That fact became indisputable to all by 1982 when Riley hired the citys first black police chief.
Visitors flock to the city’s walkable neighborhoods, thriving arts community and celebrated restaurants.
Riley, 73, is not downshifting to an idle retirement.
(Riley is also a Citadel alum, Class of 1964.)
Riley has also been named a Visiting Fellow at theUrban Land Institute.
I didnt want to go from a busy schedule as mayor to doing nothing.
I want to be productive."
What are the most important elements in creating a livable, age-friendly community?
It’s important to always have public spaces that can be used by people of all ages and incomes.
A community must always keep diversity on the radar screen because it doesnt just happen automatically.
A city is better when it’s diverse.
We’re now seeing our urban cores being re-energized and invested in, and that’s wonderful.
But we need to see to it this doesn’t drive out older people and those with lower incomes.
That way you’ll see all kinds of people enjoying that community.
It’s a wonderful template for what should be everywhere.
You are nationally known as a champion for public spaces.
Why do they matter so much to a community?
Public spaces matter because they belong to everyone and they matter to everyone.
We feel better when we see other people joyfully using the public realm.
We need that human energetic.
That just makes us happy!
Recently in Charleston, I met an older man who was visiting a waterfront park.
He was from the suburbs and would just go to the park to watch the people go by.
He always sat on the same bench and became very emotional in telling me about it.
The man was one of those shot by the bigot.
Without that park those two people would never have met or known anything about one another.
What’s the best way to see to it places in a community work well for all residents?
There are many architects who do it well and many who don’t.
What happens at the street level, where the building meets the sidewalk, is very important.
It’s important to make the space a desirable place.
There’s so much attention paid to what happens at the top of a building.
Now that’s good, and I like a building that’s interesting to look at.
But we dont experience cities in a helicopter we do that on a sidewalk.
That’s where people are.
You were the mayor of Charleston for 40 years.
What would you have done differently and what advice do you have for other mayors and city officials?
To be honest, I dont know if I would do anything differently.
It’s important to study cities everywhere to better understand your own city.
And always listen to people especially the people who are saying things you don’t want to hear.
I’ve always remembered that.
- You founded the Mayors' Institute on City Design almost 30 years ago.
Why did you create it and what does it do?
In the 1970s, we wondered if cities would even survive.
Mayors today are smart and they care, otherwise they wouldn’t get elected.
But they often don’t know a lot about placemaking.
TheMayors' Institute on City Designis one of my proudest accomplishments.
A thousand mayors have now been through the design institute.
They talk for two-and-a-half days with no interruptions and then magic happens.
One mayor told me he came home with a “new set of eyeglasses about his city.”
Jay Walljasper is an urban consultant and author ofThe Great Neighborhood Book.
