January 17, 2018

The New Urban Agenda: How Stakeholders are Defining and Driving Implementation

past event


Perry World House, 3803 Locust Walk

Recap

On January 17, Penn IUR, Perry World House, and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy hosted a one-day workshop that gathered policymakers, practitioners, and scholars for a set of panels and moderated conversations on interpretations of authorizing the New Urban Agenda. Following the opening remarks given by LaShawn R. Jefferson, Mark Alan Hughes, Eugenie Birch, and William Burke-White introduced the launch of the Penn World Urban White Paper Series: “Penn: Current Research on Sustainable Development.” These eleven papers, authored by University of Pennsylvania faculty, with experts in policy fields such as energy and political science, addressed the unique multi-trans and interdisciplinary challenges regarding sustainability.

 

Lawrence C. Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research and Education, Eugenie Birch, introduced the World Urban Forum, which is held every other year and brings together member states in order highlight approaches towards the Sustainable Development Goals’ implementation. One vital outcome recognized that  implementation is necessary and is now being encouraged on a local level in order to break the previously siloed disciplines. The following sessions, lead by Freie Universitat Berlin professor Helmut Aust, sought to highlight the role of international cities, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and individuals as legal actors in the realm of international law. These renowned global efforts seek to involve more stakeholders in the conversation by hosting occasions for independent actors to participate in high political activities. This recognizes the informal activities that already exist which shape stakeholder’s community role. Through side events and speaking opportunities, the recognition and presence of NGOs widens the global network of connectivity and implementation furthering the need to connect and organize transnationally.

 

The following afternoon sessions brought together professionals, academics, and specialists to examine the social dimensions of urbanization. Included in the sessions were discussions by Professor and Department Chair of City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania and former Senior Advisor for Global Cities, Ian Klaus, on financial inclusion, Professor and Chair of Landscape Architecture at PennDesign, Richard Weller highlighting transit system innovation, and others on sustainability and the role of cities. The interconnected topics sought to bridge the New Urban Agenda with social change relating to urbanization by emphasizing the critical issue that urbanization constructs a weakened economic safety base, creating vulnerability and challenging traditional social ties. However, by looking towards new technological systems, such as bus rapid transit, we can address critical urban sustainability concerns and consider innovative solutions, such as carbon reduction, breaking societal norms and perceptions in order to design plausible solutions.

 

Speakers:

 

Welcome and opening remarks

LaShawn R. Jefferson, Deputy Director, Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania

 

Launch of Penn WUF9 White Paper Series: “Penn: Current Research on Sustainable Development”

Mark Alan Hughes, Professor of Practice, PennDesign; Faculty Director, Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania

Eugenie Birch, Lawrence C. Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research and Education; Co-Director, Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR), University of Pennsylvania

William Burke-White, Richard Perry Professor and Professor of Law; Inaugural Director, Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania

 

Asserting Authority: How Institutions are evolving for an urban future:

Cities as International Legal Authorities

Helmut Aust, Professor, Freie Universität Berlin (via Skype)

William Burke-White, Richard Perry Professor and Professor of Law; Inaugural Director, Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania

More than Window Dressing: Embedding Civil Society Participation in the United Nations

Eugenie Birch, Lawrence C. Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research and Education; Co-Director, Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR), University of Pennsylvania

Ian Klaus, Former Senior Adviser for Global Cities, U.S. Department of State; Deputy Negotiator, U.S. Delegation to Habitat III

 

Examining the social dimensions of urbanization:

How Urbanization affects Social Attitudes in the National Capital Region of Delhi

Devesh Kapur, Professor of Political Science and the Study of Contemporary India; Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania

Emily Hannum, Professor of Sociology and Education; Associate Director, Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania

Financial Inclusion in Urban Spaces

Lisa Servon, Professor and Department Chair, City and Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania

Ian Klaus, Former Senior Adviser for Global Cities, U.S. Department of State; Deputy Negotiator, U.S. Delegation to Habitat III

 

Spotlight Presentation: Atlas for the end of the world

Richard Weller, Professor and Chair of Landscape Architecture and Meyerson Chair of Urbanism, PennDesign

 

Case Study: Transit, Sustainability and cities:

Angela Pachon, Research Director, Kleinman Center for Energy Policy

Daniel Aldana Cohen, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Pennsylvania

Julie Gamble, Postdoctoral Fellow, Perry World House

Erick Guerra, Assistant Professor, PennDesign

Sergio Montero, Assistant Professor, Urban and Regional Development, Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia)

 

Housing and the New Urban Agenda: A conversation

Susan Wachter, Albert Sussman Professor of Real Estate and Professor of Finance, Wharton; Co-Director, Penn IUR, University of Pennsylvania

Marja Hoek-Smit, Adjunct Professor of Real Estate; Director and Founder, International Housing Finance Program, Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center, Wharton, University of Pennsylvania

Kyung-Hwan Kim, Professor of Economics, Sogang University; Former Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation, Republic of Korea

 

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