2015 Shaping Our Future Speaker Series:

 "The Dollars and Sense of Development Patterns" 

Keynote Speaker: Joe Minicozzi, Principal at Urban3, LLC

Special Event Sponsors:

What is the economic impact of development patterns on county and municipal budgets? How do location and building type affect cost of services such as sewer, water and utilities, not to mention property tax revenue production?

Across the country municipalities and counties are facing budget shortfalls and even bankruptcy. According to Joseph Minicozzi, AICP, if local governments better understood the impact of land use decisions on budget bottom lines, they may approach those decisions differently. 

At the second event in the 2015 Shaping Our Future speaker series, Mr. Minicozzi will provide a basic overview of how property tax policy impacts county and municipal budgets and basic lessons in the cost to serve varying development types. He will demonstrate how the design of cities impacts both counties and their incorporated municipalities and how more compact development patterns generally make better economic sense in the long run. Finally, he will share land-use policy ideas and incentive programs that have been used by other localities to encourage economically sustainable development. 

The event will also include presentations from Upstate governments who have experienced the positive impacts of investing in their downtown core areas - and the dangers of growing without asking whether that growth will pay for itself in the long run - as well as a representative from the National Association of Homebuilders to report on market trends as evidenced by their recent national consumer preference poll, with a focus on what millennials are looking for in their first home purchase. 

The event will be held from 3:00-5:00 p.m. on May 19^th at the Crowne Plaza in Greenville with a networking reception to follow. Cost to attend is $10 and advance registration is required. 

About Joseph Minicozzi, AICP: Joseph Minicozzi is the principal of Urban3, LLC, a consulting company created by Asheville real estate developer Public Interest Projects. Urban3’s work in pioneering geo-spatial representation of economic productivity has prompted a paradigm shift in understanding the economic potency of urbanism and the value of well designed cities. Their studies of cities in the United States and Canada have affected the reevaluation of public policy and a broader understanding of market dynamics created by tax policy. Prior to creating Urban3, Mr. Mincozzi served as the Executive Director for the Asheville Downtown Association.

 Before moving to Asheville, Mr. Minicozzi was the primary administrator of the Form Based Code for downtown West Palm Beach, Florida. His cross-training in city planning in the public and private sectors, as well as private sector real estate finance, has allowed him to develop award-winning analytic tools that have garnered national attention in Planetizen, The Wall Street Journal, Planning, New Urban News, Realtor, Atlantic Cities and the Center for Clean Air Policy's Growing Wealthier report.

 Mr. Minicozzi is a sought after lecturer on city planning issues, and his work has been featured in numerous journals and at international conferences. He is a founding member of the Western North Carolina-based, non-profit Asheville Design Center and he holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Miami and Master of Architecture and Urban Design from Harvard University.

The Shaping Our Future Speaker Series is a regional collaboration between Ten at the Top, Upstate Forever, the Riley Institute at Furman University, the Greater Greenville Association of Realtors, and the Upstate SC Alliance. The goal of the series is to inspire dialogue regarding the connections between land use decisions, transportation options, housing choices and quality of life.