Introduction  |  Conclusion   |   Speakers  |   Sponsors

Articulation of a vision is meaningless unless it is implemented. Focusing the community's collective attention and directing its resources is a necessary step that will benefit the entire metropolitan area. The community has the right and the obligation to establish standards for how it wants to develop. It does not have to settle for someone else's standards or settle for less than it wants and it must have the will to say "no" to inappropriate development that does not meet its standards. The community must remember that it is building a city for the people who live here.

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said it well: "You never have to build anything that doesn't add beauty to a city. The hardest part of that is not the money. The hardest part is having the vision. Our culture is crying out for us to give it places of beauty and inspiration. America needs cities that are beautiful and inspirational and we have the moral imperative to do that for many people. The only opportunity to experience beauty and inspiration in their lives is in the cities where they live."

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"Historic preservation is the business of saving special places and the quality of life they support. It has to do with more than bricks and iron and columns and cobblestones. It has to do with the way individuals, families and communities come together in attractive and supportive environments." - Richard Moe

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Craig Whitaker reminded us that the state of our cities reflects back on us: "We admire a building or a group of buildings because they express, however subtly, certain images and ideas we have about ourselves."

Mayor Vincent Cianci of Providence, Rhode Island, made a compelling case that communities must sometimes take risks: "How does a good leader of an American city facing poverty, adversity and crumbling infrastructure take pride in a high credit rating instead of a high quality-of-life rating?" He urged cities to take chances, to use their unique fiscal capabilities to address critical issues that affect their livability.

Next: Establish Regional Cooperation