Recently listed among TripAdvisor’s “Coolest Neighborhoods in the U.S.,” Miami-Dade County’s Wynwood district is known for the colorful murals that line its walls and the bustling eateries and drinkeries that attract locals and tourists alike. On this tour, the visionary developer of Wynwood will discuss the transformation of this once nondescript and blighted warehouse district into a national destination and invite input from attendees on how arts and culture help to catalyze neighborhood revitalization in urban counties.

In counties across America, homelessness is a crisis confronting local government. In the early 1990s, Miami-Dade County established The Homeless Trust to address its own crisis of homelessness. During this conversation, attendees will hear from the founders and leaders of the Trust about its formation and demonstrated impact, discuss the sustainability of recurring funding sources and offer their own insights stemming from local efforts to address homelessness.

Open to all Symposium attendees, this business meeting will focus on strategic planning related to future LUCC activities and events, including a discussion on the 2020 U.S. Census and the role of urban county leaders in ensuring accurate and complete counts in their jurisdictions.

Urban county leaders have embraced the pivotal role of counties in ensuring healthy beginnings for all children in their communities, but often struggle to find funding sources for these efforts. In 2002, the residents of Miami-Dade County voted to create a Children’s Trust that would ensure ongoing funding for early childhood development in the county, helping to tangibly move the needle on the community’s early childhood development efforts. In this session, the Founding Chairman of the Children’s Trust will discuss its formation and successes in ensuring recurring funding from voters, and attendees will share their own solutions to addressing the critical issue of early childhood development.

During this interactive session, symposium attendees will have the opportunity to briefly share successful initiatives and model practices from their jurisdictions, with the objective of fostering connections amongst urban county officials and partners interested in similar issues. Attendees are encouraged to come to this session prepared to speak for 3-5 minutes about a local program or initiative that has measurably advanced their urban county's efforts to serve its residents.