Mike Lydon
COVID-19 is redefining how we move around our communities and changing the way we interact with other people and businesses. With continued pressure on municipal finances, it is becoming clear that governments must find ways to quickly adapt, enable new ideas, and respond to emerging needs, and that there is a greater role for everyone in the act of placemaking. Mike Lydon, Maine native and international thought leader of the Tactical Urbanism movement, will share his global perspective on the cultural shift taking place. He will also discuss strategies for how elected officials, municipal staff, local residents, and businesses can work together to rethink the role of streets and quickly execute changes to improve safety and support an increase in hyper-local living.
Principal | Street Plans | Brooklyn, New York
Communities and developers routinely conduct market studies to better understand local gaps and needs for urban housing. However, those studies are usually based on what has already been built, so they risk reinforcing redundancies, building types, and practices. The innovative Target Market Analysis approach shifts the focus onto the lifestyles of migrating households and their preferences for missing housing formats. This approach is particularly relevant while we contemplate the possible impacts that the current economic and health crisis could have on cities and urban places. Join us in hearing what Sharon has found in her analysis of two Maine communities; and her forecasts of the impacts that COVID-19 will have on the lifestyle preferences of migrating Y and Z Generations.
Kathryn Rogers Merlino
What does truly sustainable design look like at the building and neighborhood scale? Kathryn will share the findings from her recent book, Building Reuse: Sustainability, Preservation, and the Value of Design. Learn about how reusing and re-imagining existing buildings can reduce carbon emissions, spur economic growth, and improve neighborhood character.
Professor of Architecture | University of Washington | Seattle
What does truly sustainable design look like at the building and neighborhood scale? Kathryn will share the findings from her recent book, Building Reuse: Sustainability, Preservation, and the Value of Design. Learn about how reusing and re-imagining existing buildings can reduce carbon emissions, spur economic growth, and improve neighborhood character.
“When we travel, we seek out existing buildings and places because they have a history and a cultural value to them. I think the messiness and complexity of older buildings appeals to our human nature, often more than new buildings, especially when they look exactly like all the rest of the buildings in the neighborhood.”
Rick Rybeck
Typically, communities create streets and utilities to facilitate development. Yet rising land prices near new or improved infrastructure often chases development to cheaper, but more remote sites. The resulting sprawl is bad for the environment and bad for municipal budgets due to the necessary duplication of expensive infrastructure. While towns and cities create enormous value through public services, they often struggle for funds. Rick Rybeck will share how some communities have overcome these ongoing fiscal challenges while also providing more affordable housing and commercial space.
Director | Just Economics, LLC | Washington, DC
Typically, communities create streets and utilities to facilitate development. Yet rising land prices near new or improved infrastructure often chases development to cheaper, but more remote sites. The resulting sprawl is bad for the environment and bad for municipal budgets due to the necessary duplication of expensive infrastructure. While towns and cities create enormous value through public services, they often struggle for funds. Rick Rybeck will share how some communities have overcome these ongoing fiscal challenges while also providing more affordable housing and commercial space.
“How we raise funds for infrastructure is just as important as how much funding we raise. Different funding mechanisms have different incentives and disincentives. Using the right tools, communities can harmonize economic incentives with public policy objectives for job creation, affordable housing, and sustainable development to become more prosperous, equitable and financially self-sustaining.”
Jeff Speck
Learn simple solutions to reclaim streets and make our downtowns and neighborhoods safe again for a broad range of human and economic activity. Jeff Speck, author of Suburban Nation and Walkable Cities, will share lessons from his latest book, Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places, a tool-kit for urban activists. He will describe the primacy of walkability in building more vital, resilient, and appealing cities.
City Planner and Bestselling Author | Speck & Associates | Brookline, Massachusetts
Learn simple solutions to reclaim streets and make our downtowns and neighborhoods safe again for a broad range of human and economic activity. Jeff Speck, author of Suburban Nation and Walkable Cities, will share lessons from his latest book, Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places, a tool-kit for urban activists. He will describe the primacy of walkability in building more vital, resilient, and appealing cities.
“Even the best urbanism won’t generate walkability if people think they’re going to die every time they walk out on the street. Still, most American cities that developed pre-war have a downtown. And today many have virtually everything they need in terms of walkability—except they’re utterly unsafe.”
