Held in the auditorium of the Planning Department, the presentation will focus on the use of arts and culture to shape the future of communities
SILVER SPRING, MD – The Montgomery County Planning Department, part of The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, is hosting the presentation titled “Crossing the Street: Building DC’s Inclusive Future through Creative Placemaking” during the Planning Board meeting on Thursday, February 22, 2018 from 1 to 2 p.m. The public is invited to attend the event in the auditorium of the Department’s headquarters (8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD).
Speakers Sakina Khan and Joshua Silver of the DC Office of Planning will explain how they updated Washington, DC’s comprehensive plan by using creative placemaking, the intentional use of arts and culture to engage diverse communities in shaping their physical, social and economic future.
Such outreach activities were undertaken throughout the District to promote community-building in neighborhoods that are experiencing rapid demographic and social change. They helped to engage residents in conversations about their neighborhoods and the future of the District.
The presentation will explain the strategy, funding, successes and lessons learned through the creative placemaking process in Washington, DC. This discussion is particularly relevant for the Planning Department and Planning Board, given that the preparation for the update of the General Plan for Montgomery County is scheduled to begin in 2018.
This presentation will be broadcast live and a video recording will be available after the event.
About Sakina Khan
Deputy Director for Citywide Strategy and Analysis at the DC Office of Planning, Sakina Khan oversees systems planning related to housing, infrastructure, sustainability, transportation and economic development as well as data and geographic information systems. She is leading the District’s first ever cultural plan, which lays out how the government and its partners can invest in the people, places, communities and ideas that define culture within the nation’s capital. Khan also manages the DC Office of Planning’s largest and most innovative creative placemaking initiative to date, working with curators on creating inclusive experiences in neighborhoods undergoing change. In her previous role as senior economic planner, she led numerous strategic efforts, including the DC Vibrant Retail Toolkit, the Retail Action Strategy, the Creative DC Action Agenda and the St. Elizabeth Innovation Strategy. Khan is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she earned a master degree in city planning.
About Joshua Silver
Lead Planner for Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships, Joshua Silver joined the DC Office of
Planning, Neighborhood Planning Division in 2014 as the Ward 1 Neighborhood Planner. In his
current role, Silver focuses on spearheading strategic place-based planning initiatives and strengthening institutional/philanthropic partnerships to implement neighborhood plans and citywide policies. He has been instrumental in leading the DC Office of Planning’s creative placemaking initiative, “Crossing the Street: Building DC’s Inclusive Future Through Creative Placemaking.” Prior to joining the DC Office of Planning, Silver worked for seven years as an urban planner at the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. He holds a master degree in urban and regional planning, and a bachelor degree in anthropology from University at Albany, State University of New York.