Four valuable initiatives for Dayton ideated from Summit sessions

The fourth annual 2012 updayton Summit was held on Friday, April 27th at the Dayton Art Institute. Over 200 young professionals gathered and developed the following initiatives to address issues of alternative transportation, diversity, neighborhoods, and urban vibrancy:

1. WalkBusBike: Develop promoted routes of downtown streets to connect business districts or highlight points of interest, with the purpose of informing bicyclists and pedestrians which routes are safe and easy to use.

2. Diverse Dayton: Post an engaging, active social media hub to connect immigrant community with the library and each other. This hub will also serve as a resource center for videos with topics like “How to get your driver’s license.”

3. Neighborhood Revival: Restore storefronts of businesses on major streets to be more inviting to residents and visitors and also create signage for the East End Community Center.

4. Discover Downtown: Create student leadership programs and event planning committees to get students already active on campus involved with putting on events that will attract their peers to downtown.

Dayton city officials Gary Lietzel, Judy Dodge, Debbie Lieberman, and Nan Whaley were all in attendance and had kind words to share. Mayor Gary Lietzel said this is the third Summit he has attended and “All three have energized me and it’s great to see Dayton young professionals charged up to make a difference.” Dayton City Commissioner Nan Whaley thanked the audience in her Game Changers panel by saying, “We already have a creative corridor. People are taking ownership of the city. No one’s asking you, you’re just doing it.”

Next steps? Those interested in the initiatives will go to the Action Plan Launch and start the projects with their fellow session members. The Action Plan Launch is scheduled for Tues. May 15 @ 6pm, at the River’s Edge Montessori School across from RiverScape MetroPark in downtown Dayton.