Acclaimed author and authority on creative cities, Charles Landry, is heading to Savannah for a lecture tomorrow, July 8th at 7:00 pm at the Charles H. Morris Center.  Landry comes to school us in the ways of creative city-building.

Stealing Jim Morekis’s opener to this week’s Connect Savannah cover story, simply put:

Charles Landry is one of the coolest people you probably have never heard of.

Best known for his books The Creative City: A Toolkit for Urban Innovators and, more recently, The Art of City Making, Landry’s word works are considered THE guides to building a creative community.  For those of you who know Richard Florida, the creative (albeit controversial) guru and author of The Rise of the Creative Class and Who’s Your City?,  you’ll get a kick out of ole’ Charlie… (If Florida is the guy who described what a “creative” city/economy is and why you might want one, Charles is the guy who wrote the book on how you actually build one and what they look like around the world).

A taste of his acclaim:

Charles has been responsible for over 180 assignments for national and local authorities and funding agencies both in the UK and abroad.  He is regarded as an international authority on city futures and the use of culture in city revitalization; cultural planning and heritage issues, strategic policy development, the cultural industries.

Landry will present his how-to guidance to Savannah urban planners, architects, economic developers, municipal employees, planning staff, the preservation community and anyone else interested in how great cities are made.  His approach is less conventional, demanding a culture of change, an imagination and a planning approach grounded in the undercurrents of the global economy, challenges and stimulants.

Join us after work, after dinner or - ahem - after GreenDrinks (beginning with drink specials at 5:30 at nearby Cha Bella).  Whatever you do, don’t miss this!

Who:  Charles Landry

What: Lecture on how to build a creative city

Where: The Charles H. Morris Center

When: Tuesday, July 8th (that’s tomorrow people) beginning at 7:00 pm

Why:  Because Savannah is, but can be even more of, a creative city.

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