Empowering Communities Through Design with Elaine Minjy Limmer
Dot Dot Dot: The NINE dot ARTS Podcast
Episode 23
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As a longtime urban planner with community organizing expertise, Elaine Minjy Limmer brings a unique place-based and community-informed approach to planning. This episode discusses that approach in relation to commercial, civic, and education planning, exploring how to foster social inclusion and collective empowerment in each sector.
In reflecting on lessons learned from her years of community-engaged planning, Elaine emphasizes the importance of working with locals, “in a way where we can actually follow through on the implied promise that we make by listening to them.” She expresses the need to acknowledge a person’s deep connection to their land, especially as more climate change mitigation strategies uproot or create challenges for vulnerable communities. Elaine discusses how to build the imaginative capacity necessary to overcome such challenges and leverage art, culture, and placemaking for collective, community-informed solutions.
Discussed in the Episode:
Denver Parks and Recreation
Sasaki
Sasaki Foundation
Arté Noir at Midtown Square
Vivian Phillips on The NINE dot ARTS Podcast
A Voice at the Table
Mel Isidor
The American City Coalition
G{Code} House
Please Touch the Art
Architecture by Brad Cloepfil for the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver
About Elaine Minjy Limmer, Senior Parks Planner, City of Denver:
Formerly a Senior Associate Planner for Sasaki and Vice Chair of the Sasaki Foundation Board of Trustees, Elaine Minjy Limmer now serves as a Senior Parks Planner for the City of Denver. Elaine brings diverse experience in community engagement and communications strategy to institutional and civic projects. She strives to create ambitious, community-informed, and evidence-based solutions that empower people to shape the environment around them. Her experience working as a community organizer enables her to speak and listen across a variety of stakeholders and adapt to diverse audiences. She received a master’s degree in City Planning with an Urban Design Certificate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Tufts University.
About Dot Dot Dot: The NINE dot ARTS Podcast
Dot Dot Dot is the continuing conversation around art and placemaking in the built environment. Hosted by NINE dot ARTS CEO Martha Weidmann, episodes explore art, culture, community, and more with a range of reputable business leaders. Tune in biweekly to learn how an original art experience can boost your business and make a social impact.
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