Cities for Tomorrow — A New York Times Conference
On July 10th, and 11th, the New York Times hosted the Cities for Tomorrow Conference at the Times Center. Promoted as a gathering of urban decision makers, NYT convened “the world’s foremost industry experts, policy makers, developers, creative visionaries, and entrepreneurs to identify and assess the formulas that lead to flourishing cities.”
On Monday night, cities were seen through the lens of television and film, with the keynote labeled “Cities as Stars.” Gina Bellafante, Big City Columnist at the NYT, kicked off the conference with the premise that art is critical to the perception of urban life, and as a counter to the intense divide we face today. George Pelecanos, and David Simon, the creators of “The Wire”, and upcoming show “The Deuce”, sat in conversation with the Executive Editor of The New York Times, Dean Baquet. They discussed how vice, crime, and stories, have been an illuminating light to study social ideas in cities, and to get at what’s driving dysfunction and function in urban environments.
The main event for the evening was a special screening of “Citizen Jane: Battle for the City” presented by the Rockefeller Foundation, and introduced by Michael Berkowitz, President of 100 Resilient Cities. He highlighted that an inclusive and integrated approach allows for building resilience in cities. The film takes the viewer on a journey through the battles between the top down planning approach of Robert Moses, and the ground up tactics of Jane Jacobs, to counter the loss of a vibrant street life, and death of American Cities.
The subsequent panels the next day, promoted critical discussions around problem solving in partisanship, and how cities can pursue changes in absence of major federal support. Topics ranged from, “The new power of private money to the future of bricks-and-mortar retail, from cities’ impact on the national climate agenda to the realities of leading during a time of partisan politics, from the promises and pitfalls of smart technology to fresh approaches to entrepreneurship — and much more on what makes a good city great.” A central takeaway that emerged at the end of the day, is that cities have great power, power to create impactful change, and local leaders, entrepreneurs, and visionaries need to take on that role to bridge the divide, and get past politics to drive impactful planning.
To learn more about the conference , and it’s speakers, as well as watch the full panels, visit the NYT Cities for Tomorrow website.
About the Author
Sreoshy Banerjea is a Senior Urban Designer at the New York City Economic Development Corporation. She also holds a Forefront fellow with the Urban Design Forum.
Voices of Urban Design is a discussion forum that is curated by the APA New York Metro Chapter’s Urban Design Committee. Posts are edited for clarity and length only; opinions and statements that appear in this blog are not endorsed by the American Planning Association nor its affiliates. We expect and encourage healthy debate!
