2006 Natural Connections Summit

More than 300 community and municipal leaders, city and urban planners, architects, nonprofit officials, neighborhood organization representatives and local business executives gathered in downtown Grand Rapids October 17 for a summit on ways to incorporate green infrastructure into the landscape while building both economically and ecologically friendly communities.  The summit featured local, national and internationally renowned experts on sustainable communities, including Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute, Alexis Karolides of the Rocky Mountain Institute, and Gina Baker, Director of Sustainable Design with Burt Hill.  Participants learned from Local officials involved in recent collaborative design planning processes called ”charrettes“ in Holland/Holland Township, Muskegon Heights/Norton Shores and the ”GrandWalk“ project in Grand Rapids/Walker who shared their results. Summit attendees also learned how to submit proposals in order to have their community’s sustainability issues addressed in the West Michigan Regional Urban Design (WMRUD) Charrettes being held in April 2007. The 2007 design sessions will be presented pro-bono by local designers, architects and planners as a community service, in conjunction with the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Blueprint for America initiative, a nationwide celebration marking the 150th anniversary of the AIA.  Additionally, West Michigan Strategic Alliance will donate $1,500 toward each multi-jurisdictional planning project to help offset the cost of participants’ materials and staff time.

2007 WMRUD Charrettes

The partnership between AIAGV and the WMSA began with the West Michigan Regional Urban Development (WMRUD) Charrettes in 2005. Participants in these multi-jurisdictional charrettes included; the City of Holland and Holland Charter Township; The City of Muskegon Heights and the City of Norton Shores; The City of Walker; and the City of Grand Rapids.  At the 2006 Natural Connections Summit, AIAGV/WMSA launched the next series of multi-jurisdictional charrettes. Three projects will be chosen. Using regional planning collaboration, this process  will produce opportunities and tools for spurring community dialogue on the issues of regional growth. The outcome/product can subsequently be used to supplement grant requests and focus public and private sector investment. The AIAGV and the WMSA offer this initiative to produce more sustainable, livable communities in West Michigan.

2005 WMRUD Charrettes Best Practice Showcase    

In June 2003, a few AIA Grand Valley chapter architects attended tri-plex community urban revitalization meetings facilitated by the West Michigan Strategic Alliance. We asked the WMSA leadership where are you going from here, and what do you need to get there? Continuing to build a regional planning mindset for a sustainable west Michigan, to inspire community dialogue, to understand the greater implications, and to raise additional funding to focus on key topics was their reply.  As architects, fluent in multi-disciplined design, we could provide a process by which concepts and ideas (both written and graphic) could be generated, based on principles of goals, facts, needs, and problem-seeking, and thus serve these purposes.  The end result was a regional design charette held January 27-29, 2005.  

This is how the partnership between AIAGV and the WMSA began: with the West Michigan Regional Urban Development (WMRUD) Charrettes in 2005. Participants in these multi-jurisdictional charrettes included; the City of Holland and Holland Charter Township; The City of Muskegon Heights and the City of Norton Shores; The City of Walker; and the City of Grand Rapids.