The annual Greater and Greener Conference, organized by City Parks Alliance, visits Seattle this year, with an incredible line-up of speakers and content. On Sunday, June 23rd, Principal Tara Green and Vice President for Parks Katie Bassett of MECA are part of a special seminar entitled, “The Future of Downtown Parks and Public Spaces”.

Tara and Katie will share the successes and challenges of building The RiverFront in downtown Omaha, a 72-acre composition of three connected parks that is bringing new life to the urban core. The Sunday Seminar will bring together additional leading voices discussing how parks and public spaces are evolving to meet changing economic, environmental, and social conditions in our downtowns. Topics include:

• How would the possible conversion of commercial real estate to more mixed-use development create new opportunities?
• How can we design them to function as green infrastructure to make our cities more resilient?
• How can we program them to be more inclusive of people who live throughout the city, address past injustices, and create a more equitable present?
• What kinds of partners and stakeholders need to be involved, and in what roles?
• What are the appropriate governance models?

Hope to see you in Seattle!