2024 Fall Issue of Urban Land - 31

INSIDE THE ULI FOUNDATION
Former Mayor Mick Cornett Named
ULI Canizaro/Klingbeil Fellow
for Urban Development
RON NYREN
Mick cornett, former four-term
mayor of Oklahoma City, has been
appointed as the new ULI Canizaro/
Klingbeil Fellow for Urban Development.
As mayor from 2004 to 2018,
Cornett led Oklahoma City through
an economic transformation after
years of disinvestment in the urban
core, compounded by the aftereffects
of the 1995 bombing of the
downtown federal building.
A local sportscaster at the time
of the bombing, Cornett became a
news anchor. He covered city hall in
the late 1990s and entered public
service by winning a city council
seat in 2001. " For decades, Oklahoma
City had been a community
with low standards for itself, " Cornett
says. " Everything built in the [1950s]
through the [1980s] was very value
conscious. There wasn't any incentive
for outsiders to invest in the city.
And we had our brand wounded by
tragedy. We were losing a generation
of young people-if you got
a degree, especially an advanced
degree, you weren't coming back to
MICK CORNETT
Oklahoma City, because we didn't
have jobs that measured up to that
level of educational attainment. "
After his immediate predecessors
spearheaded two Metropolitan Area
Projects (MAPS) initiatives that used
a sales tax to fund downtown developments
and public-school projects,
Mayor Cornett chaired the Core to
Shore redevelopment plan to revitalize
the area extending from the
southern edge of the downtown's
heart to the Oklahoma River. He
attracted the NBA's Oklahoma City
Thunder to town and championed
the MAPS 3 initiative, a $777 million
quality-of-life infrastructure program.
In 2010, he sponsored a ULI Advisory
Services panel to identify ways
of encouraging and guiding private
development within the MAPS 3
area. The MAPS 3 initiative resulted
in construction of a new convention
center, a new downtown public park,
a new streetcar line, new sidewalks,
new bicycle and running trails, and
new health and wellness facilities
along the Oklahoma River. Under
Cornett's leadership, Oklahoma City
experienced an economic renaissance,
creating more than 80,000
new jobs and reimagining its urban
core.
" We completely transformed our
inner city and infrastructure, " Cornett
says. " We're the only city . . . I
know of that basically dug up all of
its downtown streets and redesigned
them to be more walkable, more
pedestrian friendly, and more heavily
lined with landscaping and on-street
parking. " He sees this emphasis on
creating a livable, attractive urban
environment that also encourages
health and wellness as aligning
closely with ULI's mission.
While mayor, Cornett initiated a
program that helped Oklahoma City
residents collectively lose a million
pounds. He also wrote The Next
American City: The Big Promise of
Our Midsize Metros, published by
Putnam Random House in 2018.
As the ULI Canizaro/Klingbeil
Fellow, Cornett aims to broaden
ULI's reach and impact by advising
ULI; working closely with ULI District
Councils; and speaking to local,
national, and international audiences
outside ULI, as well. " I picture my
role as [that of] an ambassador to
communities for ULI, " he says. " It's
about trying to learn what a community
is experiencing and . . . trying
to accomplish, and [about] using my
experience to share ideas that might
be helpful. " He hopes to leverage his
global network and his experience to
support local leaders in their community
development efforts. " I get
goosebumps when I talk to people
who are seeing their city as it is but
dreaming of what it could be, " he
says.
Cornett's appointment continues
the legacy of the ULI Fellows Program,
established in 1996 to enhance
ULI's role in promoting responsible
land use and sustainable, thriving
communities. ULI Fellows explore,
research, document, and educate ULI
members and stakeholders around
the globe. Jointly funded by Joseph
and Sue Canizaro and the Klingbeil
Family Foundation, the Canizaro/
Klingbeil Fellow ensures ULI remains
a leading authority on urban issues.
UL
RON NYREN is a freelance architecture and real
estate writer based in the San Francisco Bay area.
FALL 202 4
URBAN LAND
31
ULI FOUNDATION
2024 Fall Issue of Urban Land

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