Key Takeaways from UMA’s 2019 National Gathering: Milwaukee

In 2019, the Urban Manufacturing Alliance brought together more than 120 manufacturing and economic development practitioners in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for its annual National Gathering. Set against the backdrop of the city’s revitalizing industrial corridors—from the Menomonee Valley to the Harbor District—the event highlighted local efforts to reconnect people, place, and production.

Participants toured redevelopment sites along Milwaukee’s rivers and heard directly from community leaders working to restore public space, reintroduce native habitats, and create new economic opportunities through manufacturing. Programming focused on storytelling as a tool for advancing equitable industrial development, with practitioners sharing their own experiences and learning strategies to communicate the value of their work to broader audiences.