Press Release
National Trust Main Street Center® Holds 2007 National Conference in Seattle
This Year's Conference is Slated for March 25-28 and will Explore the Theme "Building a Sustainable Future"
Washington, D.C. (March 2, 2007) – For more than a quarter century, some 1,800 communities throughout the U.S. have revitalized their downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts through the National Trust Main Street Center. Now, experts in preservation-based community revitalization from across the country will gather in Seattle for the 2007 National Main Streets Conference, where they will focus on this year’s theme: Building a Sustainable Future. The 2007 National Trust Main Streets Conference will last from March 25-28, 2007.
The National Trust Main Streets Conference is the premier national conference on preservation-based commercial district revitalization. Main Street practitioners and advocates from all across the nation will gather to celebrate the Main Street movement and explore the creative innovations that address the economic, social, and environmental aspects of sustainable communities. The conference qualifies for continuing education credits from both the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Continuing Education Program and the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Continuing Professional Development Program.
"For 25 years, local Main Street programs have been finding alternatives to sprawl and practicing smart growth, long before those terms became buzzwords," said Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "Today, the scope of revitalization goes beyond preserving and strengthening authentic community assets—from independent businesses to historic buildings—to include providing leadership in sustainability, promoting livability, and using energy-efficient technology."
Timothy Egan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and New York Times national enterprise reporter, will be the keynote speaker at the Opening Plenary Session on Monday, March 26, 2007 at the historic 5th Avenue Theater. He will explore the issue of sustainability and its importance to the future. Donovan Rypkema, an international expert in downtown and neighborhood commercial district revitalization and the economics of preserving historic structures, will be the featured speaker at the Closing Plenary Session on Wednesday, March 28.
This year's conference theme, Building a Sustainable Future, will focus on ways that communities have incorporated sustainable design and smart growth into their revitalization. The conference will showcase best practices, tools, and great ideas to create dynamic, livable places. More than 50 educational sessions, workshops, and field sessions will focus on successful strategies for revitalizing downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. The conference attracts a wide range of professionals and volunteers, including directors of revitalization organizations, planners, architects, historic preservationists, business development specialists, economic development professionals, city management staff, CDC staff, and more.
The 2007 National Trust Main Streets Conference is hosted by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in partnership with the Washington Department of Community Trade and Economic Development, The City of Seattle and the Washington Department of Transportation.
PUBLIC: To register, or for more information about the 2007 National Main Streets Conference, please visit http://conference.mainstreet.org, or call 202-588-6219.
PRESS: Registration for the media is free. To register, please contact the National Trust Office of Communications, 202-588-6141.
For more information about the Main Street program and its widespread successes over the years, visit www.mainstreet.org.