The U.S. Conference of Mayors issued a joint statement of national priorities April 4 calling for an urban turnaround. Mayors from across the nation came to Washington, D.C., April 4 and 5 to identify, alongside corporate leaders, key policy priorities for the Bush administration and Congress to encourage smart growth.

The Fannie Mae Foundation released a benchmark report April 4, "The Urban Turnaround," that analyzed 2000 Census data for 36 cities and concluded that the 1990s saw the greatest population shifts in a single decade since World War II. The analysis shows also that the flight from cities to suburbs has slowed dramatically and, in some cases, such as Chicago and Denver, has been reversed. The reason, the report says, has been the entrepreneurial efforts of city government.

Of the mayors who attended the two-day summit, 70 percent have also participated in the Mayors' Institute on City Design, a joint program of the American Architectural Foundation (AAF), the National Endowment for the Arts, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The Mayors' Institute emphasizes the importance of good design to enhance community development.

During a reception at national AIA headquarters the first evening, the mayors and corporate representatives shared their insight from the day's proceedings with AIA national component executive and government affairs staff and AAF representatives. Two convictions held strongly by both the AIA leadership and the nation's mayors are the pressing need for legislation that makes brownfields development more feasible and the need for more funding support for school construction.

"This is a most enthusiastic and entrepreneurial group of mayors," said AIA Executive Vice President/CEO Norman L. Koonce, FAIA, who hosted the April 4 reception. "From talking to the mayors and the business leaders in attendance, I sense a strong appreciation of the value of architectural services in assessing smart-growth needs at the community level. The very fact that the Conference of Mayors chose to include the AIA and AAF in their summit plans acknowledges the value of our participation."

Koonce joined the mayors April 5 as they took their message to President Bush at the White House. During the 40-minute audience, which began with a 10-minute address from the president, Bush showed his understanding and sensitivity to the mayors' message. The five points Bush stressed were improving education in America, raising the standards for redeveloping brownfields, capitalizing on the business and community development aspects of the administration's tax proposal, taking advantage of his faith-based programs to spur community development, and fulfilling the nationwide need for affordable housing through federal stipends.

Other issues the Conference of Mayors raised as vital to continued strong growth in cities across the country are enhancing public safety, producing considerably more affordable housing close to where people work, educating and training people to become valued contributors to the community, and expanding ready access to recreational and cultural amenities.

Copyright 2001 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.