The pandemic has forever changed our cities, making our vision for them both urgent and open to new possibilities. Key players from the worlds of architecture, urban planning, design, the arts and more convene to explore what makes a city great and what is needed to achieve that. The summit explores the New York City of the future, the renewal of America’s cities and how to make them more equitable, the role of architecture in social change, new ideas for public transportation, parks and open spaces, the potential for arts as engines of renewal, the psychology of design and more.
Frank Gehry, Alex Ross
Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry explores the future of cities with the New Yorker’s Alex Ross.
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Anne-Marie Slaughter, Eric Liu, Ai-Jen Poo
The promise of America is inextricably tied to its cities. As our cities emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, grapple with social unrest, divided politics and more, we gather leading figures from the worlds of labor, economics, education and journalism to discuss how we all — organizations and citizens — can initiate positive change to forge a strong new collective future.
Karen Brooks Hopkins, Seth Pinsky
The arts have long played a critical role in every aspect of city life, from bringing enrichment and opening minds to invigorating public spaces and fueling economic growth. The cultural infrastructure of our cities has never been a more valuable engine of revitalization and renewal. As we emerge from the pandemic, how do we maximize the role of our museums, theaters, concert halls, galleries and other cultural sites in the cities of the future, better serve the artistic communities that drive them, and ensure that the arts are accessible to all?
Bruce Katz, Julie Samuels, Vishaan Chakrabarti
The pandemic has changed New York City in ways once thought unimaginable. Now, as businesses rebound, Broadway reopens, restaurants serve indoors and out, and more, the city is at an inflection point of renewal. We look at the enormous opportunity that can arise from crisis, and at the imagination, fresh perspectives and bold planning being brought to the world’s most iconic city.
Rana Foroohar
Why the iconic urbanist’s arguments have renewed urgency in the post-pandemic metropolis.
Angel Hsu, Rohit Aggarwala, Kunle Adeyemi, Emily Tisch Sussman
70% of global cities — from New York to London and Quito to Cape Town — are feeling the impacts of climate change. If left unchecked, entire populations might experience the effects, already struggling services will be further stressed, and city governments could find themselves unable to protect their citizens. What is being done in our cities to fortify and guard against the growing impacts of climate change? Are there cities on the global map that others can learn from? What are the most essential steps to take right now?
Ifeoma Ebo, Jose Ortiz, Jennifer Rittner
Who has a voice in shaping our cities? How do we ensure that all city residents have a say about the environments in which they live, work and pay taxes, and the basic services they rely on? Leveraging this unprecedented moment, we look at cities from the perspective of socio-economic, racial and educational equity, and explore how planners, government officials, architects and others can move us toward more fair and just cities and societies.
Asad Syrkett, Deborah Berke
ELLE DECOR Editor in Chief, Asad Syrkett, in conversation with architect and educator, Deborah Berke, to explore adapting old structures for new purposes and working through the present challenges of the ever-evolving landscape of design.
Eric Garcetti, Kate Hampton
When it comes to climate action, no one is doing more than cities, but no one is doing enough. We are entering a make-or-break decade for the preservation of our planet and environmental justice for every community” says Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles and chair of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a network of the world’s megacities committed to concrete action to combat climate change. He explores ways Los Angeles and other cities across the globe can tackle the biggest challenge our planet has ever seen, starting in our cities.
Anne-Marie Slaughter is CEO of New America and the Bert G. Kerstetter ’66 University Professor Emerita of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University. Her books include Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family and The Idea That Is America: Keeping Faith with Our Values in a Dangerous World. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
Eric Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University, which works to build a culture of powerful and responsible citizenship in the United States. He also directs the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship & American Identity Program. He is the author of several acclaimed books, including The Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker; The Gardens of Democracy (co-authored with Nick Hanauer); You’re More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen’s Guide to Making Change Happen; and his most recent, Become America: Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy, a New York Times New & Notable Book . He has been selected as an Ashoka Fellow and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is featured on the PBS documentary American Creed and is a frequent contributor to TheAtlantic.com . Liu served as a White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and later as the President's deputy domestic policy adviser. He was later appointed by President Obama to serve on the board of the Corporation for National and Community Service. He and his family live in Seattle.
