By Jim Bowman and Steve McClure (EXCERPT FROM QTIMES.COM): Last week marked the passing of a man whose impact on the Quad Cities will be felt for decades to come.
Brian Vandewalle was an urban planning icon who saw the region not just as it was, but as it could be. Those of us who knew and worked with him understood the transformational potential he envisioned — possibilities that many in the community initially viewed as a very big “if.”
We were fortunate to work closely with Brian over many years and witness how he inspired public and private leaders to pursue bold, long range visions to rebuild their communities. Moline was a major benefactor of his iconic work. He was instrumental in shifting Moline’s downtown Mississippi Riverfront from a blighted, contaminated, and unsightly industrial area — slated to become the site of a new civic center — into the world class urban places and spaces we enjoy today. (Full article here.)