ReForm Shreveport has announced that it will host its next public engagement event featuring Cultivate Collaborative of Dallas, TX. The event will take place over two days: Thursday, August 23rd (Evening Keynote and Q&A) and Friday, August 24th (Day of Workshops and Education).
The special guest speakers include professional engineer and sustainability guru Kevin Shepherd along with urban designer and expert city planner Matt Lewis. Together, Kevin and Matt will expand on previous keynote speakers Chuck Marohn Strong Towns in 2016) and Joe Minicozzi (Urban3 in 2017) by taking concepts they discussed and teaching our community how to turn them into meaningful action.
The topics of discussion will include ways to improve our planning and zoning system using proven methods to reduce approval times and expand redevelopment, discussions on how to create socially-conscious brick and mortar development which increases value and fosters community buy-in on development projects, cultivate a self-sustaining and fair economic development community that empowers local entrepreneurs, and help city officials and the public understand the true costs of infrastructure and public services to achieve a more balanced budget.
The event is sponsored by Shreveport DDA, Downtown Shreveport Development Corporation, Heliopolis, and Fusiform Design Workshop.
When and Where: On Thursday, August 23rd, 6:00 p.m. at Central Artstation (801 Crockett Street), we will dive in with a reception, presentation, and discussion about what each of these topics means in the context of Shreveport and set the stage for how we can create a government and citizen-driven culture that make these outcomes inevitable instead of impractical.
On Friday, August 24th also at Artstation, beginning at 9:00 a.m., Kevin and Matt will host a series of workshops aimed at government officials, developers, and small business owners on how to engage in modern practices that serve the community and create a more self-sustaining economy through policy and best practice. The general public is also invited to attend.
Anyone is welcome to attend all or part of these events. We highly recommend the Thursday evening Keynote and Q&A event for the general public and recommend the Friday Workshop Day for those who are interested in directly participating in the changes necessary to government structure and best practice in business
Visit ReForm’s website (link) to see the full schedule of events. Visit the Eventbrite page (link) to register for Friday’s workshops.