Ai-jen Poo is an award-winning organizer, author, and a leading voice in the women’s movement. She is the Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Director of Caring Across Generations, Co-Founder of SuperMajority, Co-Host of Sunstorm podcast and a Trustee of the Ford Foundation. Ai-jen is a nationally recognized expert on elder and family care, the future of work, and what’s at stake for women of color. She is the author of the celebrated book, The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America.
Julie Samuels is the founder and Executive Director of Tech:NYC, an organization representing New York’s fast growing, entrepreneurial tech industry. Before that she was Executive Director at Engine, a nation-wide nonprofit focused on technology entrepreneurship and advocacy, where she remains a member of the Board. Julie is a frequent commentator on technology and policy issues for national media—particularly in the intellectual property space—and she has filed briefs with the Supreme Court and testified before Congressional Committees. She previously worked at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, where she was a senior staff attorney and the Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents. Before joining EFF, Julie litigated IP and entertainment cases. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Julie spent time as a legislative assistant at the Media Coalition in New York, as an assistant editor at the National Journal in D.C., and she worked at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) in Champaign, IL. Julie earned her J.D. from Vanderbilt University and her B.S. in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She serves on the Boards of Engine, NY Forever, Chamber of Progress, and the Internet Education Foundation, on ABNY’s Steering Committee, and on various Advisory Boards. She has been named one of Crain’s New York 40 under 40 and one of New York City’s 50 Most Powerful Women. She lives in New York City with her family.
Bruce Katz is the Founding Director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Previously he served as inaugural Centennial Scholar at Brookings Institution and as vice president and director of Brooking’s Metropolitan Policy Program for 20 years. He is a Visiting Professor in Practice at London School of Economics, and previously served as chief of staff to the secretary of Housing and Urban Development and staff director of the Senate Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Affairs. Katz co-led the Obama administration’s housing and urban transition team. He is coauthor of The Metropolitan Revolution and The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism, editor or coeditor of several books on urban and metropolitan issues, and a frequent media commentator.
Angel Hsu is Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Environment, Ecology, and Energy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She is the Founder and Director of the Data-Driven EnviroLab, an interdisciplinary research group that applies quantitative approaches to pressing environmental issues. She is a contributing author to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report and was the lead author of the 2018 UNEP Emissions Gap Report. She has provided expert Congressional testimony on China's climate change policy and is a member of the National Committee on US-China Relations. She has also co-chaired the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Fourth Industrial Revolution and Global Public Goods, and was a speaker at TED 2018 Age of Amazement and the 2020 TED Climate Countdown. She holds a PhD from Yale University.
Kunlé Adeyemi is an architect, professor and development researcher whose works are internationally recognized for innovation and originality. He is the founder and principal of NLÉ – an architecture, design and urbanism practice founded in 2010, for innovating cities and communities. Adeyemi’s notable works include ‘Makoko Floating School’, a groundbreaking, prototype floating structure once located in the lagoon heart of Lagos, Nigeria. Makoko Floating School has since evolved into ‘Makoko Floating System (MFSTM)’ – a simple, prefabricated, building solution for developments on water – now deployed in 5 countries across 3 continents. This acclaimed project is part of NLÉ’s extensive body of work - the ‘African Water Cities’ - which explores the intersections of rapid urbanization and climate change. Other projects include A Prelude to The Shed in New York, USA, the Black Rhino Academy in Karatu, Tanzania and the Serpentine Summer House at the Royal Kensington Gardens in London, UK. Alongside his professional practice with multiple prestigious awards, Adeyemi is an international speaker and thought leader. He is one of UNDP’s Africa in Development Supergroup. Adeyemi is currently an Adjunct Visiting Professor at the University of Lagos, following appointments in various institutions including Harvard, Princeton, Cornell and Columbia Universities, where he leads academic research in architecture and urban solutions that are closer to societal, environmental and economic needs.
