Giffels Webster’s president to present at International Making Cities Livable Conference
DETROIT, May 16, 2012 – Scott Clein, president of Giffels Webster, will address American transportation infrastructure, missed opportunities to build Complete Streets and the quality of life in our communities at the 49th Annual International Making Cities Livable Conference. The conference will be held at the Governor Hotel in Portland, Ore., May 20 – 24.
“As an advocate for thriving communities, I believe that how we design for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists plays a critical role in downtown revitalization,” said Clein. “My reason for working towards this fundamental change in how we view and design our roadways is because we deserve better than what we are getting to date. The current philosophy for designing surface streets is truly hindering our ability to fully enhance our communities.”
Clein has worked on numerous projects in southeast Michigan to help improve the quality of life for those who live, work and play in local communities. Project examples include the Corktown-Mexicantown-Southwest Detroit Greenlink, the non-motorized transportation master plan for the city of Detroit, the Woodward Avenue Non-Motorized Transportation Master Plan for the Woodward Avenue Action Association (WA3), and many more.
The theme for the 2012 IMCL Conference is “True Urbanism: Planning Healthy Communities for All.” It will focus on ways to reshape the built environment to increase physical and social health and well-being. The conference will bring together 350-400 delegates – elected officials, practitioners and scholars in planning, public health, urban design, landscape architecture, transportation planning, pediatrics, human development, social sciences, land use development and architecture from around the world.
To read Clein’s paper, “The Road Not Taken: Complete Streets and American Transportation Infrastructure in the 21st Century,” go here.
About Giffels Webster
Giffels Webster is a collection of people — civil engineers, landscape architects, planners and surveyors — who choose every day to make communities better. The Michigan-based firm serves public, private, and institutional clients throughout the United States with their infrastructure needs.
Since its inception in 1950, Giffels Webster has evolved to offer a broad scope of services centered on helping clients achieve their project or programming goals, including civil engineering, municipal consulting, planning, land development consulting, landscape architecture, and environmental consulting. www.giffelswebster.com.