Seth LaJeunesse, Assistant Director of the National Center for Safe Routes to School, visited Knoxville for three events on Nov. 27 and 28, 2018, to discuss how we can begin to put an end to traffic deaths.

Seth shared information about how street design, cultural expectations, and individual behavior work together to create safe – or unsafe – streets and communities.

More than 100 people attended the events, which included a workshop for design staff on Nov. 27; a public event that evening; and a lunch presentation before elected and appointed officials at the Knoxville Chamber on Nov. 28.

Seth was the 10^th speaker in the Active Knox series, which is funded through a grant from the Tennessee Department of Health.

If you’d like to receive emails about the events, email ellen.zavisca@knoxplanning.org.

Ben Crenshaw with Southern Land Company visited Knoxville for four events on June 12 and 13, 2018, to discuss the benefits and challenges of building quality mixed-use development.

His experience includes “horizontal” mixed-use – projects including a mix of housing, commercial and offices in the same vicinity – as well as “vertical” mixed-use within the same building. Vertical mixed-use developments often including retail, offices, and jobs, and the mix of uses in one location gives people alternatives to driving for every trip they take.

More than 100 people attended the events, which included a public meeting the evening of June 12; a presentation at MPC’s Agenda Review that same day; a breakfast meeting with members of the development community hosted by the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors on June 13; and a lunch presentation before about 35 elected and appointed officials at the Knoxville Chamber later that day.

You can see a video of the Chamber lunch session here

Ben is Senior Vice President over design at Southern Land Company, where he jointly manages the design and engineering teams. Ben brings more than 20 years of experience to his position, including work recognized by the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Urban Land Institute.

Ben was the ninth speaker in the Active Knox series, which is funded through a grant from the Tennessee Department of Health.

The speaker series will resume in the fall of 2018. If you’d like to receive emails about the events, email ellen.zavisca@knoxplanning.org.

Jana Lynott shared her message about community livability at three events in Knoxville on April 24 and 25, 2018, as part of the Active Knox speaker series.

These events were co-hosted by AARP Tennessee, with additional sponsorship by the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors.

Jana discussed AARP’s interest in making sure that communities design their streets and neighborhoods so that seniors can enjoy transportation choices and age in place if they choose.

More than 90 people attended a public event with Jana on April 24, and she also addressed the TPO’s Executive Board at their meeting on April 25. Her visit to Knoxville wrapped up with a presentation before about 40 elected and appointed officials at the Knoxville Chamber on April 25.

Jana is a senior strategic policy advisor for the Livable Communities Team in AARP’s Public Policy Institute. Her research and videography focus on a broad array of planning and policy issues including complete streets, public transportation and travel patterns. Most recently, Jana was responsible for bringing AARP’s groundbreaking Livability Index to fruition.

In her Knoxville events, Jana discussed how Knoxville and Knox County stack up in the Livability Index, and also Knoxville’s new membership in AARP’s network of Age-Friendly Communities.

Jana was the eighth speaker in the Active Knox series, which includes funding from the Tennessee Department of Health.

The next events will be in June, with the speaker and dates to be announced shortly. If you’d like to receive emails about the events, contact ellen.zavisca@knoxplanning.org.

Jeff Randolph, the most recent guest brought in by Active Knox for their ongoing speaker series, is president of The Randolph Group (TRG).

TRG is a land development company based in Greenville, SC that specializes in residential, urban infill and mixed-used communities. While in Knoxville he spoke to several groups, including an event at the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce with elected and appointed officials, a public event, the Recode Knoxville Stakeholder Advisory Committee Meeting, and a lunch event with realtors and developers.

Randolph spoke about the importance of the group’s community development values, which include promoting vibrant neighborhoods, imaginative places, a sustainable impact, and community connections. He also stressed that Knoxville should grow organically and make decisions that are right for the city without trying to mimic another place. More details about each event are available:

• Lunch at the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, November 14, with elected and appointed officials from around the region. There were 8 elected officials in attendance, and 14 planning commissioners. There were 35 total, including eight elected officials, 14 planning commissioners, and staff members.  The conversation featured questions about whether the type of development Randolph was discussing was feasible for East Tennessee’s topography. He discussed how land planning can be done with the features of the land, by clustering housing on flatter portions of a site.
• The public event Tuesday night at Bearden High School featured a panel to respond to Randolph’s presentation. Panelists were realtor Joe Fox and developer Tim Hill and was moderated by Mary English from UTK’s Baker Center. Twenty-six community members were in attendance. Conversation after the presentation focused on the barriers to mixed-use developments in the Knoxville region. There was some discussion about Knoxville’s out-of-date zoning codes and the Recode Knoxville update in response.
• On Wednesday, November 15, the Recode Knoxville Stakeholder Advisory Committee met for a regular meeting featuring Jeff as a guest speaker. It was also open to the public and had 36 community members in attendance. Randolph again spoke about mixed-use developments, but spent more time focused on the zoning code update. A full summary and recording of the event is available on the Recode Knoxville website.
• Wednesday afternoon, there was a lunch and small group discussion with developers and realtors. The conversation was facilitated by Kristy Altman from Leadership Knoxville. In the conversation following his presentation, Randolph mentioned that he sells lots faster when there are a variety of housing types within a development (townhomes, duplexes, detached homes). There were comments from local developers about the challenge of finding banks that will invest in developers that aren’t typical for this region. Another challenge mentioned was finding builders willing to try something new.

Rob Brawner, Executive Director of the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, spoke several times in Knoxville on June 6 and 7.

The events and meetings attracted around 100 participants, including elected officials, planning commissioners, developers, designers, and members of the general public.

His presentations focused on the lessons that other communities can learn from the BeltLine, a partially completed project that will eventually encircle the heart of Atlanta with a network of trails and transit. Thus far, 8.7 miles of trails have been completed as part of the BeltLine and it has spurred $3.7 billion in economic development.

You can see Brawner’s presentation here.

Brawner was the sixth speaker to visit Knoxville as part of the ongoing Walkability Speaker Series, which is sponsored by the TPO in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Health, East Tennessee Quality Growth, the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors, the Knoxville Chamber, and the Knoxville Chapter of the American Planning Association.

The Walkability Speaker Series will take a break over the peak vacation months of summer, but will return in late August or September. To get on the email list for this speaker series, contact ellen.zavisca@knoxplanning.org.

Emiko Atherton spoke in Knoxville on May 9 and 10 about the many benefits of walkable, smart development.

Atherton is the director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, which is part of Smart Growth America.

Three events with Atherton attracted a total of more than 100 participants, including elected officials, planning commissioners, developers, designers, and members of the general public. During these presentations she shared stories of communities that have attracted residents and businesses, and have saved money, by focusing on quality development and walkable places. More information on these types of places can be found in Smart Growth America’s report Amazing Place.

Atherton was the fifth speaker to visit Knoxville as part of the ongoing Walkability Speaker Series sponsored by the TPO in partnership with East Tennessee Quality Growth, the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors, the Knoxville Chamber, and the Knoxville Chapter of the American Planning Association.

The next speaker in the series will be Rob Brawner from the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership on June 6 and 7. To get on the email list for this speaker series, contact ellen.zavisca@knoxplanning.org.