Emily Tisch Sussman has been at the forefront of executing strategy for the progressive movement in America for more than a decade. She is a leading democratic political strategist with over 250 appearances on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, HLN, and CBS, and nearly 100 in the past election. Her views are also frequently featured in national news outlets including The New York Times, Newsweek, Reuters, and Politico. Emily is the host of the popular all-women interview-style podcast Your Political Playlist, formerly Your Presidential Playlist, a guide to politics in the new presidential administration and Congress. Every week, the podcast releases bite-size conversations with women at the seat of power and activism like President Biden’s Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O’Malley Dillon, Nominee for Director of the Office of Management and Budget Neera Tanden, White House Council of Economic Advisers Member Heather Boushey, and Acting Chair of the Federal Communications Commission Jessica Rosenworcel. Over the course of three seasons, more than 50 guests have come on the show including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, and Stacey Abrams. The podcast has had several features on Apple Podcasts and Stitcher and was named one of Refinery29’s Best New Podcasts for 2020.
Ifeoma Ebo is an experienced Urban Designer & Strategist with a proven track record in transforming urban spaces into platforms for equity and design excellence. As the founding Director of Creative Urban Alchemy LLC, she consults for city agencies, private firms and civic organizations in community design, placemaking and the equitable transformation of urban space.
Karen Brooks Hopkins is the president emerita of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where she worked for thirty-six years, serving sixteen as its president. As president, Hopkins supervised the institution’s 230 full-time employees and its multiple theaters and cinemas, ranging from the 2,100 seat BAM Howard Gilman Opera House to the flexible 250-seat Fishman Space. Her new book, “BAM… and Then It Hit Me” a memoir of her years leading BAM, has recently been published by powerHouse Books. Hopkins has served as the chair of the Cultural Institutions Group, has been a member of the mayor’s Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission, the New York State Board of Regents, and has served on the Boards of NYC & Company, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, and currently sits on the Trust for Governors Island. Hopkins was appointed Commander of the Royal Order of the Polar Star by the government of Sweden, named Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Republic of France, and awarded the King Olav’s Medal by Norway. She was designated a “Woman of Achievement” by the professional association, Women in Development in 2013, and in the same year was named one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in New York” by Crain’s New York Business. Among the many honors BAM has received during her tenure is the 2014 National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists and arts organizations by the US government. President Obama presented the medal to Hopkins at a White House ceremony in 2014. In 2015, Hopkins was one of ten esteemed business leaders appointed to the inaugural Crain’s Hall of Fame. Her widely read book, Successful Fundraising for Arts & Cultural Organizations, is currently in its second edition. A graduate of the University of Maryland, she received her MFA from George Washington University in Washington, DC. She has received honorary degrees from St. Frances College, Pratt Institute, Long Island University, and a prestigious Honorary Doctor of Laws from Columbia University. Following her retirement from BAM in June 2015, Hopkins served as the Inaugural Senior Fellow in Residence at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, senior adviser to and board member of the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA), adviser to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, board member of the Jerome L. Greene Foundation, and as the Nasher Haemisegger Fellow at SMU/DataArts (2016- 2021).
Seth Pinsky is CEO of the 92nd St. Y. At 92Y, Pinsky is developing an action plan for 92Y heading into its 150th anniversary, which will include a comprehensive upgrade of its Manhattan home. Previously, Pinsky was an EVP at RXR Realty, where he led RXR’s efforts to invest in “emerging opportunities” in the New York region. Earlier, Pinsky oversaw the development of Mayor Bloomberg’s $20 billion plan to protect New York from climate change impacts and, from 2008 to 2013, was President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. Pinsky started his career as an associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and analyst at James D. Wolfensohn Inc. He graduated from Columbia College and Harvard Law.
Rana Foroohar is Global Business Columnist and an Associate Editor at the Financial Times, based in New York. She is also CNN’s global economic analyst. Her first book, “Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business” (Crown), about why the capital markets no longer support business, was shortlisted for the Financial Times McKinsey Book of the Year award in 2016. Her second book, “Don’t Be Evil: How Big Tech Betrayed Its Founding Principles – And All of Us,” about the 20 year rise of platform technology and how it has reshaped economics, politics, and society, was released in November of 2019, and was named Porchlight Business Book of the year. She is currently at work on her third book about the post-neoliberal world.
