Upcoming Urbanization Events

In case you have not noticed urbanization has become trendy.  This is especially noticeable as spring conferences focusing on urban issues keep appearing.  Check out a few highlights happening around New York City this week:

Latino Urbanism: A Conversation with Professor Clara Irazábal  May 6, 2011 at NYU Wagner 3:30pm-5:30pm

Join NYU Wagner students for a conversation with Urban and International Planning Professor Clara Irazábal of Columbia University, about ethnic placemaking, how the next population majorities will shape the urban fabric in the US, and the role of politics of culture in urban planning.  Prof. Irazábal will also share examples from Latin America and the Caribbean. RSVP here.

Festival of Ideas for the New City Ongoing May 4-8, 2011 across New York City.

“Festival of Ideas for the New City is a major new collaborative initiative in New York involving scores of Downtown organizations working together to harness the power of the creative community to imagine the future city and explore ideas that will shape it. The Festival will include a three-day slate of symposia; an innovative StreetFest along the Bowery; and over eighty independent projects and public events.”  Explore more on their website.

Conference: The Art of Citizenship in African Cities May 6-7, 2011
The World and Africa Series Committee on Global Thought / Institute for African Studies at Columbia University

“The conference focuses on the art of citizenship—or the specific imaginaries and creative solidarities through which urban Africans understand, order, and stake claims around the rights, rewards, and spaces of the city.” Find more information here.

Event: Designing Mobility for Democracy

Enrique Peñalosa, Mayor of Bogota, believes transportation is “a political and not a technical issue.” If this is the case then how do we design innovative and efficient transit systems in democracies?  In countries where private property rights are not as strong and participatory planning is not the norm, local governments are able approach transportation planning as almost purely a technical issue.  This is often the approach in Chinese cities.  However, cities in more democratic nations have the added layers of politics to plan for.

The Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University will attempt to address these issues as they host a workshop on Designing Mobility for Democracy: the Role of Cities. The workshop will examine the role of governance in making cities fairer and more democratically accountable to its citizens by examining recent innovations in Cape Town, London, Bogota, Seattle and New York.  Find more information about the workshop here.

Apr 14, 2011 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM NYU, Kimmel Center, Eisner & Lubin Auditorium. 60 Washington Square South New York. 4th Floor

Speakers Include:

• Ricky Burdett – London School of Economics
• Jon Orcutt – Department of Transportation, City of New York
• Richard Sennett – New York University
• Saskia Sassen – Columbia University
• Gerald Frug – Harvard University Law School
• Edgar Pieterse – University of Cape Town
• Diane Sugimura – City of Seattle Planning Department
• Fabio Casiroli – Polytechnic of Milan
• Tim Stonor – Harvard Graduate School of Design

Planning for the Unplanned: Disaster Resilience and Reconstruction

As the world watches recovery efforts from the Japan tsunami amid ongoing reconstruction efforts in Haiti, Chile, and New Orleans, the Urban Planning Student Association and International Public Service Association are convening an engaging afternoon of discussions on Tuesday, March 29 that will bring together students, faculty and practitioners to discuss planning before and after natural disasters strike.

Tuesday, March 29 | NYU-Wagner – 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd Floor

1:30 – 2:20
A student panel will share their recent experiences with post-catastrophe reconstruction in Chile, Japan, New Orleans and Haiti.

2:30 – 4:00
A multidisciplinary panel will discuss how to strengthen existing infrastructure, recover from natural disasters, and build back better.

Panelists include:

• James Stuckey - Dean, NYU Shack Institute of Real Estate
• Rae Zimmerman – Professor, NYU Wagner
• Amy Stroud – President, Building Foundation
• Donald Watson – Principal, EarthRise Design

Details below. RSVP here.

Turning Urban Symposium @ UVA

I was very excited to see that my alma mater, the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia, will be hosting a symposium this weekend about innovation in megacities. I hope all of the urbanist in Charlottesville enjoy this event!

