The Emerald City Sparkled for the IDA Conference
By Jared Campbell, Resident Engagement Project Manager at Downtown Council of Kansas City
The fish are no longer being thrown at the famous Pike Place Market, but that did not dampen the enjoyment members of the Downtown Council staff experienced when they visited Seattle last month for the International Downtown Association’s 70th Annual Conference & Marketplace. The IDA’s conference brings together urban place management professionals from across the U.S. and Canada to learn, network, and discover new ideas for their hometowns. Acronyms like BIDs, and CIDs, and SSAs could be heard in meeting rooms as over 1400 people gathered at the convention hotel.
Kansas City, Missouri was well represented.
Not only did a team from the Downtown Council attend, but so did representatives from Midtown KC Now, the Plaza Area Council and the Building Trades Council. We were also grateful to be joined by three city council members: Councilwoman Lindsay French, Councilman Eric Bunch and Councilman Crispin Rea. Having policy makers attend the conference will be a positive for Downtown. Having them see first-hand some of the placemaking ideas and learn about new programs in the breakout sessions, will allow the Downtown Council and the KCMO City Council to create a stronger working relationship as we tackle some of these same issues in Downtown KC.
A typical day included multiple breakout sessions in the morning, a group session over lunch, and then more breakout sessions in the afternoon. Topics covered the major issues facing downtowns today such as public safety, housing, retail and office leasing, event management, political advocacy and operating ambassador programs. There were also off-site tours that allowed conference attendees to get deeper into the city by visiting different neighborhoods or projects.
Seattle did not disappoint!
Of course, the host city is always a learning opportunity as well. Half the fun of an IDA conference is getting outside of the hotel and exploring the city.
We explored the new Waterfront Park that is being built by the Seattle Aquarium. It was already impressive to see the activities offered, the landscaping being installed, and most impressive of all, the use of square shaped shipping containers that have been placed along the main walkway and used as small-scale retail stores.
We were also very excited to discover a pocket park in the heart of downtown, Westlake Park, that highlighted some great examples of how we could better activate the small open spaces we have in Downtown KC. From ping pong tables to shuffle board, from large-scale chess to food trucks to interactive art installations, the park was more than just a hardscaped open space; it was a welcoming space for people to grab lunch, play a game, or enjoy a break in their day.
The staff of the Downtown Council are excited and energized to get to work implementing what we learned and experienced at IDA. We will be having follow-up conversations with some of our peer organizations in different cities while also working to bring some of these ideas and projects to life in Downtown KC.
