About the Design Institute

An Institute dedicated to improving communities by offering elected officials training in smart growth and design.

The Florida Public Officials Design Institute offers elected officials unique training in urban design. The officials who participate in this innovative program select a specific site in their community for study. A team of special consultants is brought in to address the design and planning challenges. After visits to the sites, lectures on design and smart growth, and analyses of the project areas, each official leaves with an enhanced understanding of the urban design opportunities available and is provided with a short and long range set of actions for design of his or her project site. The program is provided at no cost. Each Design Institute session is specifically adapted to the needs of the officials and their projects. The work session provides public officials a place to think about urban design problems away from the pressure cooker atmosphere of their governmental offices.

The Design Institute was created by a team of community leaders from South east Florida, including Marie L. York, who implemented and directs the program. Ms. York is the Associate Director of the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions at Florida Atlantic University (CUES at FAU) and a former President of the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association. Currently, the sessions are being held in Southeast Florida at the Florida Atlantic University campus located in the new urbanist community of Abacoa, in northern Palm Beach County, Florida. Expansion plans to multiple regions within the State of Florida are underway. 

The Design Institute has two objectives: to instill an appreciation for the significance of design of the public realm and to emphasize the importance of integrating social, economic, and environmental considerations into design. The Institute assists officials in realizing the potential that exists within their communities for creating exemplary public spaces. The Design Institute’s guidance enables officials to seize opportunities for making positive changes through design.