Andrew Howard
Team Better Block temporarily re-engineers auto-dominated urban areas into vibrant centers. Their iterative approach is both scalable and hyper-local. Having been used in over 200 cities, The Better Block approach provides elected officials, leaders, and citizens with a greater understanding of the urgent need for more permanent change. Andrew, the principal of Team Better Block, will share lessons learned from an all-hands-on-deck approach to urban design.
Co-Founder/Director | Team Better Block | Dallas, Texas
Team Better Block temporarily re-engineers auto-dominated urban areas into vibrant centers. Their iterative approach is both scalable and hyper-local. Having been used in over 200 cities, The Better Block approach provides elected officials, leaders, and citizens with a greater understanding of the urgent need for more permanent change. Andrew, the principal of Team Better Block, will share lessons learned from an all-hands-on-deck approach to urban design.
“What I’ve realized through Better Block is that every community already has everybody they need. They just need to activate the talented people who are already there, and shove them into one place at one time, and that place can become better really quickly.”
Jenifer Acosta
With a focus on downtown neighborhoods, energy efficiency, and sustainability, Jenifer Acosta revitalizes communities through targeted community investment. An affordable housing advocate turned real estate developer, Jenifer will shed light on her approach to building community trust, collaborating regionally, and resurrecting buildings on the precipice of demolition.
Developer | Bay City, Michigan
With a focus on downtown neighborhoods, energy efficiency, and sustainability, Jenifer Acosta revitalizes communities through targeted community investment. An affordable housing advocate turned real estate developer, Jenifer will shed light on her approach to building community trust, collaborating regionally, and resurrecting buildings on the precipice of demolition.
“The advice I would give to anyone working to break into real estate development would be to pick a specific neighborhood and serve it. Being dedicated to a community will foster greater cumulative impact.”
Welcome to Build Maine 2018 & Exciting Projects
Introducing Build Maine 2018! Held annually in June, 2018 marks Build Maine's 5th year in downtown Lewiston, Maine. Learn more about the conference and event organizers. Learn more about two exciting projects:
Arlin Graff, a Brazilian artist now based in Detroit, speaks to his creation, design and purpose of the large-scale mural on the City-owned Centreville Parking Garage in downtown Lewiston, Maine. Every Build Maine sponsor, exhibitor, and attendee from the past five years has helped to fund this mural by international artist, Arlin Graff. With deep gratitude, Build Maine thanks the community of Lewiston for supporting Arlin and the mural effort through donations of food, coffee, and kindness. A special thanks to the local businesses who made important contributions to this effort including Easy RentAll, The Hive and the Hampton Inn.The mural was gifted to the City of Lewiston by Build Maine, with a generous contribution from Arlin Graff.
Ben Willis speaks about the Side Hustle House, designed by Union Studio Architecture based in Providence, RI. The Side Hustle House was designed as a potential solution to affordable housing, using Cape Cod as a case study.
Lewiston Mural Project by Arlin Graff | The Side Hustle House by Union Studio Architecture
Introducing Build Maine 2018! Held annually in June, 2018 marks Build Maine's 5th year in downtown Lewiston, Maine. Learn more about the conference and event organizers. Learn more about two exciting projects:
Arlin Graff, a Brazilian artist now based in Detroit, speaks to his creation, design and purpose of the large-scale mural on the City-owned Centreville Parking Garage in downtown Lewiston, Maine. Every Build Maine sponsor, exhibitor, and attendee from the past five years has helped to fund this mural by international artist, Arlin Graff. With deep gratitude, Build Maine thanks the community of Lewiston for supporting Arlin and the mural effort through donations of food, coffee, and kindness. A special thanks to the local businesses who made important contributions to this effort including Easy RentAll, The Hive and the Hampton Inn.The mural was gifted to the City of Lewiston by Build Maine, with a generous contribution from Arlin Graff.
Ben Willis speaks about the Side Hustle House, designed by Union Studio Architecture based in Providence, RI. The Side Hustle House was designed as a potential solution to affordable housing, using Cape Cod as a case study.
Allison Thurmond Quinlan
Alli will highlight how small-scale infill can breathe value into neighborhoods and how to cut through the voodoo of pro formas, zoning, and building codes to create beautiful, lovable, walkable projects that make sense for communities and make money for investors.
Architect, Landscape Architect, Small Infill Developer | Flintlock Ltd Co | Flintlock Development
Alli will highlight how small-scale infill can breathe value into neighborhoods and how to cut through the voodoo of pro formas, zoning, and building codes to create beautiful, lovable, walkable projects that make sense for communities and make money for investors.