About Designing Cities
Now in its fourteenth year, the NACTO Designing Cities Conference brings together over 1,000 people passionate about advancing the state of transportation in North American cities—engineers, planners, government agency leaders, elected officials, advocates, and other transportation professionals of all career levels.
Through a packed schedule of plenaries, peer sessions, workshops, Meet the Cities, and WalkShops, attendees leave Designing Cities with the knowledge, drive, and connections to sustain their work in making safer, more inclusive, accessible, and joyful cities.
Learn More: Why We Gather | Who Gathers | How NACTO Programs the Conference | How to Get Involved
Schedule at a Glance
Day 1: Tuesday, May 12
8am: Registration opens
9am to noon: Workshops (separate ticket purchase required)
1pm to 2:pm: Opening Plenary
2:15pm to 3:45pm: Meet the Cities
3:45pm to 5pm: Peer Sessions
6pm: Opening Reception
Day 2: Wednesday, May 13
8am: Breakfast
9:30am to 10:45am: Peer Sessions
11:15am to 12:30pm Peer Sessions
12:30pm: Lunch
1:15pm: Plenary
2:30pm to 5pm: WalkShops
After 5pm: Happy hours, neighborhood dinners, and other optional meetups and local activities
Day 3: Thursday, May 14
8am: Breakfast
9:30am to 10:45am: Peer Sessions
11:30am-1:00pm Meet-ups, Lunch
1:00pm: Plenary
2:30pm to 5pm: WalkShops
After 5pm: Happy hours, neighborhood dinners, and other optional meetups and local activities
Day 4: Friday, May 15
9am to 2pm: WalkShops
Our Program
Our program is full of opportunities to develop new skills, engage in policy discussions, and explore Minneapolis and the surrounding region.
WalkShops
Travel to neighborhoods across the region and dive into the latest transportation innovations, challenges, and opportunities on these tours led by local experts.
Plenaries
Plenaries on each day of the conference highlight inspirational leaders.
Peer Sessions
Peer sessions foster peer-to-peer learning on key issues—with tangible outcomes.
Add-on Workshops
Add-on workshops are designed to strengthen professional skills. Workshops will be held on Monday morning and cost an additional $300 to attend.
Structured and Casual Networking
Events like the welcoming reception, BIPOC Breakfast, Neighborhood Dinners, member meetups, and roundtables offer opportunities to connect with peers grappling with the same challenges and questions as you.
Member Program Committee
Kristopher Chandler
Principal Planner
City of Pittsburgh
Brad Coy
Municipal Traffic Engineer and Traffic Engineering Department Director
City of Anchorage
Sarah Davis
Active Transportation Senior Planner
City of Cleveland
Hannah Fong
Transportation Planner
City of Boston
Lauren Grove
Vision Zero Coordinator
City of Durham
Ryan Hirakida
Transit Design Engineer
City of Vancouver, Canada
Adriana Lopez Hernandez
Micromobility Planner
City of Phoenix
Jasmine Pomar
Chief of Staff, Department of Transportation
City of Oakland
Christof Spieler
Director of Transportation
City of Madison
Kimberly Venegas
Transportation Planning Associate II
City of Los Angeles
Jessica Wineberg
Vision Zero Policy Director
City of Milwaukee
Host City Members
Bria Fast
Senior Transportation Planner
City of Minneapolis
Allan Klugman
Traffic and Parking Services Director
City of Minneapolis
Ryan Heath
Manager, Transitways and Speed and Reliability Planning
Metro Transit
Learn more about the Member Program Committee and how NACTO programs the conference.
Community Well-Being and Safety at Designing Cities
Creating a Welcoming Environment
NACTO is committed to creating an engaging, inclusive, supportive, and productive atmosphere for the conference, and we ask all of our participants to contribute to this effort.
We pride ourselves on creating a safe, welcoming environment of belonging for all attendees, which we attribute to robust planning and coordination, as well as the intentional participation in creating this space from our host partner and all conference participants.
All attendees at Designing Cities have agreed to follow NACTO’s Event Participation Guidelines, which outline expected behavior as well as unacceptable behavior. If any participant witnesses behavior that does not support an inclusive environment and free exchange of ideas, NACTO staff should be notified. NACTO staff will immediately take any action deemed necessary, up to and including removing the offending participant from the event without a refund.
Health Measures
NACTO is committed to participants’ health and safety. Minneapolis has numerous world-class hospitals and health facilities for any medical emergency. Please refer to our Event Participation Guidelines for the latest information on masking and health.
Physical Security
Update: NACTO is monitoring the current situation in Minneapolis and is in constant communication with the City. See updates from the City of Minneapolis for the latest.
We recognize that many people are marginalized and sometimes even targeted verbally or physically in the United States. NACTO condemns violence in all forms and wants our attendees to feel supported. Our host, the City of Minneapolis, is committed to our values of creating safe, inclusive spaces.
In addition, all conference venues—including the host hotel—have seen and unseen security measures, and all conference attendees are clearly identified as such, with bright, visible lanyards. All WalkShops will be staffed by multiple leaders who have been briefed on safety protocols. All WalkShops will have been practiced in full before the conference, with an eye to the highest-quality participant experience, including safety.
If you have any questions or recommendations about safety and well-being at NACTO’s conference, please email our team at events@nacto.org. For any more immediate needs, please find a NACTO staffer or conference volunteer at the event.
Additional resources include: