FALL 2007 PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK \ 2030
NEW YORK’S GREEN AND JUST FUTURE

A PUBLIC DISCUSSION AMONG THE AUTHORS OF MAYOR BLOOMBERG’S PlaNYC AND A PANEL OF URBAN DESIGN EXPERTS

On November 17, the Institute for Urban Design hosted a day-long event titled New York 2030, which focused on Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC, an ambitious project to turn New York into the world’s most sustainable metropolis. Anticipating that the city will be home to one million more inhabitants by the year 2030, PlaNYC includes strategies that improve housing, open space, transportation, energy, and air and water quality. Will the plan really “help to ensure a higher quality of life of generations of New Yorkers to come” and “contribute to a 30% reduction in global warming emissions,” as it promises? How will the plan change the course of development in the city, and the way the government operates? The authors of the plan and a panel of experts discussed the plan in detail and how it will affect professionals and citizens alike.

The event was organized by Olympia Kazi, the newly appointed director of the Institute for Urban Design, a nonprofit founded in 1979 to provide a setting for architects, planners, and landscape architects to exchange views with policymakers, journalists, and developers. The symposium is divided into two parts: The morning session will feature presentations from representatives and specialists of the administration, while the afternoon will be open for discussions with policymakers and urban design experts (see next page for program). “With this event,” says Kazi, “the Institute for Urban Design wants to take up the challenge launched by the City for the future of our metropolis. Public attention so far has focused mainly on a few elements of PlaNYC such as the idea of congestion pricing. Our mission is to provide a forum for a thorough discussion of the plan, offer the public a better understanding of its scale and aspirations, and contribute to the democratic process of dialogue between the City government and civil society.”

NEW YORK \ 2030
NEW YORK’S GREEN AND JUST FUTURE
Organized by the Institute for Urban Design
Supported by The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art; City College of New York; AIA NY and NewYorkNewVisions
Media sponsors: Architect’s Newspaper and Metropolis Magazine

10.30AM WELCOME
Olympia Kazi, Executive Director, Institute for Urban Design
Fredric Bell, Executive Director, American Institute of Architects New York Chapter
Rohit T. Aggarwala, Director, New York City Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability

11.00AM–1:00PM PLANYC PRESENTATION
Opening remarks:  Adrian Benepe, Commissioner, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation
Moderator: Alexandros Washburn, Director of Urban Design, New York City Department of Planning
Sandy Hornick, Deputy Executive Director for Strategic Planning, New York City Department of Planning
Thomas Maguire, Director of Congestion Pricing, New York City Department of Transportation
Charles McKinney, Chief of Design of Capital Projects, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation
James J. Roberts, Deputy Commissioner, New York City Department of Environmental Protection

02:00 PM – 4.00PM RESPONSES
Opening remarks: Adolfo Carrión, Bronx Borough President
Moderator: Michael Sorkin, Director, Graduate Urban Design Program, The City College of New York
Tom Angotti, Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning, Hunter College, The City University of New York
Miquela Craytor, Deputy Director, Sustainable South Bronx
Ernest Hutton, Co-chair, New York New Visions
Richard Sennett, Professor of Sociology, London School of Economics and Bemis Professor of Social Sciences, MIT
Ronald Shiffman, Director Emeritus, Pratt Institute Center for Community and Environmental Development
Paul Steely White, Executive Director, Transportation Alternatives
Elizabeth Yeampierre, Executive Director, United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park

Saturday, November 17, 2007
The Great Hall, Cooper Union
Free admission