Turning Urban: Innovation in Megacities, A Symposium at the University of Virginia School of Architect March 24-26 2011 in Charlottesville, Virginia

This symposium will pose the question of whether extremely large cities and urban regions are loci of innovation and adaptation, or whether the rapid pace of change overwhelms adaptive processes. Participants will compare examples from cities around the world in an effort to identify spatial armatures, temporal trajectories, and conditions that invite innovation.

Speakers and moderating UVA professors include: Junaid Ahmad, Karin Bradley, David Bragdon, Janice Perlman, Monica Porto, Brian Richter, Sarwar Jahan, Kala Vairavamoorthy and Timothy Beatley.

Download the full schedule here.

- Melissa

NYC as World’s Green Capital

A group called Earth Energy Economy LLC or E3 plans to organize “the world’s largest urban cleantech event” in 2014. The event would be focused along the East River in 5 key concentrated activity zones in each borough. The zones will feature green transit hubs that would offer a combination of bike-share, electric car-share, electric shuttles and water taxis. The greatest purpose of the event is to accelerate the development of a cleantech industry cluster to be known as the “East River Clean Technology Corridor”. Demonstration projects will begin in 2011 with Dekalb Station serving as the first beta site.

E3NYC Annouces 6-Month Cleantech Expo for 2014

Additionally, E3 is co-sponsoring ONE PRIZE: an Annual Design and Science Award to Promote Green Design in Cities. This year the design competition is soliciting ideas of ways to envision New York’s waterways as the “Sixth Borough of New York City.” The competition is a response to the city’s waterfront vision plan, and the jury will be chaired by Amanda Burden, New York City Planning Commissioner Chair.

Sam

USA and China: Collaboration at the APA Conference

This year’s American Planning Association Conference is holding the “first unofficial non-academic dialogue channel for young generations in the U.S. China.”  The event titled: International Forum on Sustainable Urbanization – Next Generation “will provide a venue for young adults under the age of 40 from China and the U.S. to express their perspectives on urban issues.”

Although the forum is not specifically for planners, but open to all young adults under the age of 40 interested in urbanization issues, it will be very interesting to see how planning education systems and ideals across the world will shape the dialogue.

The event will be held in Boston on April 9. Details for registeration can be found on the APA website.

Melissa

Youth’s Role in Rapid Urbanization

The role of young people and social media in Egypt’s governmental transition provoke some big questions about how rapidly urbanizing cities can and should engage youth in shaping these places and their future growth. Two organizations in Mumbai appear to be approaching this concept in a pretty groundbreaking way.

Pukar is an independent research collective based in Mumbai that aims to democratize not only research, but the research process. Each year it sends hundreds of 18-30 year olds into the streets of Mumbai to explore and document the city through a variety of media—photos, videos, mapping tools, etc. The result? A rich perspective on development, citizenship and quality of life from people that are from the decision-making table. Future leaders empowered to perceive and experience their city through a creative, critical lens. The Youth Fellowship Programme encourages collaboration and idea exchange by coordinating groups of 10 and stays true to its mission of democratizing the research process with a focus on youth outside the education system.

Commutiny, the Youth Collective, also based in India, works to empower young people between 18 and 30 years old to be more effective participants in decision-making in India. This support comes in the form of financial support for special projects, media training and relationship building. While I wonder how youth-driven this project is, the underlying logic seems right on.

As cities in all stages of development, from Bangalore to Detroit to Malmö, come to terms with the importance of talent attraction to their ability to prosper in a global, knowledge-based economy, the question of how to integrate the perspectives of young people into the decisions shaping the present and future of rapidly changing cities becomes even more relevant. The 21^st century reality is that place matters to young people, and the educated and upwardly mobile have their choice of many. At least equally important is the fresh, valuable perspective youth can bring to urban issues. A city, after all, should serve the needs of many, and the proportion of young people in rapidly urbanizing places is generally substantial. So again, I return to how this engagement takes place—community-based research, leadership training, and empowerment through digital media? Direct appointments to commissions or the creation of youth advisory councils as we’ve seen in many American cities? I’m sure the possibilities are numerous, and I invite suggestions.

