Last month, over 1,000 city transportation practitioners headed to Minneapolis for the 14th NACTO Designing Cities Conference. Buildings and bridges glowed in NACTO green. Hundreds of people gathered after dark to cheer for the Minneapolis overnight painting crew as they striped road lines. And participants spread out across the city and region to experience and learn from award-winning parks and trails, major regional investments in public transit, and one of the best bike networks in the nation. 

Having so many professionals in one place—from those just starting out to seasoned experts—was a powerful reminder of the talent and passion within our field. Attendees left the Twin Cities with ideas that they’ll carry into their work to make cities safer, more connected, more accessible, and more joyful. 

Here’s what we’re taking away:

Resilience isn’t just about infrastructure; it’s about the strength of community and love of where we live. 

A few months ago, we didn’t know if this conference was going to happen. The streets of Minneapolis were roiling as federal agents detained thousands and killed two community members. But the people of Minnesota showed up for their communities and cared for their neighbors. While the scars of Operation Metro Surge remain, the Designing Cities conference turned into an opportunity not just to focus on Minneapolis’ transportation wins, but the community’s strength and resilience. 

Throughout our conference planning process, the Minneapolis Public Works staff remained dedicated to sharing their successes and challenges with their peers—from how they handle winter maintenance to their framework for embedding equity in transportation decision-making. Despite the deep uncertainty they were experiencing, they pulled out all the stops to plan a fantastic event, with conference mainstays like dozens of WalkShops across the city and neighborhood dinners as well as fun new events, including a DJ bike ride and the first-ever, and wildly successful, NACTO After Dark. 

Different perspectives improve our work and turn projects into meaningful opportunities to create community connections.

With support from the McKnight Foundation, we put local art and artists to the forefront this year, with opportunities to print silkscreen posters, tees, and totes; sew conference-themed patches; and craft metal objects in a city bus-turned smeltery. Our Wednesday plenary explored how artists can show us the way a city currently is, its history, and the possibilities for how it can be. We were reminded of the importance of bringing in different perspectives to ground our work in the people and communities we’re serving. Our work can connect people both literally and socially, and incorporating varied viewpoints ensures we aren’t just designing for a neighborhood, but building something together with them. 

Celebrate successes, but don’t ignore flaws.

In our closing plenary, ACLU President Deborah Archer urged us to ground our work in the people we’re serving and reminded us of the ways transportation infrastructure has been used to divide communities and create and maintain racial segregation. 

Minneapolis showed how this mindset means leaning into uncomfortable truths. They didn’t just celebrate their successes; they showed us the areas where they can improve. The Twin Cities region is home to vibrant Indigenous, Black, East African, Southeast Asian, and Latine communities that contribute to its social and economic fabric. But these groups are impacted by structural racism, historic disinvestment, and inequitable transportation and land use decisions. Minneapolis is tackling this unequal access through engagement efforts and a commitment to transportation equity, and also by acknowledging where they’re currently falling short.

It’s critical to bring joy to our work.

Working in city transportation can occasionally—often—be stressful and frustrating and disappointing. But most of us do it because we love our communities and we see the potential of transportation to connect people and improve lives. 

Our conference provided many moments of joy, critical to sustaining our practice: 

• Experiencing over 100 people scream like boy-band fans for a Public Works painting crew—at night!. 
• Trying our own hands at painting a rainbow crosswalk with LGBT+ folks and allies. 
• Making s’mores at our reception—why limit these to kids?
• Peddling through MSP to rockin’ beats on a DJ bike ride. 🤘
• Small moments of connection and laughter, during sessions, in hallways, on streets, in bike lanes, and even stuck together in unexpected hours-long traffic (hey, that can be the sign of a vibrant city). 

Leaving Minneapolis, we hope you feel recharged by the time we had to connect, learn, celebrate our progress, and cheer each other on. We certainly do. 

Conference Materials

• Plenary Recordings
• Conference Photo Gallery (feel free to download and use photos for non-commercial purposes!)
• Peer Session Slides: Navigate to the peer session in the conference agenda to see the associated slides
• Meet the Cities Poster Gallery
• Attendee List

Did you attend the conference? Don’t forget to claim your professional credits! If you took great photos you’d love to share with the network, upload them here.

Stay Involved

Let’s carry the momentum of Designing Cities to the rest of the year. Watch our events page for more opportunities to connect. Sign up for NACTO’s newsletter for updates on what’s happening at NACTO and to celebrate member wins.

NACTO members forum

Anyone working for a NACTO member city or transit agency can stay connected with our community year-round through our online forum, peer networks, and dozens of members-only online events.

Designing Cities 2027: Nashville

Next year, NACTO’s 15th annual Designing Cities Conference will bring us to Nashville, Tennessee, from May 11 to May 14, 2027. When we have registration details, we’ll email this list and post information on our website. We hope to see you there!

Thanks to our sponsors

Thanks to the sponsors who made this event possible! Learn more about the companies and organizations that supported our conference this year. Thinking of sponsoring in 2027? Our sponsor opportunities fill up—see last year’s information and start preparing to lock it in!