Conference: Planning a More Livable New York: Regional Growth, Nature and the Ecological City

The NY Metro Chapter of the American Planning Association, in conjunction with NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management, invites you to attend a conference on the planning and political challenges faced by the New York region as it copes with constraints on urban and suburban growth, an increasingly fragile environment, aging infrastructure, and an often-fragmented government structure.

Increasing the livability of our cities and regions is a goal shared by all. But what are the best and most realistic ways to achieve that goal? How can planners and decision makers work together to identify the major issues, set priorities and develop plans that can work and achieve support? The conference will encourage a critical and practical discussion of assumptions concerning growth and will define the new opportunities and constraints in planning effectively for our city and region.

In a series of panels and workshops, distinguished speakers from the planning profession, government, academia and the community will discuss key subjects, including new transportation initiatives, energy alternatives and water management, design and place-making, social equity and sustainability and the politics and costs involved in implementing the vision of livability in an age of limits.

Conference Schedule
9 – 9:30   Registration and continental breakfast

9:30 – 9:45   Welcome

9:45 – 10:15   Opening keynote speaker: Rutherford Platt, Professor of Geography and Planning Law, University of Massachusetts Amherst and Editor of “The Humane Metropolis: People and Nature in the 21st Century City”

10:15 – 10:45   Morning keynote speaker: Bruce Schaller, Deputy Commissioner for Planning and Sustainability, New York City Department of Transportation

10:45 – 11:30   Plenary Panel Regional Perspectives: Livability in an Age of Limits

11:45 – 1  Breakout sessions (5 options)

• Energy: If there’s not enough now…
• Brownfields: New Funding, New Planning Opportunities
• Planning for the Eco-Neighborhood
• Sustainability and Equity in the Housing Market
• Water, Water, Everywhere

1 – 1:30   Lunch

1:30 – 2   Keynote speaker: Elliott G. Sander, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer, Metropolitan Transportation Authority

2:15 – 3:30   Technology sessions (2 options)

• A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words: 3D Plans Made Easy with Google SketchUp
• Planning Tech: Tools for Today and Technology on the Horizon