2009 Spring Conference | A Two Evening Event

In the past few years, there has been huge interest and investment made in designing new parks for cities and development projects around the world. The belief is that parks and open spaces bring significant value, distinction and amenity to the city, enhancing both the environmental and social aspects of city life. Many of these new parks assume very different programs, characteristics and forms from some of the famous urban parks of the 19th and 20th centuries, raising important questions about current and future directions in park design and programming.

Over two evenings, The Forum for Urban Design will host two panels comprised of leading figures from North America to discuss different visions for the 21st century urban park. Discussions will range from the ways in which innovative and creative designs are redefining the park and city of the 21st century to questions about development strategy, financing, operations and management.

The first evening will feature three prominent landscape architects -- James Corner, George Hargreaves and Michael Van Valkenburgh -- who will discuss the ways in which innovative and creative designs are redefining parks.

The second evening will bring three civic leaders to the table -- John Campbell from Waterfront Toronto, David Karem from Louisville, and Alex Garvin of Alex Garvin & Associates -- who will each address questions about development strategy, implementation, financing and why parks are so fundamental to their visions for the future city.

May 13

Museum of Modern Art, Celeste Bartos Theater
(Education and Research Center, 4 W. 54th Street).

6:30 PM   
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS PANEL

Free and open to the public - RSVP Required

Moderated by: Ken Greenberg
Principal, Greenberg Consultants

James Corner
Principal, Field Operations

George Hargreaves
Senior Principal, Hargreaves Associates

Michael Van Valkenburgh
Principal, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.

Respondent: Anthony Flint
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, author, Wrestling with Moses

8:00 PM

Forum members only ($150)
Dinner and discussion, The Century Association, 7 W. 43rd St.
Hosted by: Forum President Marilyn Jordan Taylor

May 14

The Century Association, 7 W. 43rd St.

6:30PM    
CIVIC LEADERS PANEL AND RECEPTION

Invitation Only - RSVP Required

Moderated by: Marion Weiss
Partner, Weiss/Manfredi

John Campbell
Executive Director,
Toronto Waterfront Development Corporation

Alex Garvin
President/CEO, Alex Garvin & Associates

David Karem
President, Louisville Waterfront Development Corporation

Respondent: Armando Carbonell
Chair, Department of Planning and Urban Form,
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Sponsored in part by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Spring/Summer Urban Design Review 2009

Reviewed in this issue:

On 'Learning from Las Vegas' by Aron Vinegar

Portable Architecture for Today by Jennifer Siegal

A History of the Future by Donna Goodman

Resilient Cities by Peter Newman, et al

The City's End by Max Page

and more ...

Forum Member Jonathan Rose in Crain's

Click here to see the entire piece.

New York's Creative Economy Event at the New Museum

The Forum for Urban Design hosted an event at the New Museum of Contemporary Art on the Bowery, and invited experts to discuss the importance and future of New York's creative economy. Elizabeth Currid, asst. professor at USC and author of The Warhol Economy, argues that the social life and density of New York City are critical to the vibrancy of New York and its creative economy, but as it gets too expensive to live here, the next generation of artists are struggling more than ever to make New York their home. What affect might this have on the city? As Jane Jacobs once said, when a place gets boring, even the rich people leave. James Surowiecki, Financial Page writer for The New Yorker, favorably reviewed Currid's book but took issue with some of her conclusions. And Paul Owens, co-founder of BOP, a London-based creative economy consulting firm, brought an outsider's perspective. Interviews with the panelists conducted at the New Museum flesh out this debate.