On March 9, the American Planning Association's Inland Empire Section hosted a major forum featuring speakers from across the west, and volunteers from Studio Cascade helped lead the process.

Entitled “Active Communities: Planning and Public Health in the Built Environment,” the day-long series of lectures and panel discussions highlighted the importance of design and its effects on physical activity and health. Missed it? Here's the collection of slide presentations, including a bit about the experts that presented them:

“Environmental Public Health” - Bob Lutz, Physician, cycling advocate
“Rock Gyms, Coffee Shops, and the End of Suburbia” - Bob Scarfo, Professor, Washington State University
“Safe Routes to School: New Active Community Teams” - David Levinger, Executive Director, Feet First
“Active Communities: Planning and Public Health in the Built Environment” - Heleen Dewey, Educator, Spokane Regional Health District
“Public Health and the Built Environment: A Toolkit for Planners” - Matt Raimi, Principal, Raimi Associates, San Francisco
“Making Plans” - Melissa Eadie, Planner, City of Spokane
“The Portland Way: Reforming Sprawl Produces Active Communities” - Robert Liberty, Council, Portland Metro
“Public Health: Always Working for a Safer and Healthier Washington” - Victor Coleman, Policy Analyst, Washington State Department of Health

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Bill Grimes, principal of Studio Cascade, provided views on the challenges of running a small business - and on how local relationships foster stronger, more cohesive communities - in the January 2007 issue of the Spokane Business Catalyst.

The segment, a regular feature entitled "What Works for Me," closes each issue, and provides businesspeople with perspectives on how their peers are succeeding in the Spokane area. Grimes noted the differences between big city life and the importance of knowing people in multiple contexts, something he experienced for the first time when living in small-town Okanogan, Washington.

"Living in a small town changed the way I see things, reshaped the way I conduct business, and raised my expectations of what others can offer," he wrote.

A copy of Grimes' article is available by cllicking the following link: "What Works for Me," Spokane Business Catalyst, January, 2007.

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The Town of Rockford, Washington was recently honored with an American Planning Association (APA) and Planning Association of Washington (PAW) award for it's work with Studio Cascade on its "Main Street" and Development Regulations update projects.

Judges rated the work tops in the Rural/Small-Town Plans category, citing the project's effective use of State funds in correlating long-range planning with working regulations, including the development of its new "Town Center Overlay" district.

"We were already excited about how well both projects turned out," said SCI project lead Rick Hastings, "getting an award from the APA and PAW just adds to our sense that even on a tight budget, small towns can acheive remarkable results."

The award even helped generate rare regional coverage of the town's plans for itself - in September 2006, Spokane's Spokesman-Review published a nice article about Rockford.