Photo: Leaders from Knight communities touring Copenhagen last year.

Knight Foundation’s Community and National Initiatives Program returns to Copenhagen, Denmark, this September with civic innovators from 13 Knight communities. Knight grantee 8 80 Cities will take 27 civic innovators to “one of the happiest cities on earth” for five days. Tour participants will experience Copenhagen’s excellent bike and pedestrian infrastructure and learn how various city agencies, nonprofits and the private sector have worked together to cultivate the city’s robust public life.

This year’s participants represent Akron, Ohio; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbus, Ga.; Detroit; Grand Forks, N.D.; Gulfport, Miss.; Lexington, Ky.; Long Beach and San Jose, Calif.; Macon, Ga.; and Miami, Tallahassee and West Palm Beach, Fla. They represent local government, the private sector, nonprofits and local foundations. Invitees include:

Akron

·      Andy Davis, active transportation coordinator, The University of Akron

·      Jason Segedy, director, Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study

·      Scott Scarborough, president, The University of Akron 

Charlotte

·      Jordan Moore, bike program manager, Sustain Charlotte

·      Tony Lathrop, chair, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission

Columbus

·      Isaiah Hugley, city manager

·      John T. Turner, former president, Bradley Specialty Retailing and Bradley Marketing Services

Detroit

·      Maurice Cox, planning and development director, city of Detroit

·      Tim Karl, landscape and design unit manager, city of Detroit

Grand Forks

·      Stephanie Erickson, planner, city of Grand Forks

·      Jonathan Holth, president, Grand Forks Downtown Development Association and co-owner of The Toasted Frog restaurant 

Gulfport

·      Billy Hewes, mayor

·      John R. Kelly, chief administrative officer, city of Gulfport

Lexington

·      Ann Bakhaus, lead, Town Branch Commons Corridor Project

·      Allison Lankford, senior vice president, Blue Grass Community Foundation

Long Beach

·      Robert Garcia, mayor

·      Amy Bodek, director, Long Beach Development Services Department

Macon

·      Karen Lambert, president, Peyton Anderson Foundation

·      Josh Rogers, president and CEO, NewTown Macon

·      Steve Lawson, director of parks and beautification, Macon-Bibb County

Miami

·      Francis Suarez, commissioner of District 4

·      Malik Benjamin, managing director, Institute of Collaborative Innovation, and professor of urban sciences, Florida International University

San Jose

·      Rose Herrera, vice mayor

Tallahassee

·      Cherie Bryant, planning manager, Planning, Land Management and Community Engagement (PLACE)

·      Megan Doherty, principal planner, Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department

West Palm Beach

·      Raphael Clemente, executive director, West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority

·      Jeri Muoio, mayor

The cities competed to join the tour by assembling a local team. The teams presented their programs and plans to make their cities more walkable and bike-friendly to a review panel composed of representatives from 8 80 Cities and Knight Foundation.

The panel selected the cities and teams based on three criteria:

·      Ambition: what they sought to accomplish and what it could do to their whole community

·      The composition of the team: whether they had the people who could move their communities.

·      Capacity: whether they could execute their plans and were building on past successes and a larger framework.

The 2015 Copenhagen study tour is a reprise of last year’s successful visit also led by 8 80 Cities. Cities that had participated in last year’s tour were invited to nominate follow-up delegates for this year’s tour. The panel accepted the nominees from Charlotte, Detroit and Lexington based on the progress each city achieved after last year’s tour.

This year’s tour will also include a master class with Gehl Architects, meetings and tours with Copenhagen public officials, and an optional trip to Malmo, Sweden.

Knight and 8 80 Cities expect the participants to return to their communities inspired and energized by the study tour. The hope is that they will expand their own ambitions to encourage engagement and to build robust public life in their cities, and that it will strengthen connections across Knight’s network of communities.

Benjamin de la Peña is director of community and national strategy for Knight Foundation. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @benjiedlp.