EnVISIONing Annapolis

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EnVISIONing Annapolis is a privately funded lecture series and visioning charrette for Annapolis, Maryland, that aims to generate dialogue on responsible, long-term development of the city. The organization backing this process, the EnVISIONing Annapolis Foundation, was formed solely for this purpose. Important contributors and co-sponsors include the University of Maryland, Annapolis Charter 300, and St. Johns College. The many consultants on the project include MS&R Architects, Charles Landry, and Paul Goldberger.

[edit] Conversations for Change

The EnVISIONing Annapolis project has begun with a series of free, public lectures held in Annapolis from September 2007 through June 2008. The speakers at these lectures will be leading experts in the fields of urban planning, urban design, public transportation, immigration, and historic preservation. These lectures are hoped to stimulate civic dialogue among residents and outsiders regarding the urban sprawl and development issues facing the 21st-century American city. The lectures will be held largely at the Maryland Hall Center for Creative Arts and The Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis.

The lecturing consultants include notable author and international consultant Charles Landry, representatives from the National Center for Smart Growth, and architectural critic and journalist Paul Goldberger, among others. Each lecturer will address topics of their specialty as they apply to the city of Annapolis. The purpose of these lectures are not to simply provide solutions, per se, but to instigate conversations on potential solutions that have been used in other cities around the world.

[edit] Charrette

A major component of EnVISIONing Annapolis will be the charrette held in March 2008, during which four university teams - one each from the University of Maryland, University of Virginia, Catholic University of America, Virginia Tech, and Morgan State University - will converge in the city to study, brainstorm, and create. Leading the charrette is MS&R, an architectural firm of Washburn "A" Mill or Mill City Museum fame. The products of this working session will be presented at the final public lecture, to be given by Paul Goldberger in June 2008. These products may include renderings, 3d models, diagrams, and policy or building proposals.