Greenville, Health, Parks, Urban development, EDRA53

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EDRA53 Mobile Sessions

EDRA53 Greenville invites you to learn first hand how Greenville, SC exemplifies the conference theme, 'Health in all Design'. This year EDRA53 GREENVILLE | Health in All Design is excited to include Mobile Sessions in the conference program. These sessions will provide attendees with a place-based experience and include an overview of important urban interventions and community engagement projects in and around the City of Greenville, and showcase projects by local groups working to advance health and well-being in all its forms.

Registration for mobile sessions opens on December 13, 2021. You may register here.

MOBILE SESSIONs 1a/1b : bicycling the swamp rabbit trail (2 - 4 HRS)

Session Hosts www.reedyrides.com

Abstract
The two tours were designed for complementary but distinct groups of riders, so please sign up according to self-identification/skill level: (1) recreational and utilitarian bicycle riders (2hr. short tour); and (2) recreational and slightly more athletic riders (4hr. long tour w/ resting stops). Please note that children are not allowed in these two tours. However, parents and guardians will still be able to rent bicycles for the entire family and enjoy guided tours if they so wish as a separate activity from the scheduled conference tours. Bicycles of various size with gears (3), helmets, as well as a bottle of water will be provided. Two local guides will accompany each group.

1A | Short Tour - 2 hours
This tour includes destinations of Liberty Bridge and Reedy Falls, Swamp Rabbit Café & Grocery (food/beverage/coffee stop); Old Rail Car. Our guide will provide a general description of the trail, its economic impact, improved quality of life, and the planning/history of the trail and old rail bed.

1B | Long tour - 4-hours
This tour includes destinations Liberty Bridge and Reedy Falls, Swamp Rabbit Café & Grocery (food/beverage/coffee stop); Old Rail Car; Furman University, and Travelers Rest (food/beverage/coffee stop). Our guide will provide a general description of the trail, its economic impact, improved quality of life, and the planning/history of the trail and old rail bed. Furman University is a small private college with a beautiful campus that showcases a bell tower on a lake with views of Paris Mountain in the background. We will also stop at Tandem Coffee for restrooms/coffee/rest and talk about the history of Travelers Rest, a quaint town that has grown with the addition of the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

Tickets prices

• 2 hour tour: $65 per person
• 4 hour tour $105 per person

MOBILE SESSION 2: DOWNTOWN GREENVILLE REDEVELOPMENT WALKING TOUR (2 HRS)

Session Host
Barry Nocks, PhD, FAICP

Barry Nocks has 45 years of experience as a practicing planner, educator, administrator, consultant and citizen planner. He is professor emeritus in the Graduate Program in City & Regional Planning at Clemson University, having previously served as professor, Director of the MCRP program, interim director of Clemson’s master’s in real estate development program and Associate Dean for Research & Outreach of the College of AAH since 1979. Dr. Nocks has taught graduate courses in planning theory and process, quantitative methods, social and health planning, local planning administration, planning practice, studio and negotiation. Barry continues to teach in the MCRP program.

He has served on (and chaired) the Planning Accreditation Board, the organization that accredits professional planning programs in the US, as well as been treasurer of the Board of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning. He has also served on the SCAPA executive committee and several American Planning Association (APA) and American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) committees. Barry is a member of the College of Fellows of AICP.

In Greenville, he has served on and chaired the City Planning Commission (2001-2009) and the City’s Design Review Board (2009-2016). He has been active in regional efforts in the Upstate since 2006, currently serving on the TATT Board of Directors. He has also been engaged as a consultant and volunteers with a variety of public and private organizations in the Carolinas and throughout the country. He directed the master planning process for the Reedy River Corridor in 2001.

Abstract
Through this walking tour, you will explore the elements of Downtown Greenville's success:

• The “anchor” developments—the Hyatt Regency/Convention Center, Peace Center Performing Arts Center, Riverplace, Falls Park, and Flour Baseball Field—served as growth poles between which development filled in as theory says it should.
• The ongoing and creative partnerships between government and private businesses enabled these anchor projects to succeed.
• The Reedy River master plan and redevelopment process.
• The continued importance of planning and community engagement in setting specific direction and design standards for development.
• How government can leverage its resources using private philanthropy: though Greenvillians are generally anti-tax they have been extraordinarily generous in giving to city projects like Falls Park and the Peace Center.
• Greenville’s very successful deployment of adaptive reuse, as many derelict former textile mills and warehouses have been renovated and turned into restaurants, bars, art galleries, etc.

