Northwest Arkansas will play host to a regional placemaker summit and small-scale developer bootcamp event scheduled for April 22-24 in downtown Bentonville.
The three-day event will include urban planners, developers, civic organizations and municipal leaders from across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
Activities include speakers, panel discussions, tours, workshops, and one-on-one opportunities with national leaders in fields that explore place-based strategies designed to strengthen a community’s economy and unique sense of place.
The summit, set for April 22 at Meteor Theater, will focus on creating and implementing downtown master plans. The historic former movie theater is currently being updated as an event venue as part of an incremental downtown revitalization project in Bentonville.
The two-day small developer bootcamp will provide hands-on experience for private sector developers interested in helping to fuel the types of master plans discussed in the previous day’s summit. The bootcamp is scheduled for April 23-24 at Tavola Trattoria on A Street in downtown Bentonville.
National and regional-based speakers include:
- Mike Lydon, a principal of The Street Plans Collaborative of New York;
- Victor Dover, co-founder of Dover, Kohl & Partners Town Planning in Coral Gables, Fla.
- John Anderson, principal at Anderson|Kim Architecture + Urban Design in Albuquerque
- Monte Anderson, urban developer and president of Options Real Estate in Dallas
- Timothy Breihan, principal of H3 Studio Inc. in St. Louis
- John Hoal, founding principal of H3 Studio Inc.
- Jim Kumon, executive director and co-founder of the Incremental Development Alliance
- Tommy Pacello, president of the Medical District Collaborative in Memphis
- Scott Polikov, president of Gateway Planning in Dallas
Tickets to Friday’s summit are $75, and the cost for the two-day bootcamp is $200. Early-bird registration ends April 5.
To purchase tickets, or for more information, visit blockstreetbuilding.com.
