NashvilleNext speaker series, a key part of initiating the process of developing a plan for Nashville to move forward over the next 25 years, will take place at various locations around the Greater Nashville area through May 6.

Greater Nashville Association of Realtors is among the sponsors for the series, which begins Feb. 25.

“The speaker series is an outstanding set of experiences, beginning with the kick-off meeting last weekend. The keynote speakers will be excellent and the very unique art and culture components just add value to each of the events. GNAR is very pleased and fortunate to be involved,” said GNAR President Price Lechleiter. “NashvilleNext is a countywide vision for Nashville’s future, and being fully engaged in the planning process is certainly the right thing for us to do. Keeping the central core of this region vibrant and progressive is important to our future economic success.”

Moving just beyond the Feb. 16 NashvilleNext kick-off, the community engagement process will begin with the speaker series on key topics impacting future growth, development and preservation, according to Rick Bernhardt, Metro Nashville Planning Director. That will be followed by a robust countywide visioning and community engagement process and the use of Resource Teams to respond to community values. Following that, the process will continue with additional rounds of community engagement and the creation of policy and development scenarios answering the questions “where do we want to go” and “how do we get there”.

The Nashville Next speakers’ series is scheduled to last throughout the spring. For more information visit, www.nashvillenext.net.

NashvilleNext Speaker Series Schedule:

Feb. 25, 5:30 p.m.

Topic – Demographics, Equity and Inclusion

“Changing Faces of America: The Opportunities and Challenges of 21st Century Demographics”

Harambee Auditorium (175) Fondren Hall, Scarritt-Bennett Center

Mitch Silver, AICP, President, American Planning Association and Chief Planning & Development Officer and Planning Director, Raleigh, N.C.

Featured Artists – The Tennessee Women’s Theatre Project

March 11, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

Topic – Prosperity

“Modern Cities as Engines of Economic Opportunity and Social Progress”

Nashville Children’s Theater

Dr. Henry Cisneros, Chairman, CityView

Featured Artists – Alias Chamber Ensemble

March 25, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

Topic – Environment 

“Sustainable Urbanism and Community Livability”

Harambee Auditorium (175) Fondren Hall, Scarritt-Bennett Center

Doug Farr, Partner, Farr Associates

Featured Artists – TBD

April 8, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

Topic – Livability and Healthy Communities

“Creating Livable and Healthy Communities through Retrofitting Suburbia”

Harambee Auditorium (175) Fondren Hall, Scarritt-Bennett Center

Prof. Ellen Dunham-Jones, MSUD Coordinator, Georgia Tech School of Architecture

Featured Artists – SoundCrawl

April 22, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

Topic – Infrastructure/Smart Growth

“The High Cost of America’s Inefficient Development Patterns”

Nashville Children’s Theater

William Fulton, AICP, Vice President & Director of Policy Development & Implementation, Smart Growth America

Featured Artists – TBD

May 6, 2013, 5:30 p.m.

Topic – Regionalism

“Regional Partnerships to Achieve Local Viability”

Nashville Children’s Theater

Amy Liu, Senior Fellow, Co-Director and Co-Founder of the Metropolitan Policy Program, Brookings Institution

Featured Artists – Nashville Public Library’s Wishing Chair Productions