On Tuesday September 16, eight doctoral students for City and Regional Planning at PennDesign presented their work at a side event for the United Nations’ Preparatory Committee Meeting on UN Habitat III. Thinking Inside Out: How Cities Contribute to Solving Global Problems was hosted at The New School in New York City. Habitat III is the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Development to take place in 2016. The side event addressed three headings of great importance: inequality, economic growth, and climate change. Without action these dynamic trends suggest that cities of the future will become more unequal, less productive in meeting the needs of larger populations in terms of essential services and infrastructure and become more vulnerable to climate change. The event contextualized these issues in cities and highlighted their linkages at the local, national, and global levels. Eugenie Birch, Lawrence C. Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research and Education, Chair of the Graduate Group in City and Regional Planning delivered the closing address of the convening and underscored the importance of a Sustainable Development Goal that specifically addressed cities. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) drive the implementation of sustainable development globally. An urban SDG would recognize the importance of cities to human development around the world. PennDesign doctoral students work at the many intersections of these issues. Below is a list of those who presented and the titles of the posters they presented.
• Caroline Cheong- Can Urban Conservation Reduce Poverty and Avoid Replacement? An Assessment of Successes and Failures in Midsized Latin American Historic Cities • Benjamin Chrisinger- For Health People or Place? New Supermarkets for Food Access, Economic Development and Community Health • William Fleming- Can We Rebuild By Design: An Exploration of the Recovery Through Competition Program in the Post-Sandy Northeast • Albert Han- Comparative of Greenbelt Policy: Comparisons of the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and South Korea • Simon Mosbah- How and To What Extent Do Airports Shape the Geography of Economic Development in Legacy Cities? • Mary Rocco- Philanthropy and Urban Revitalization in Legacy Cities • Yu-Shou Su- Rebuilding Retreat or Resilience: Plan for a Resilient Taipei • Amber Woodburn- Manage vs Build: An Overlooked Alternative to Unbridled Airport Growth
