Maurice Cox, nationally renowned expert on urban design, professor of architecture at the University of Virginia, and former Director of Design for the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), will deliver the keynote address at the Nashville Civic Design Center’s annual ‘Living the Plan’ event on Wednesday, 13 October, 11:30 a.m. at the Hilton Nashville Downtown hotel.

Cox has long promoted the importance of intentional design in creating great cities. His talk will center on the role design plays in creating successful cities— healthy, sustainable, diverse, and economically vibrant. While in Nashville, Cox will also hold sessions for elected officials and developers/design professionals addressing strategies for promoting design excellence, and innovative ways to leverage good urban design into increased national attention for Nashville. Cox believes that good design is a basic democratic right, and views active citizen participation paired with the highest quality of architectural design, as one of the greatest catalysts for a city’s success.