The way cities are planned, zoned and designed has a major impact on our quality of life, especially when land is appropriated into a larger municipality. Attend this Urban Design Forum to learn about Africatown of Plateau, Mobile, Alabama and the Design Competition that could shape how its story is told for years to come.
SpeakersModerator: Valarie Franklin, AIA, NOMA, Moody Nolan
Presenter: Renee Kemp-Rotan, Assoc. AIA, StudioRotan
DescriptionThis Urban Design Forum will feature Urban Designer and Master Planner Renee Kemp-Rotan, the President and CEO of StudioRotan, who has presented on topics such as Race + Privilege, Design + Social Impact, Women in Architecture, and more. This event will focus on Plateau, Alabama, also known as “Africatown”, its historical significance, and the future vision for the community.
In 2019, archaeologists confirmed the discovery of the Clotilda, the last slave ship that brought captives from Africa to the United States illegally. In 1865, 32 emancipated Africans that were captives on the Clotilda founded Africatown. There is still so much to be learned about Africatown, which was negatively impacted by racist zoning practices that affected the vibrant community with industry. The recent discovery of Clotilda prompted a conversation about how to design the The Africatown Cultural Mile, which will be a 10-mile series of monuments, memorials and interpretive sites that speak to American slavery. The Africatown International Design Idea Competition, sponsored by AIA, NOMA and Move CDC, will kick off on June 19th (Juneteenth) of this year, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to support its organization.
About the Speaker
Renee Kemp-Rotan
An internationally regarded urban designer, Kemp-Rotan's works are now included in The African American National Biography, edited by Dr. Henry Louis Gates/Harvard University (WEB Dubose School of Research) and archived in the African American Archives, Oxford University, England. RKR was nominated by three American Institute of Architects Presidents to serve on the National Diversity and Inclusion Council (Governance Chair). Renee, as a long standing member of AIA and NOMA, (National Organization of Minority Architects) was featured in ARCHITECTURE Magazine, December 2016 and NOMA Magazine, Fall 2017. She recently re-ignited StudioRotan, her civic design firm, established in 1988. As a DC native, Renee attended DC Public Schools, won the AIA/Ford Foundation Minority Scholarship Award to Syracuse and since has travelled the world to 33 countries. She is the mother of sons: Aaron/US Marine and Tai/Morehouse; and grandmother to four: Jarred; twins, Josh and Jake and namesake, Baby Renee.
Event Partner