Jennifer is a writer, educator and communications strategist. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Design Strategies at Parsons School of Design and a Visiting Lecturer at California College of Art. From 2016-2021 she taught design equity in the graduate design programs at the School Visual Arts. Her forthcoming book, The Black Experience in Design (Allworth Press) was co-edited by five design educators and features writing by 50 Black designers, educators, curators, and activists. In Spring 2021, Jennifer guest edited a special issue on Policing & Design for the Design Museum Everywhere. She frequently writes and lectures about design and social justice.
Raised in Toronto, Canada, Frank Gehry moved in 1947 with his family to Los Angeles where he subsequently received his Bachelor of Architecture degree at the University of Southern California in 1954. Upon graduating, he enlisted in the US Army and with the assistance of the GI Bill, he studied City Planning at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design until 1957. Since then, Mr. Gehry has built an architectural career that has spanned over six decades and he has produced public and private buildings throughout the world. Hallmarks of Mr. Gehry’s work include a particular concern that people exist comfortably within the spaces and an insistence that his buildings address the context and culture of their sites all while staying within the client’s budget.
Mr. Gehry’s contribution to the field of architecture has earned him some of its most significant recognitions beginning with his induction into the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 1974. The honor became the first of the over 100 national and regional awards he has since received from the organization including the distinguished Gold Medal in 1999. In addition to being awarded the 1989 Pritzker Architecture Prize, perhaps the premiere honor in the field, other notable recognitions include the Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1977), the Wolf Prize in Art (Architecture) from the Wolf Foundation (1992), and he was the first recipient of the Friedrich Kiesler Prize (1998). Other major architecture acknowledgments include the 2000 Gold Medal from the Royal Institute of Architects, the 2002 Gold Medal for Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the 2008 Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Biennale, and the National Sculpture Society’s 2021 Henry Hering Art and Architecture Award for the distinguished use of sculpture in the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial in Washington D.C.
With over twenty-five years of proven experience authoring and implementing visionary urban architecture, Vishaan Chakrabarti is the Founder and Creative Director of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism | PAU, where he leads the firm’s growing global portfolio of cultural, institutional, and public projects. Vishaan has been a principal at major architecture firms including SHoP Architects and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. He is a registered architect in the States of New York, Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania and is registered with NCARB.
Chakrabarti is the author of the highly acclaimed book, A Country of Cities: A Manifesto for an Urban America (Metropolis Books, 2013), and is working on a second upcoming book for Princeton University Press entitled The Architecture of Urbanity: Designing Cities for Pluralism and Planet. Vishaan is currently on leave from his tenured faculty position at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as the William W. Wurster Dean of the College of Environmental Design. Prior to Berkeley, Vishaan was a professor at Columbia University for a decade.
While serving under Mayor Michael Bloomberg as the director of the Manhattan Office for the New York Department of City Planning, Vishaan successfully collaborated on the now-realized efforts to save the High Line, extend the #7 subway line, rebuild the East River Waterfront, expand the Columbia University campus, and reincorporate the street grid at the World Trade Center site after the events of 9/11.
Vishaan holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley; a Master of City Planning degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and dual bachelor’s degrees in art history and engineering from Cornell University.
Jose Ortiz Jr. is CEO of the New York City Employment and Training Coalition (NYCETC), the largest city-based workforce development association in the country. As CEO of NYCETC, Jose leads an association of 180+ independent organizations, including community-based organizations, colleges and universities, and labor unions, that provide skills, training and education to half a million New Yorkers. Jose has been involved in the NYC nonprofit sector for nearly 16 years and has dedicated his career to building equitable pathways for workforce development that align with racial and social justice. In 2021, Jose was announced as one of two new Latinx leaders to join Robin Hood’s Power Fund, an initiative to fund and elevate nonprofit leaders of color. Jose currently serves as an advisor to 92Y’s Center for Arts Learning and Leadership, and currently sits on The Fund for Public Housing Advisory Council, Human Services Council of New York Priority Strategy Council, The NYC Workforce Field Building Hub Advisory Board, the Queens Tech Council, and RPA’s New York Committee.
