FAQ

Unlike a typical conference and previous iterations of the Gathering, this year’s event will take place in multiple locations within a short (5-15 minute) walk of one another in downtown Providence. These locations include Grace Episcopal Church (300 Westminster St), which will be the main “hub” for the whole event and include our registration table, information, sponsor tables and breakfast, plus the Providence Public Library (150 Empire St), the Hotel Providence (139 Mathewson St) and more. We will provide detailed maps and signage, and have volunteers on hand to help with wayfinding.

Most attendees will likely want to arrive in the afternoon on Monday, June 9. Registration will be open at Grace Episcopal Church Pavilion by 2pm and the Gathering officially kicks off with an opening night party later that evening. You are also welcome to arrive later in the evening on Monday and just grab your badge and registration on Tuesday morning, June 10, as the main sessions will start Tuesday morning. You can depart the evening of June 11, or hang out in Providence to attend the annual Congress for the New Urbanism if you wish.

Wear whatever you like! You’ll probably see people in everything from jeans and tees to suits. We do recommend decent walking shoes and appropriate weather gear (rain jacket, umbrella, etc.) as this event will involve traveling on foot between different venues. We will have some shuttle buses available for those who need them.

Breakfast will be provided on both Tuesday and Wednesday. You will need to cover your own lunch and dinner throughout the event, as well as drinks at evening events. We are looking to coordinate some food trucks near Grace Church during the lunch and dinner hours on Tuesday and Wednesday, and we will provide a list of area restaurants for all your meals as well.

Yes. The lunch times will be largely un-programmed and open for whatever you might choose to do. The evenings after 5pm will include some optional activities, but you are encouraged to use that time to meet up with fellow attendees however you wish.

We hope so. We’ll let you know more soon.

Yes, we do plan to have some merchandise available for purchase at the Grace Episcopal Church Pavilion throughout the event. We’ll let you know when we have more information about items and pricing.

Some sessions may be recorded and released at a later date on the Strong Towns podcast, YouTube or Academy channels, but we can’t make any promises because we’re not sure how the audio and video quality will turn out. With that in mind, if you want to see a session, you’re highly encouraged to attend it live.

AICP members can earn Certification Maintenance (CM) credits for most of the sessions at the Strong Towns National Gathering. Use your personal electronic log to claim CM credits for the sessions that you attend.

CNU and Strong Towns have been partners on our events for the last few years. This year, due to space constraints in Providence and our desire to expand the scope of our event a bit, we are hosting in our own space and do not have a formal partnership with CNU. However, we may announce shared discounts for each other’s respective events in the future, and we encourage anyone interested in attending CNU to hang out in Providence for the Congress, which will begin directly following our Gathering.

Before the event: Get in touch with michelle@strongtowns.org.

During the event: Head to the Strong Towns registration table in the Grace Episcopal Church Pavilion at any time throughout the event, or find a Strong Towns staff person or volunteer in any of our event spaces. We’ll help you out.