Three Centers at Penn Join Forces to Tackle Urban Issues at World Urban Forum

Feb 6, 2018—Philadelphia, PA—Three research centers at Penn are working together to bring Penn’s expertise on urban issues to this year’s World Urban Forum (WUF9), the world’s premier conference on urban issues, to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from February 7-13, 2018.

The three centers—the Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR), the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy (KCEP), and Perry World House (PWH)—published a white paper series in advance of the February event, are staging a multidisciplinary exhibition of Penn research at the week-long event, and are sending a delegation of 14 scholars, students, and staff members to Kuala Lumpur to participate.

Through these efforts, the three centers aim to showcase their research as well as the research of established and emerging Penn scholars affiliated with the centers. By joining forces to present at this year’s WUF9, the centers aim to bring timely Penn-based scholarship that addresses pressing sustainable urbanization issues to leading policymakers and practitioners across the globe.

Penn’s delegates will welcome visitors to the Penn exhibition booth on display at WUF9, which includes information about Penn IUR, Perry World House, and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, and highlights each center’s initiatives relating to the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The exhibit will also feature information on the white paper series that the centers have partnered to produce, “Penn: Current Research on Sustainable Urban Development,” and a speaker series of presentations by experts affiliated with the three centers.

The 14-person Penn delegation that will travel to the WUF in Kuala Lumpur includes: Eugenie Birch, Co-Director, Penn IUR, Lawrence C. Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research and Education, Department of City & Regional Planning; Amy Montgomery, Managing Director, Penn IUR; Laura Barron, Program and Communications Manager, Penn IUR; Cara Griffin, Publications Director, Penn IUR; Mary Rocco, Postdoctoral Researcher, Penn IUR; Bill Burke-White, Richard Perry Professor and Inaugural Director, Perry World House, and Professor of Law, Penn Law; Kate Leader, Program Manager, Perry World House; Kyung-Hwan Kim, Visiting Scholar, Perry World House, and Professor of Economics, Sogang University; Mark Alan Hughes, Faculty Director, Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, and Professor of Practice, Department of City and Regional Planning; Cornelia Colijn, Deputy Director, Kleinman Center for Energy Policy; Mollie Simon, Administrative Assistant, Kleinman Center for Energy Policy; Chandan Deuskar, PhD Student in City and Regional Planning, School of Design; Samuel Geldin, PhD Student in City and Regional Planning, School of Design; and Kimberly Noronha, PhD Student in City and Regional Planning, School of Design.

For more information on the paper series, the exhibition, and the speaker series that will be held in the Penn booth please visit Penn IUR’s World Urban Forum webpage.