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NASHVILLE DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP CELEBRATES 30th ANNIVERSARY AND WELCOMES INFLUENTIAL URBANIST JEFF SPECK AT ANNUAL MEETING & AWARDS LUNCHEON

Nashville, Tenn. Nashville Downtown Partnership is celebrating 30 years of service delivery and positive impact on the downtown neighborhood at this year’s Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, November 12, 2024 at Omni Nashville Hotel. Teaming up with Vanderbilt University to bring esteemed author and city planner Jeff Speck to downtown’s biggest business event, the Downtown Partnership will unveil six award winners who represent some of the most exciting projects to be delivered downtown this year.

Guests can expect a timely and resonant keynote. Speck’s TED talks and YouTube videos have been viewed more than six million times. His book Surburban Nation (2010) was deemed “the urbanist’s bible” by The Wall Street Journal, and his follow-up book, Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time (2012), was named “the second-best urban planning book of all time.” Speck’s expertise and insights are being shared with civic leaders at a time when city planning and managing growth are front and center, including a transit referendum on the November 5th ballot to fund and upgrade public infrastructure.

“We’re excited to bring Jeff Speck to Nashville to share his expertise with our community and city leaders,” said Tom Turner, President and CEO of the Nashville Downtown Partnership. “He’s a bona fide downtown expert and champion of great neighborhoods, and I expect that what he’s able to share about our own city will inspire exciting new perspectives for us all to consider.”

“The transformation of downtown Nashville into a vibrant cultural center and destination for visitors across the country has been one of the great urban success stories,” Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said. “Jeff Speck’s influential work on connected urban communities aligns fundamentally with Vanderbilt University’s vision for Nashville’s future, and we hope his insight will further inspire our city to grow and evolve in new, bold ways.”

This event also recognizes individuals and businesses that are shaping and transforming the downtown neighborhood. Award winners are selected in the categories of LIVE, WORK, PLAY and INVEST, and are announced at the event.

Tickets to the Partnership’s Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon are available for purchase at nashvilledowntown.com/events/annual-meeting.

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About Nashville Downtown Partnership

Organized in 1994, the Nashville Downtown Partnership is a private-sector nonprofit corporation and membership organization whose core purpose is “to make Downtown Nashville the compelling urban center in the Southeast in which to LIVE, WORK, PLAY and INVEST.” For more information, visit nashvilledowntown.com.