Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson is set to receive the Mayors’ Vision Award at the International Making Cities Livable (IMCL) conference next week in Cortona, Italy. Jim Brainard, director of the IMCL, said Roberson was selected because of what he’s done for Elkhart’s downtown and the river walk area.
“If you look around the country and at cities that are Elkhart’s size,” Brainard said, “there just aren’t many with decent downtowns. What Mayor Roberson is doing is laying the groundwork for all of that to change. He’s tackling challenges head on. He has a vision of Elkhart having a real vibrant downtown, which it hasn’t had for decades.”
Elkhart Director of Development Services Michael Huber will join Roberson in Italy. On top of receiving the award, Roberson and Huber will attend a conference in one of the oldest cities in Europe.
“Not only is the conference in a place that was built long before the automobile,” Brainard said, “but a city that was built solely for pedestrians. Also, the best city designers in the world will be speaking at the conference.”
Roberson recognizes the conference is an opportunity to learn and find inspiration from those designers. He says he is already figuring out the workshops he wants to attend.
“I’m already looking at the itinerary,” Roberson said. “We should be able to sit down with other attendees and have a robust conversation while we’re having, I assume, some pretty great pasta.”
Roberson will be joined by two other award winners, one from Britain and one from France.
Roberson said the award speaks more about the city of Elkhart than it does about himself.
“The acknowledgement from the International Making Cities Livable conference is humbling,” Roberson said, “and it is an opportunity that is important for the planning we’ve been doing here in Elkhart. It feels like the city is getting recognition that will allow our master development plan to further accelerate the vision as a whole.”
