC Berkeley
Principal, Hood Design, Berkeley CA
Walter Hood has worked in a variety of settings including architecture, landscape architecture, art, community and urban design, planning and research. He has exhibited and lectured on his professional projects and theoretical works nationally and abroad.
Theme: Landscape Architecture and Innovation in Improving Urban Green Space
Visual Studies Workshop, 31 Prince Street
Wednesday, June 11 • 7–9 pm $10/advance • $15/door*
Lecture Series Tickets
$10/advance • $15/door*
Series tickets $50/advance
*$5 with valid Student ID
For Full Series Online Purchase through PayPal:
(For Individual Lecture Sales Click the 'Buy Now' button in the descriptions above)
Advance tickets may be purchased at:
Greenwood Bookstore (325-2050)
Parkleigh (244-4842)
AIA Rochester (232-7650)
Wegmans (service fee may apply)
RRCDC (271-0520)(Cash or Check Only at the RRCDC main office)
Designated Friends’ tickets are $8 per lecture or $40 for the series and are available only through RRCDC at 1115 E. Main Street, Rochester NY 14609
If you would like to learn more about becoming a Friend of RRCDC, call us at 585-271-0520 or email apriestley@rrcdc.org
Series Tickets make great holiday gifts!