CHICAGO, IL – June 14, 2005 – City of Miami Mayor Manny Diaz touted Miami 21, the new comprehensive master plan for the City of Miami, during a meeting in Chicago of the Mayor’s Institute on City Design (MICD) on June 13, 2005.

As a featured speaker during the morning session of the MICD, Mayor Diaz related: "I believe in the big picture - that a Mayor's ultimate task is to make a city livable - not just while we are in office, but to establish a vision that will continue for generations to come . . . to be the architect of a city's future. "

Mayor Diaz elaborated by discussing Miami 21, the new comprehensive master plan for the City of Miami . Launched earlier this year, Miami 21 is based on new urbanism and smart growth principles which will consider the aspects of economic development, parks and public places, transportation, historic preservation, and arts and culture in its total development and implementation. Other cities have recently requested additional information about Miami 21 with the hope of beginning a similar plan of their own.

"I envision a Miami where a resident will find convenient public transportation, world class centers of art and culture, diverse neighborhoods, abundant parks and streetscapes that are accessible to pedestrians," said Mayor Diaz. "All with the hope of invoking a sense of pride in the City. I believe that Miami 21 will be the greatest legacy I leave during in my time in office. "

Mayor Diaz is one of a handful of Mayors named to the National Advisory Council of the Mayor's Institute on City Design, a program dedicated to improving the design and livability of America's cities through the efforts of their chief elected leaders. The program is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), established by the NEA in 1986 in collaboration with the US Conference of Mayors and is currently administered by the American Architectural Foundation in partnership with the NEA and the US Conference of Mayors.