This past week I had an opportunity to visit one of the most pleasant small towns in North America, Mackinac Island, where I participated in the annual conference for the Michigan Municipal League. Even though I have traveled to the Island many times, during this visit I took specific notice of how an auto-free Mackinac functions and how it is considerably different than the majority of places on the continent.









There are numerous alternatives working well in the world today, can some of them be incorporated into our current situation and make for a better system? How can city leaders, planners, urban designers and architects look at the built environment in a different manner and uncover innovative ways to provide the required elements of the contemporary working city? As we keep observing, learning and thinking of potential applications, a higher quality of life experience will ultimately emerge in our cities and towns.
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Mark Nickita, AIA, CNU, APA, BSArch, BArch, MArch is an architect, urbanist, retail entrepreneur, developer, educator and an elected municipal leader and President of Archive DS in Detroit and Toronto. Mark is the elected Mayor of Birmingham, Michigan and is co-owner of retail establishments in Downtown Detroit, including the Pure Detroit Stores, The Rowland Cafe and Stella International Cafes.
In the new paradigm of development and city-building that is driven by the current economic landscape, there is a need to identify unique paths and procedures to create and enhance our built environment. We need to do more with less, find alternatives to past practices and think out-of-the-box for the future health and sustainability of our live, work and play “Places”.
There are numerous alternatives working well in the world today, can some of them be incorporated into our current situation and make for a better system? How can city leaders, planners, urban designers and architects look at the built environment in a different manner and uncover innovative ways to provide the required elements of the contemporary working city? As we keep observing, learning and thinking of potential applications, a higher quality of life experience will ultimately emerge in our cities and towns.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Mark Nickita, AIA, CNU, APA, BSArch, BArch, MArch is an architect, urbanist, retail entrepreneur, developer, educator and an elected municipal leader and President of Archive DS in Detroit and Toronto. Mark is the elected Mayor of Birmingham, Michigan and is co-owner of retail establishments in Downtown Detroit, including the Pure Detroit Stores, The Rowland Cafe and Stella International Cafes.