FEB 2, 2026 | 4:00 PM | ARCHITECTURE BUILDING RM 100
Deindustrialization has devastated thousands of communities over the past half-century, many of which have not recovered despite significant investment in traditional economic development. To reverse this trend, urban design, planning, and development practitioners must work alongside community and economic developers to help communities rebuild by leveraging their unique local assets and identities. Drawing on 35 years of experience leading transformative neighborhoods, citywide, and national initiatives, Bill Taft will explore how this work can reshape disinvested places and the people who live in them.
In this lecture, Reviving Disinvested Places, Economies, and Communities, Mr. Taft will examine the lasting impacts of deindustrialization and explore how grassroots, incremental, and design-informed approaches can help communities rebuild around their unique local assets.
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William (Bill) Taft is the Director of Interurban, a center within the Sagamore Institute that links community and economic development to help communities enhance quality of life. He leads a multidisciplinary team focused on economic development, affordable housing, small business ecosystems, workforce partnerships, real estate finance, urban design, and the adaptive reuse of disinvested commercial areas. Interurban works with local governments, foundations, and community organizations to design and implement transformative, sustainable projects that creatively leverage public, private, and philanthropic resources.