City Planners to Discuss Past and Present Design Challenges of an Evolving Downtown at Wright Design Event
Monona Terrace, presented in partnership with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Wisconsin, invites the public to explore the future of Madison's urban core at its Wright Design Series lecture on the Envision Downtown Madison Plan on Monday, November 16, at 6:00 p.m.
The free lecture will feature City of Madison planning leaders Dan McAuliffe, Rebecca Cnare, and Jessica Vaughn. Attendees can participate either in-person at Monona Terrace (with onsite registration) or virtually via Zoom. Continuing education credits are available for AIA members.
Since the current Downtown Plan was adopted in 2012, downtown Madison has grown tremendously. The City of Madison has added over 9,000 new neighbors, 7,500 homes, and a rapid transit system, which are changing the face of downtown. As Madison anticipates welcoming over 100,000 new residents in the next 25 years, far more will be required of its existing spaces, places, and the built environment. How does the downtown stay vibrant and navigate housing demand, need for commercial services and open spaces and mobility? Envision Downtown Madison is a public-private partnership to guide the future of downtown and is seeking answers to these questions.
Presenter Bios:
Dan McAuliffe is a planner with the City of Madison whose work focuses on creating great places through planning for walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods and main streets. He's currently co-leading the Downtown Area Plan as well as the Mifflin and Carroll Plaza redesign project. Notable past projects include the redevelopment plan for Oscar Mayer area as well as the Voit farm area on Milwaukee Street. He has master's degrees in architecture and urban planning from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and is a LEED accredited professional. In his 20 years of experience as a planner, he's received multiple awards for innovative projects from the Wisconsin and Oregon chapters of the American Planning Association.
Rebecca Cnare, PLA, is a Principal Planner in the City of Madison Planning Division leading the Neighborhoods, Planning, Preservation and Design Section. Her team specializes in Public Art, Preservation, land use planning, implementation, and placemaking for Madison's great places and spaces. Rebecca specializes in leading complex multi-layered and multi-agency policy initiatives and experiments that require collaboration and co-creation among our City's diverse communities.
Jessica Vaughn has a master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning, as well as a Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation from the University of Colorado – Denver. She has over two decades of professional experience in current planning project management that she has obtained working in a variety of unique communities across the county, including Boulder, Colorado, the Town of Los Gatos, California, and currently, the City of Madison. In her current role as the Urban Design Commission Secretary, she continues to further her goals of providing high-quality, innovative urban design that inspires and promotes healthy and diverse communities.