News Release
School of Architecture hosts “The Value of Urban Complexity” featuring former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist
University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture will hold a discussion featuring John Norquist on Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010. The event will be held in the Genevieve Fisk Loranger Center of the Warren Loranger Building on the McNichols campus from 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.
The theme of the talk is “The Value of Urban Complexity” and is part of the 2010-2011 Architecture Lecture Series: Shifting Landscapes + Inter-Disciplinary Discussions. Norquist is President and CEO of Congress for the New Urbanism, (CNU), an organization that promotes sustainable, walkable communities.
Formally the mayor of Milwaukee, WI from 1988-2004, the area saw many successful changes under Norquist’s leadership. Milwaukee saw a decline in poverty, a major boom in new downtown housing and an increase in education and welfare reform in the state.
He oversaw a revision of the city's zoning code and reoriented development around walkable streets and public amenities such as the city's 3.1-mile Riverwalk. Named a Governing magazine “Public Official of the Year” during his tenure as mayor, he also received widespread recognition for championing the removal of a .8 mile stretch of elevated freeway, clearing the way for an anticipated $250 million in infill development in the heart of Milwaukee.
At CNU, he has joined local activists in numerous cities as a key champion of plans to replace freeways with boulevards. A leader in national discussions of urban design and educational issues, Norquist is the author of "The Wealth of Cities", and has taught courses in urban policy and urban planning at the University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning, and at Marquette University. CNU works with partners such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Green Building Council to restore communities. Together, they work to transform old building complexes into efficient street and neighborhood networks and provide a base for public transportation.
The event is in collaboration with Lawrence Tech University and is sponsored by University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture, Great Lakes Fabricators and Erectors Association, AIA Detroit, Dichotomy, HOK Toronto, Rossetti Associates, Master of Community Development Program and SSOE, Inc., University of Detroit Mercy Women's & Gender Studies Program, Wayne State University, Lawrence Technological University.
Release date: November 06, 2010
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