Asad Syrkett is the Editor-in-Chief of ELLE Decor. Before taking the helm, he ran business operations in New York for Hem, an independent Swedish furniture brand and design studio. Previously, he was Deputy Editor at Curbed, where he oversaw the senior staff and all special projects. A former editor at Architectural Digest and Architectural Record magazines, Asad has also guest-lectured at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and appeared on panels for Design Miami and South By Southwest, among others. In 2017, he was a FOLIO: magazine 30 Under 30 honoree.
Alex Ross has been the music critic of The New Yorker since 1996. He is the author of The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century, Listen to This, and Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music. In 2008 he was named a MacArthur Fellow.
Eric Garcetti is a fourth-generation Angeleno and the 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles. Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley — the son of public servants and the grandson and great-grandson of immigrants from Mexico and Eastern Europe — Mayor Garcetti’s life has been shaped by a deep commitment to the core values of justice, dignity, and equality for all people.
The Mayor’s leadership is making an extraordinary impact on the national and international stages: he rallied more than 400 mayors in cities across America to adopt the Paris Climate agreement after the Trump Administration pulled out of the pact. He led the first National Day of Action on Immigration, and has put unprecedented local resources toward providing Dreamers and others with legal aid to fight deportation. He signed America’s strongest earthquake retrofit law to protect thousands of people’s lives from natural disaster. And he successfully led the bid to bring the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games to the United States for the first time in more than 30 years. He has lived and worked in Europe, Asia, and Africa and appointed Los Angeles' first Deputy Mayor for International Affairs to expand L.A.'s global ties and bring more jobs, economic opportunity, culture, education, and visitors to the city.
While Mayor Garcetti has taken on these enormous challenges, he has also reimagined how city government delivers the most basic services. Under his leadership, L.A. has been rated the nation’s best-run city by the Bloomberg What Works Cities initiative and become the number-one solar energy city in America. The Mayor’s government service began on the L.A. City Council, where he spent four terms as Council President before being elected Mayor in 2013 and winning re-election in 2017 by the widest margin in the history of Los Angeles.
Beyond his time at City Hall, Mayor Garcetti has served his country as an intelligence officer in the United States Navy Reserve, and taught at the University of Southern California and Occidental College.
The Mayor received his B.A. and M.A. from Columbia University, and studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, and later at the London School of Economics. He is also a jazz pianist and photographer.
Deborah Berke, FAIA, LEED AP is an architect, educator, and the founder of New York-based architecture firm Deborah Berke Partners. Deborah leads the firm alongside her ten partners. Among the firm’s most significant works are the Residential Colleges at Princeton University, the Cummins Indy Distribution Headquarters, the Rockefeller Arts Center at SUNY Fredonia, the Yale School of Art in New Haven, Connecticut, and the 21c Museum Hotels across the South and Midwest. In 2017, Deborah Berke Partners was honored with a National Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Deborah is the Dean of the Yale School of Architecture, the first woman to hold the position. She has been a Professor at Yale since 1987. In 2012, she was the inaugural recipient of the Berkeley-Rupp Prize at the University of California at Berkeley, which is given to an architect who has advanced the position of women in the profession and whose work emphasizes a commitment to sustainability and the community. She is a board member of the James Howell Foundation, and a member of the board of directors of Yaddo, and an advisor to the Norman Foster Foundation. She serves on the jury for the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the highest honor in the field. Deborah is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and The City University of New York. In 2005, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design.
Kate became CEO of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation in March 2016, having run CIFF’s Climate Change team since 2009.
Current voluntary board and advisory roles include the European Climate Foundation, Observer Research Foundation (India), the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), the China Advisory Group on Global Climate Governance, the Open Political Economy Network (OPEN), We Protect Global Alliance, Friend of COP26, and Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan Advisory Council.
Kate’s career spans roles in government, finance, consulting, a think tank and NGOs, including at Climate Change Capital, where she was Head of Policy. She has also advised policy makers in several roles, including as Senior Policy Advisor for the United Kingdom’s G8 and EU presidencies in 2005.
In 2008, Kate was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. She holds a BSc from the London School of Economics and a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.
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