What’s the alternative to not engaging youth in the development of rapidly urbanizing cities? I can’t believe that it’s necessarily a Cairo-style uprising. Is “voting with their feet” a more likely scenario? Or will the specific cultural, political and economic conditions of cities in question mitigate such outcomes? Regardless of the political and economic necessity of youth engagement, I’m convinced the social value of engaging young people could critically benefit the transformation of these rising cities, and I hope to see innovative approaches emerge.

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Hot, crowded Cities

There are many debates about how the world’s cities, from the built environment to the behaviors of city dwellers, will adapt to rising temperatures and climate change. Tomorrow the Matthew Kahn, one of the world’s foremost experts on the economics of the environment and author of Climatopolis will be speaking at the Rudin Center’s Livability Summit.  Here is an excerpt from his book, a longer portion can be found here.

The rise of this mega-city foreshadows China’s trajectory over the 21st century—and that of the rest of the world. Hundreds of millions will be moving to cities like Shanghai to strike it rich and escape the rural life as more and more of the world’s population continues the shift that’s been going on, in fits and starts, since the Industrial Revolution: moving from the rural to the urban. By 1950,30 percent of the world’s population lived in cities. In 2000 this fraction grew to 47 percent, and the United Nations predicts it will rise to 60 percent by 2030. Like you and me these would-be city dwellers want economic opportunities and material comforts that we take for granted:cell phones (and decent service), personal computers, access to private transportation and household air conditioning.Given this search for the good life,and the amenities that go with it, the move toward urban life makes sense. Cities are capitalism’s growth engine, offering opportunity along every dimension from finding a job to support yourself, a mate to spend your money on, great cultural events to attend with them, and fantastic restaurants of all kinds.And, maybe, a bit later, parks to take the kids to. City growth has lifted billions of people out of poverty.

Melissa

Affordable Mortgage and Loan Programs in the West Bank

Housing finance and affordable mortgage programs are important issues facing cities and territories across the world. The construction of new housing in the West Bank has been a politically charged issue recently, especially as Israel announced plans last week for 1,000 new housing units in a contested area of Jerusalem.  Additionally in Palestine efforts were taken earlier this year to make mortgage financing easier for Palestinian families. This new program will double the number of Palestinian families who are able to purchase homes by offering long-term mortgages that will enable them to enjoy the benefits of home ownership without excessively burdening their monthly incomes.

In June 2010, the Unites States, World Bank Group, Palestine Investment Fund, United Kingdom and others launched a landmark $500 million mortgage finance program designed to promote the private ownership of residential housing in the Palestinian territories.  If you are interested in learning more about the finance program Kieran Brenner, a lawyer to the project, will discuss the project and its potential impact on the development of housing finance, new communities and the banking industry in the West Bank, as well as its likelihood to spur economic growth in the region on Thursday at NYU Wagner.

Event Details: UPSA and IPSA presents BROWN BAG with Kieran Brenner on Affordable Mortgage and Loan Program in the West Bank
Thursday November 18th, 12.30-1.30pm.
Mulberry Conference Room, Puck Building.
Please RSVP:  http://wagner.nyu.edu/events/upsa-11-18-2010

Rio’s Favelas From the Inside Out

The contrast of economic might with staggering poverty in cities like Rio de Janeiro seems to be capturing the world’s attention in a new way. Sure, voices that go beyond the “poverty-tour”-type depictions of life in megacities like Rio aren’t new, but it does seem like they’re being listened to by a wider audience.  Janice Perlman, author of Favela: Four Decades of Living on the Edge in Rio de Janeiro, is one of those voices. She’s making a stop at NYU-Wagner on Wednesday to discuss her most recent book and engage in a conversation about urban poverty, marginality, and her study of four generations of migrants and squatters in Rio’s slums. The event, from 2:00 – 3:30 on Wednesday, November 17  is free and open to the public, RSVP here.

If you’re a fan of Perlman’s work or these types of issues, you might also be interested in a feature that ran recently on Public Radio International – it takes an inside look into Rio’s favelas as well, examining both opportunities and barriers to businesses and entrepreneurship.

Amy Faust