UACED was a partner bringing together teams from nine small communities (with populations between 2,000 and 18,000) across Alabama for the “ACE Communities Workshop” in Montevallo, AL on July 19th. The highlight of the program was Walkable and Vibrant Small Towns. Each team included the Mayor, a Council Member or City Clerk, planning professional, a healthy living advocate, as well as a civic volunteer and a funding partner. The all-day workshop, facilitated by America Walks, consisted of presentations on best practices in creating walkable communities, a panel discussion featuring staff from state agencies and organizations talking about available resources, a pop-up traffic calming demonstration and series of walkability audits, structured asset-mapping and goal-setting activities designed to kick-start these teams’ walkable community planning processes.
At the conclusion of the workshop, all nine teams eagerly committed to completing their “walkable community plans”. Additionally, UACED staff and the ACE program assured their continued support to provide follow-up training and design assistance workshops throughout 2019.
To learn more about the program, click here.