Join us for the 3rd Annual
The Vision is Yours Conference

Highlandtown, Baltimore
May 6–7, 2027

The Vision is Yours is the Neighborhood Design Center’s annual placemaking and placekeeping conference.

This multi-day gathering convenes urban planners, community leaders, designers, artists, and public officials to explore innovative approaches to reimagining our public spaces.

From inspiring keynotes and hands-on learning labs, to lively networking events and mobile workshops showcasing groundbreaking projects, the forum sparks the radical imagination needed to shape a brighter, more equitable and inclusive future shaped by local communities.

Build community power and strengthen local ecosystems.

Great neighborhoods are shaped by more than buildings and public spaces. They are sustained by the people, relationships, institutions, and investments that give places their character and communities the capacity to thrive.

Lasting change requires connecting community knowledge and priorities with the resources, expertise, and partnerships needed to shape a more equitable built environment.

The Vision Is Yours brings together community leaders, designers, planners, artists, developers, public agencies, and funders to explore how we build community power and strengthen the ecosystems that support neighborhood change.

Through candid conversations, practical learning, and place-based experiences, we examine what it takes to move from planning to implementation—and how coordinated action across sectors can create greater impact than any single project or organization could achieve alone.

Investing in Whole Blocks and Existing Communities

How can renewed investment strengthen whole blocks and neighborhoods while ensuring current residents shape and benefit from investment? Baltimore offers a powerful place to share strategies for connecting housing, public space, community-generated plans, neighborhood leadership, and investment at the scale of the community block.

Arts and Culture as Civic Infrastructure

Artists can make neighborhoods more vibrant, culturally expressive, and connected, and sustain community identity and cultural memory. But bringing a creative vision into the built environment often requires navigating complex systems of planning, permitting, engagement, and funding.

How can we equip artists and communities with the relationships and knowledge they need to move from creative vision to implementation? We invite proposals that showcase artists collaborating with community leaders, government agencies, developers, and other partners who can help unlock new pathways for place-based cultural investment.

Maintenance and Stewardship

New investment is visible and exciting. Long term care is less visible—but essential for clean, healthy and sustainable communities. Its long term success depends on clear responsibility, sustained funding, community capacity, skilled labor, and strong relationships among residents, artists, property owners, and public agencies.

How do we build the relationships, resources, and practices needed to steward the places we have already created? We invite proposals that elevate maintenance and stewardship as essential components of equitable placemaking and placekeeping.

Are you a speaker or facilitator with practical tools, fresh perspectives, and real-world experience to share?

We welcome proposals for 60-minute Workshops and Panels. Learn more below and apply by December 5, 2026.

Foster connections, spark innovation, and build the foundation for a more inclusive and arts-driven future. Put your firm’s expertise in the room alongside leading practitioners and community leaders and build meaningful relationships across sectors.

Registration

Travel and Lodging 

Check back soon! Hotel block to come mid November 2026.

Accessibility

We are committed to making this event as accessible and welcoming as possible. Accommodations are available upon request, and we will make every effort to meet individual access needs within the circumstances of the event.

Please share any access needs you would like us to be aware of, including all requests for accommodation, during registration. For additional accessibility requests or questions, contact Briony Hynson or bhynson@ndc-md.org by April 15, 2027.

Questions?

Contact NDC Deputy Director Briony Hynson
bhynson@ndc-md.org

Media Contact

Contact Sara Warfield, on behalf of NDC
Sara@SaraWarfieldCommunications.com
410-952-1271

Thank you to our Conference Partners

Steering Committee 

Location Host

Funding Partners

Get excited for The Vision is Yours 2027!

Last year, 260 participants from across the region came together for an unforgettable event.

Discover what made it a standout gathering — explore The Vision is Yours 2026 conference recap or watch the highlight reel below.