4th Annual Park(ing) Day Pontiac 2020 short video overview, see WHOLE presentations in order of appearance below…

Parklets have become a common “Tactical Urbanism” best practice...thanks to Park(ing) Day! And in the same spirit our Public Spaces, Places & Services (never more so than now given the Pandemic) are in need of “Human Centered” reinvention.

Our 4th Annual Park(ing) Day Pontiac 2020 event is focused on the City of Pontiac, Michigan as our thematic backdrop. We are hosting a virtual but immersive, networked conversation with Community Members, Placemakers, Policymakers, Human Service Providers, Artists & Urban Designers to explore continued “Possibilities Thinking” with an emphasis on the unfolding Phoenix Center (Conundrum).

Streaming @ 11am EDT - on our facebook page and on Placemaking US 

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WHOLE Presentations:

Conversational Transition Digital Design, 11:00AM - 3:00PM EDT

Introduction: Video Park(ing) Day Pontiac 2018 

11:00AM: City of Pontiac Council President Kermit Williams


11:15AM: Blair McGowan, Crofoot Ballroom & Studios - Pontiac Historical Retrospective 


11:30AM: Janice Smith, OLHSA Early Childhood Director, Head Start: Context of Human Services in Pontiac, Impact of Covid-19, Shift to Digital Learning, Early Childhood Resilience & an emerging pilot program: “Head Start for Kids in Cities: Digital Visual Learning & Design Thinking 

& Storee Harris Stubblefield with Oakland County Health Division & Pontiac Youth Recreation and Enrichment Center

12:00PM: Oakland University Global Cities Students, Rochester Hills, MI w/ Professor Annalie Campos - Future Work, Live and Play, Interactive Student Inquiry 

12:30PM: Friends of the Pontiac Parks, Kathalee James - Inclusive Development, Pontiac and Oakland County, Parks in Neighborhoods and Downtown, Role of the Parks in Public Health 

1:00PM: State Representative Brenda Carter - State of Michigan relationship with Pontiac, Education in the Covid-19 era, Digital Learning for preK-12

1:15PM: Katy Davis, KaBoom!, Washington, D.C. - Play in Cities, Designers, Government, Business & Communities, Importance of Play and Resilience

1:30-1:45PM: Brie Stevens, Chattanooga Entrepreneur: Racial Equity, Digital Learning & Community Engagement and Development, Organizational Politics

1:45-3:00PM: Placemaking US w/ Ryan Smolar (Long Beach Fresh, Downtown Santa Ana Business District) Madeleine Spencer (Downtown Santa Ana Business District, Circulos School Intermediary), Tina Govan (Placemaking Studio Raleigh, NC, Founder/Architect): Kid in Cities, Placemaking and B.I.D. Symposium, Pilots, XQ School Redesign Challenge, Architecture and Human Centered Design Relationship & Shift, Role of Placemaking in Cities 

H. Bill Maxey, Treasurer Pontiac Public Library, OLHSA Board Member/Community Action Program Director: