The SDAT workshop relies on substantial community and stakeholder engagement and is a very intense and interactive process. Through community input at a public meeting and focus groups, ideas for addressing critical social, economic, and ecological issues will be translated into different concepts for neighborhood renewal. These will be highly visual, with plenty of maps, sketches, and diagrams illustrating sustainable neighborhood renewal.

The Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) initiative is a national, competitive program of the American Institute of Architects. The program is a community assistance program that focuses on the principles of sustainability. SDATs bring teams of volunteer professionals (such as architects, urban designers, planners, landscape architects, hydrologists, economists, attorneys, and others) to assist community decision-makers and stakeholders to help them develop a vision and framework for a sustainable future. Visit the AIA SDAT website for complete information.

The Indianapolis SDAT Team members are (click for bio information):

• Dennis Andrejko, FAIA, SDAT Team Leader
• Kaid Benfield – Land Use and Sustainability
• Paul Fontaine – Urban Design and Land Use
• Don Edwards – Consensus Building and Civic Engagement
• Judy Shaw – Brownfield Redevelopment
• Carletta Singleton – Transportation
• Abe Farkas – Economic Development and Public-Private Partnerships

The SDAT process helps communities:

• understand their structure at various scales and contexts;
• explore interactions between ecological, sociological, economic, and physical systems;
• visualize potential futures;
• articulate the qualities of a place;
• advance the principles of sustainable communities; and
• define the role of stakeholders and players in both the public and private sectors.

Workshop Organization

The workshop is a three-day affair, concentrating on gathering community input on Wednesday, interpretting that input into several alternative visions and policies for the future on Thursday, and wrapping everything into a cohesive story for a public presentation on Friday.

The workshop will have two tracks: a macro-policy/analysis track focused on large-scale public policy and community structure issues related to sustainable neighborhood renewal, and a charrette track focused on exploring how those macr0-policies mesh with community desires and manifest themselves on the ground in the neighborhood. The macro-policy track will develop a series of policy and community recommendations, while the charrette track will develop up to three graphic, alternative visions for what the area might look like in the future based on those recommendations and community input. All work will be evaluated against a series of Policies and Goals previously identified through the Smart Growth Renewal process.

Tuesday, October 13th
Time TBA: Stakeholder Open House
Julia Carson Government Center
300 East Fall Creek Parkway North Drive

Wednesday, October 28th

5:30-6:15pm: Free Community Dinner

6:15-8:30pm: Town Hall Meeting

Thursday, October 29th

7:00-7:30pm: Progress Check & Dessert

Friday, October 30th

6:30-8:00pm: Community Presentation

• All events are FREE.
• In addition to these key community events, the entire workshop is open to the public. Focus groups will also be held, with the topic and audience of each determined after input from the Oct 13th Open House.
• All events will be held at the Washington Park Family Center, 3130 E 30th Street.
• Download a complete schedule (PDF)

More Information & Registration

We need to hear your voice. Sign up to attend one of our key events.

We need your expertise. Sign up to volunteer for a portion of, or the full, workshop.

We want you to experience a world-class, community-based design workshop. Sign up to volunteer for a portion of, or the full, workshop.