Discussion: Redefining Rural

Bio: Charles W. Fluharty is the founder, President, and CEO of the Rural Policy Research Institute. RUPRI is the only national policy institute in the U.S. solely dedicated to assessing the rural impacts of public policies. Continual service is currently provided to Congressional members and staff, executive branch agencies, state legislatures and executive agencies, non-governmental organizations, and rural researchers. Since RUPRI's founding in 1990, over 300 scholars representing 16 different disciplines in over 100 universities, all U.S. states and 30 other nations have participated in RUPRI projects. Collaborations with the OECD, the European Commission, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, and other international organizations are contributing to RUPRI's comparative rural policy foci. A Research Professor in the Harry S Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri-Columbia, he is the author of numerous policy studies and journal articles addressing the rural differential in public policy decision-making, and has presented dozens of Congressional testimonies and briefings.

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Bio: I am happy to say that I work with an incredibly talented and inspiring group of people at BNIM in Kansas City, MO. We work on sustainable community planning projects of a variety of scales: neighborhood, higher education campuses, municipalities, and regional. One of my primary motivations in planning and architectural design is to engage community members in dialogue to find ways to achieve their aspirations. In my work I seek to empower community voices and promote healthy, active, and creative living.

Education: Masters of Urban Planning, The University of Kansas Masters of Architecture, The University of Kansas Bachelors of Fine Art in Interior Architecture, The University of Houston

Key Publications: Co-author: Building Research and Information, Special Issue Regenerative Design and Development, "Stimulating Regenerative Development through Community Dialogue," Volume 40 Number 1, January-February 2012. Co-author: KC Business magazine and Midwest Commercial Journal, 2010. "Green Agenda: Where are we now? New Models of Doing Business." April 2010 Co-author: “Design Denied: The Dynamics of the Withholding of Good Design and Their Ethical Implications,” Archeworks, Chicago, IL, edited by Michael LaCoste, 5/05.

Other Publications: Three team entries published: Sustainable Kansas City Competition, Vol. 1, 2008. Urban Stream Restoration, The Greener KC Grant Program, and Velotaxi KC Cruiser.

Past Assignments: New Partners for Smart Growth Conference 2012 (Kansas City, MO): "Food Access Equity: From Policy to Action" KS/MO APA Conference 2012 (Kansas City, MO): "Redefining Rural: Lessons Learned for Revitalizing Sustainable Rural Communities" Living Future 2012 unConference (Portland): "Practicing Regenerative Design and Development in Three Part Harmony" National APA Conference 2010 (New Orleans): "Unconventional Approach to Public Involvement" Missouri APA Conference 2009: "Adventures in Planning: Grassroots Public Participation Techniques" WPA 2.0 CityLab competition, research and presentation, September 2009. "Daylighting Infrastructure." Research on robust opportunities within Kansas City, Missouri infrastructure to strengthen communities and revitalize the city.

Bio: Ty Warner AICP is the Executive Director of the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (www.nirpc.org). Formerly the inaugural Executive Director of the Flint Hills Regional Council of Kansas, he assisted in launching the first regional council to be formed in the United States in over two decades. Prior to this, he served as Director of Planning for the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission and as a Principal with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, and was Planning Director for Will County, Illinois, where he guided growth and development on the urban/rural fringe for the fastest growing county outside the sunbelt.

Education: He received his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Wheaton College, Illinois, and his Masters of Urban Planning and Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Past Assignments: Ty has served as adjunct faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, teaching graduate-level courses in public participation. He presented "Infrastructure Planning: An Expanded View” at the 2007 American Planning Association National Conference in Philadelphia, focusing on context-sensitive design, the “eco-logical” planning process, and the consideration of green as well as grey infrastructure, made part of APA’s “Best of Contemporary Community Planning” series of CD-ROM training packages. He has spoken in various forums on topics including comprehensive regional planning, intergovernmental collaboration, conservation design, and planning with military installations, and designed and led a series of Planning Commissioner training workshops across northeastern Illinois. In 2009 he co-chaired the APA Upper Midwest Planning Conference, gathering 700 planners from 16 states and Canada in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Daniel Burnham’s and Edward Bennett’s Plan of Chicago.