City Futures: An International Symposium

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According to a recent United Nations report, 54% of the world's population lives in urban areas, and the proportion is expected to reach 66% by 2050. What form will the city of the future take? What new models have been produced by today's urban realities? What role will architects play in shaping the city of tomorrow?

Thursday November 12 
Introduction, 6:30pm: Marilyn Jordan Taylor, Dean and Paley Professor, PennDesign
Keynote speaker: Reinier de Graaf, Partner, OMA

Friday, November 13 
Introduction, 9:45am: Winka Dubbeldam, Chair, Department of Architecture, PennDesign

Panel 1, 10:00am – 12:00pm: Infrastructure + City Fabric
This panel explores the role that infrastructures (hard and soft) and urban fabrics can play in redefining how cities function, whether the aging metropolises in the Global North or the burgeoning megacities in the Global South. Confirmed speakers include James Lima, Thom Mayne, Marilyn Jordan Taylor, and Tom Verebes.

Panel 2, 2:00pm – 4:00pm: The Unplanned City
This panel examines the sometimes striking commonalities and the very stark differences between informal urbanisms, and how the new potential of bottom-up systems [planned and unplanned] will shape future cities. Confirmed speakers include Daniel D'Oca (Interboro), Selva Gurdogan and Gregers Thomsen (Superpool Istanbul), Andrew Herscher, Laila Iskandar, and Shohei Shigematsu.

Panel 3, 4:30pm – 6:30pm: The Imaginary/Speculative City
This panel intentionally, even provocatively, plays at a double meaning of “speculation”: as an act of gambling on the real estate market or as an act of visionary or utopian scheming. While the two types of speculation would seem to have little in common, or even to be fundamentally at odds with one another, both similarly envision alternatives to the city as it exists. Confirmed speakers include Paul Preissner, Vyjayanthi Rao, Alfonso Vegara, and Liam Young.

7:00pm: Reception

Videos now available here:

Keynote

Infrastructure + City Fabric

The Unplanned City

The Imaginary/Speculative City