Ticket price

• $ 20

MOBILE SESSION 3 TEXTILE MILL AND VILLAGES BUS TOUR (2 HRS)

Session Hosts
John Nolan

Through his love of history and Greenville, Nolan started up Greenville’s first tour company, Greenville History Tours, in 2006. Over the last 15 years he has given tours to over 75,000 people on his thematic history tours covering Greenville’s downtown, its historic neighborhoods and architecture, and its mill village history. He started Greenville’s first culinary tours in 2010 with the At the Chef’s Table Culinary tour and also conducts the Greenville Breakfast Tour, Greenville BBQ Trail Tour, Greenville Coffee Tour and the Carolina Countryside Tour. These tours have been featured in city articles and media outlets such as Garden & Gun, Southern Living, Martha Stewart Living, the Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, In-flight magazines for Spirit and United Airlines, and many more. In 2016, city and VGSC leaders awarded Nolan the inaugural Gold Ambassador Salute Award.

Besides writing a twice-monthly historic article for the Greenville Journal, Nolan has written two history books on the city:

• A Guide to Historic Greenville, South Carolina (History Press, 2008)
• Lost Restaurants of Greenville, South Carolina (Arcadia Press, 2020)

Abstract
The textile industry is the most significant aspect of Greenville's history. It employed one out of every three people here for many years and had world-wide reach and importance. This driving tour first takes you to eight of the mills from the “early years” built up between 1874-1902 then continues to explore major mills from the “second wave” of mill building between 1910-30 for a full tour of Greenville’s famous “Textile Crescent”. Guests will learn in-depth about the mill leaders, workers, buildings, what village life was like, what the mills produced, why they closed, and what is going on there now.

In the comfort of the Ford Transit tour van, you’ll see 100s of historic photos on a screen that dramatically illustrate the themes discussed as we drive through the villages. You'll also have a chance to actually touch and hold vintage artifacts from this era…like an antique flying shuttle, mill money, or century-old mill company letters.

Ticket price

• $30

MOBILE SESSION 4 CREATIVE PLACEMAKING THROUGH PUBLIC ART (3 HRS)

Session Host
Tracy Ramseur

Tracy Ramseur is the Cultural Arts Manager for the City of Greenville’s Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism. Her primary responsibilities include managing the City’s growing public art collection and serving as liaison to the City’s Arts in Public Places Commission. Prior to her current role, she served as Senior Economic Development Project Manager for thirteen years, and played a key role in the City’s commercial corridor revitalization efforts during a time of unprecedented growth. She is a member of Leadership Greenville Class 41 and was named “Best & Brightest 35 & Under” by Greenville Business Magazine in 2011 and “Forty Under 40” by GSA Business Magazine in 2020.

Abstract
Greenville has enjoyed quite a bit of recognition for its growing public arts scene, including recent mentions in Condé Nast Traveler and Architectural Digest, to name a few. This mobile session will explore Greenville’s public art program as a key placemaking and neighborhood revitalization strategy. Participants will learn about the impact public art can have on a community, as well as details on the planning and implementation of public art.

The Arts in Public Places Commission, which plays a large role in the placement of public art in Greenville, funding, and notable projects will also be discussed. Following a walking tour of public art along Main Street (from the Hyatt to City Hall), guests will be transported by bus to the Village of West Greenville, an area known locally as the “arts district,” where they will see first-hand how public art has been used as an effective tool for neighborhood revitalization. Additional stops will be added if time permits.

1. Attendees will meet at the Hyatt and walk to City Hall (206 S. Main Street).
2. A bus will then take participants to the Village of West Greenville.
3. The bus will be waiting behind the building on West Court Street.
4. Guests should wear comfortable shoes and bring cash and photo ID (in case there is time to stop by any businesses in the Village).
5. Transportation back to the Hyatt will be provided.

Ticket price

• $ 30