Students at Science Hall had a change of pace Thursday afternoon when Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz gave a guest lecture for Geography 305, Introduction to the City.
Using issues and projects in Madison as his base, Cieslewicz provided students insight into the development and maintenance of a modern city.
Cieslewicz outlined Madison's liberal public policy tradition and future plans for development, stressing the importance of constant changes taking place in Madison. 'Change and adaptation are part of every city no matter where it is,' Cieslewicz said.
Having arrived on his bike, Cieslewicz introduced plans for continued urban growth under a planning and construction platform which reduces dependency on cars. New Urbanism, as Cieslewicz labeled the plan, involves new and more efficient mass transportation, such as electric street cars and space-saving suburban development.
Emphasizing his goals and policies for a healthy city, Cieslewicz applied a positive health standard not only to individual citizens, but to environment and business growth.
'He gave pretty good insight on Madison's future and where the city is headed,' UW-Madison junior Cory Slaughterbach said.
Addressing the benefits and drawbacks of a dense downtown population, Cieslewicz acknowledged issues such as congestion but argued that such problems can be overshadowed by the diversity, creativity and wealth production that accompany dense populations.
Cieslewicz's presentation boasted the creation of 2,400 new housing units in the last six years and the construction of a new municipal pool. The mayor also said these achievements were only the tip of the iceberg.
Despite these gains, not everyone in attendance expressed approval. 'He's been talking about Wi-Fi downtown since 2003 and it seems like it still takes a lot before anything happens,' said UW-Madison student Josh Harder.
Commenting on the mayor's future plans, Harder went on to compliment Cieslewicz. 'He said a lot of good things,' Harder said. 'It's just the act of implementing them.'
Cieslewicz also hinted at a possible teaching career. 'I love coming to talk to classes,' he said. 'I'd love to teach and have even been discussing the possibility of teaching a course next semester.'
