Shaking Up Small Cities | Conversations about repurposing, remodeling, and repositioning of Pennsylvania’s communities. Session One.

Throughout the Commonwealth, in every municipality and legislative district, we are plagued with blight, brain drain, and an erosion of community pride and investment. Simultaneously, there are an equal number of Pennsylvania’s small towns and cities that have rewritten the narrative, utilized good design, collaboration, and resources to create communities that have flourished with population and business growth. . In these cities and small towns that have experienced such great revitalization, architects have used their design thinking to work with community leaders and elected officials to bring the dream of a vibrant small town or main street back to life.  Architects throughout the Commonwealth have been crucial to the addition or renovation of any city’s physical or social infrastructure. Join us for case study examples of Pennsylvania cities who leveraged good  design, community partners, and urban planning to revitalize and grow their communities.

When: October 7th and October 28th

The session on October 7th will feature the Pennsylvania cities of: Lancaster, Bethlehem, and Easton.

The session on October 28th will feature the Pennsylvania cities of Pittston, Altoona, and Oil City.

Cost: No Charge
Where: Virtual

Who Should Attend?

Everyone! Elected officials, built industry professionals, developers, community leaders and anyone who wants to see their small town flourish.

REGISTER HERE

Meet the October 7th Speakers

Steven Glickman, Architect
Owner
Steven Glickman Architect

Steven Glickman is registered architect since 1984 licensed to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and is the owner of Steven Glickman Architect for over 21 years. He has experience as project manager, project architect, for architectural firms, private corporations, the modular construction industry, and banks in Pennsylvania and Michigan with extensive experience with historic renovations, adaptive reuse of commercial and institutional projects as well as single and multi family residential design with a keen interest in historical, urban, contextual, and sustainable design. 

 Other mixed-use projects include renovation of urban commercial structures and abandoned mills and schools listed on the National Register of Historic Places into new uses throughout Pennsylvania. He also presented in the State of Pennsylvania’s Preservation Conference.

Steven’s practice is diverse with recent projects ranging from a Passive House residence to consulting in the development of a modular, rapidly deployable prototype hospital made from custom shipping containers to designing 100,000 square foot mixed-use commercial/residential mid-rise development including low income housing in the Easton National Register Historic District.

Steven currently serves as Vice Chairperson of the Lehigh Vally Planning Commission, the MPO of the third most populous region in Pennsylvania and been a commissioner for both Lehigh and Northampton counties for over 25 years. He volunteers on a number of committees and commissions throughout the Lehigh Valley and serves as an alternate Commissioner on the Easton Historic District Commission.

In his spare time he is a husband, father, lover of cats, plays the didgeridoo (when permitted), practices Tai Chi and drink small amounts of single malt scotch, not necessarily in that order.

Darlene L. Heller, AICP
Director of Planning and Zoning
City of Bethlehem

Ms. Heller received her degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Penn State University. She has been Bethlehem’s Director of Planning and Zoning since 2000. In that time the City adopted a new Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Ordinance. Specific planning initiatives include the South Side Vision Plan, BethConnects: A Trail Feasibility Study, the Greenway Master Plan, the Historic Preservation Plan, The City Livable: Proposals for a Walkable Downtown and the Northside 2027 Neighborhood Plan. During the last 20 years, Bethlehem has seen complete transition of the prior Bethlehem Steel site, which has been recognized nationally and internationally for both design and engineering. The City continues to incorporate livability, walkability, sustainability and quality of life into all off its ongoing initiatives.

Jeremy R. Young
Director of Community & Economic Development
Lancaster City Alliance

As Director of Community & Economic Development at the nonprofit Lancaster City Alliance, Jeremy Young facilitates real estate development projects and business recruitment/expansion in the City of Lancaster; works with community leaders to advance the implementation of, Building On Strength, the City of Lancaster’s Economic Development Strategic Plan (2015-2030); coordinates a Finance Squad to identify creative funding solutions to facilitate that plan’s implementation; coordinates an interagency City Transportation Planning Roundtable; helps to lead the Cultivate Lancaster Entrepreneurship Coalition; plays an active role in several key neighborhood revitalization initiatives including those in southwest (“SoWe”) and southeast Lancaster City; administers a $700,000 residential/business façade improvement grant program; and provides staff support to the Lancaster City Revitalization & Improvement Zone (CRIZ) Authority as well as the Downtown Investment District (DID) Authority, managed by Lancaster City Alliance.

In addition to his work with Lancaster City Alliance, he serves as Vice Chairman of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Lancaster and serves on the Board of Directors of the Lancaster City Land Bank Authority, the Lancaster Property Reinvestment Board, and the Spanish American Civic Association (SACA), and previously served on the Board of Directors of the Commercial & Industrial Council of the Lancaster County Association of Realtors. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geography from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, and earned a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree and a Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development from Portland State University (Portland, OR).  Jeremy and his family proudly live in southwest Lancaster City.

REGISTER HERE