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CONGRESS FOR URBAN TRANSFORMATION (CUT) is a week-long gathering of residents, city officials, and visiting artists, architects, planners, and community organizers to exchange ideas, build consensus toward a shared vision, and help reimagine the city. The conference is organized by Flint Public Art Project in collaboration with Mayor Dayne Walling, Chief Planner Megan Hunter, University of Michigan-Flint, Kettering University, and Mott Community College.
During the week of October 22 – October 28, visiting artists and designers will work with community partners to engage residents in designing and planning specific sites throughout the city. These events will culminate in a three-day conference from October 26 - 28 featuring talks and conversations with local, regional, national, and international leaders in urban revitalization. The final day will end with a public workshop to generate strategies to transform a section of the Chevy-in-the-Hole site into an active public space.
Fri Oct. 26, 7 – 9 pm
UM–Flint: KIVA Auditorium, 400 Mill St.
7:00 pm Introduction: Stephen Zacks
7:15 pm Welcome: Mayor Dayne Walling
7:25 pm Dan Kildee, Democratic Candidate for Congress and Co-founder, Genesee County Land Bank
7:35 pm Performance: Unified Sisters
7:15 pm Welcome: Mayor Dayne Walling
7:25 pm Dan Kildee, Democratic Candidate for Congress and Co-founder, Genesee County Land Bank
7:35 pm Performance: Unified Sisters
7:50 pm – 9:00 pm
Interventions
From October 22 to 26, Flint Public Art Project is inviting artists and designers from around the country to work with groups to landscape a new orchard, design and build seating for a bus stop, and create small-scale physical models to illustrate changes residents would like to see in their neighborhoods. On the opening night of the conference, participants share the results of these collaborations.
Interventions
From October 22 to 26, Flint Public Art Project is inviting artists and designers from around the country to work with groups to landscape a new orchard, design and build seating for a bus stop, and create small-scale physical models to illustrate changes residents would like to see in their neighborhoods. On the opening night of the conference, participants share the results of these collaborations.
To participate in an urban intervention with a visiting designer, contact Jerome Chou.
Sat Oct 27, 10 am – 6 pm
UM–Flint: Michigan Room, 303 E. Kearsley St.
Panel discussions
10:00am - 11:30am
Reclaiming former industrial sites
Reclaiming former industrial sites
Former factories sites can be transformed into public spaces, museums, and thriving communities. See how cities around the world are reclaiming abandoned industrial areas, restoring plants and wildlife, recovering their industrial history, and reconnecting people to abandoned spaces. Center for Community Progress fellow Steve Montle and environmental engineer Joel Parker report on the city’s efforts to remediate Chevy-in-the-Hole, a 130-acre former GM manufacturing plant in the heart of the city.
11:30am - 1:00pm
Growing urban agriculture
Growing urban agriculture
In cities across the country, residents are reclaiming vacant lots to grow food, provide job training, educate young people, and create safe public spaces. How can city governments, citizens, and partners support and expand this movement? Learn how urban farmers and gardeners in Flint, Toledo, and New York City are gaining access to land, soil, and other resources to strengthen their communities.
1:00pm - 2:00pm
LUNCH at Hoffman's Deli
503 Garland St @ West 2nd Ave
2:15pm - 3:45pm
Re-using abandoned buildings and vacant lots
Re-using abandoned buildings and vacant lots
How can cities and residents turn devalued land into opportunities? Discarded materials, public events, temporary spaces, and other unconventional strategies can inspire possibilities for reusing vacant buildings and land. Doug Weiland, executive director of the Genesee County Land Bank, describes initiatives to manage vacant properties, and artists and architects present examples of beauty made from ruins and activated empty spaces.
3:45pm - 5:15pm
Planning and process for legacy cities
Planning and process for legacy cities
Master plans are the road map to a city’s future. They point residents, businesses, and city governments toward a common destination. An inclusive, accessible process can bring communities together to imagine what a city can be. Planners and architects working in Detroit, Newark, and Philadelphia compare notes with Flint’s Chief Planner Megan Hunter on the challenges and opportunities their cities face and the best ways to engage publics.
Sun Oct 28, 9 am – 1 pm
Stevenson Street between Bluff and Glenwood; and Kettering University: International Room, 1700 University Ave.
Sun Oct 28, 9 am – 1 pm
Stevenson Street between Bluff and Glenwood; and Kettering University: International Room, 1700 University Ave.
Site visit and public workshop
The City of Flint is in the process of rehabilitating the former GM manufacturing landscape known as Chevy-in-the-Hole. FPAP and the Center for Community Progress welcome residents to the first public tour of the site since its closing, highlighting current initiatives and emerging possibilities. Following the tour, participants are invited to two workshops: Opening Chevy shares details about the opportunities and constraints for reuse of the site; Speeding Chevy organizes participants into small groups to generate strategies to reclaim the site with temporary activities, events, and programs.
The City of Flint is in the process of rehabilitating the former GM manufacturing landscape known as Chevy-in-the-Hole. FPAP and the Center for Community Progress welcome residents to the first public tour of the site since its closing, highlighting current initiatives and emerging possibilities. Following the tour, participants are invited to two workshops: Opening Chevy shares details about the opportunities and constraints for reuse of the site; Speeding Chevy organizes participants into small groups to generate strategies to reclaim the site with temporary activities, events, and programs.
Chevy-in-the-Hole Tour
Meet at the marked gate on Stevenson Street between Bluff and Glenwood
9:00am - 9:45am
Meet at the marked gate on Stevenson Street between Bluff and Glenwood
9:00am - 9:45am
Interactive workshops
Kettering University: International Room, 1700 University Ave.
10am - 1pm
Light refreshments will be served
SPEAKERS:
Jill Allen, Stoss Landscape Urbanism
Stephen Arellano, Food Systems Consultant
Matthieu Bain + Andrew Perkins, Dwelling on Waste
Susannah Drake, dlandstudio
Alex Gilliam, Public Workshop
Megan Hunter, Chief Planner, City of Flint
Interboro Partners
Dan Kildee, Democratic Candidate for Congress; Co-founder, Genesee County Land Bank
Dan Kinkead, Hamilton Anderson Architects
Steve Montle, Center for Community Progress
Kyong Park, Founder, Storefront for Art & Architecture
Joel Parker, Project Designer and Engineer, Chevy-in-the-Hole
Damon Rich, Chief Urban Designer, City of Newark; Founder, Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP)
James Rojas, Place–It!
Brent Ryan, Design After Decline
Dayne Walling, Mayor, City of Flint
Doug Weiland, Genesee County Land Bank
Flint Public Art Project organizes public events, workshops, and temporary installations to inspire residents to reimagine the city, reclaim vacant and underutilized buildings and lots, and use innovative tools to steer the city’s long-term planning.
We support collaborations among local residents and organizations with leading artists, architects, planners, and community organizers from around the world, connecting the city to regional, national, and global movements to revitalize places through art and design.
We are documenting and amplifying the many ways residents, businesses, and institutions are transforming the city, its public image and identity, and broadcasting this new story to audiences throughout the world.
