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<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal'><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:
"Times New Roman"'>URBAN AGE</span></b><span style='font-size:18.0pt;
font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"'> Holds NYC Conference<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>On 25 and 26 February 2005 in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">New York City</st1:place></st1:City>, <b>Urban Age</b> held the
first of a series of six world-wide conferences to understand the problems of
the city in the 21st century. The <b>Urban Age</b> series of conferences is designed
to form the framework for the development of an ongoing dialogue between
academic experts and urban practitioners�it brings together architects, city
planners, government officials, transportation experts, real estate developers,
and the academics who study these areas. While getting these various
disciplines meaningfully to talk with each other is no easy task, the <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:State> conference was
unusually successful in making some inroads into this most important
undertaking.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I am still abuzz from some of the presentations, ideas, and
personal discussions from the weekend. I found particularly resonant one
general theme�contrary to the Rudy <span class=SpellE>Guiliani</span>/George W.
Bush notion that security (be it in relation to crime or terrorism) comes from
restrictive and repressive controls�that real security is based on people
having a stake in their communities or societies (<b>Jeff Fagan</b> from
Columbia University gave an particularly interesting presentation related in
part to this idea) a sense of neighborhood, participation in society (<b>Sophie
Body-<span class=SpellE>Gondrot<span style='font-weight:normal'>�s</span></span></b>
notion that �public space embodies a sense of belonging to the wider political
community through an architecture of sympathy�), or as <b>Enrique <span
class=SpellE>Pe�alosa</span></b>, the former mayor of Bogot�, Columbia, put it,
even the <i>belief</i> that one�s society is just. In talking with
Enrique, I actually began to suspect that this idea of his may be what actually
explains the drop in crime in NYC during the latter part of the 90s: most
knowledgeable people understand that it was <i>not</i> because of <span
class=SpellE>Guiliani�s</span> tough law and order stand (particularly since
similar results were found to be true in this period in cities like Boston and
Chicago, which had no such policies); I had assumed it was because the
democratic administration in Washington had restored some of the social support
network and poverty programs decimated by the Reagan and Bush
administrations�although I knew that this was more a fictitious position than
an actual reality; but I began to realize that what <i>really</i> happened was
that the urban poor had the <i>perception</i> that they were being less
purposely disenfranchised by the US government, and that their <i>belief</i>
that society was more just and inclusive of them probably was what led to more
�civility� in the inner city and lower crime rates. (I also had an
interesting discussion with Sophie Body-<span class=SpellE>Gondrot</span> about
the role fear plays in the authoritarian [and alarmingly fascist] shift that
underlies the <span class=SpellE>Guiliani</span>/Bush position on both an urban
and international level�with many references to Erich Fromm�s <i>Escape from
Freedom</i>.)</p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I loved the emphasis <b>Anthony Williams</b>, the mayor of <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">DC</st1:State></st1:place>,
put on the power of the citizenry: �I look at citizens just as nuclear
power. Properly channeled and harnessed nuclear power can power the city,
otherwise it can destroy it. It is my goal to try to channel and inspire that
citizen power to drive a new agenda for our city.� <b>Hermann <span
class=SpellE>Knoflacher<span style='font-weight:normal'>�s</span></span></b>
talk on transportation was fascinating on several counts: first, just the
fact that NYC is one of the most �pedestrian-<span class=SpellE>ized</span>�
cities, in which 55% of the workforce walks to work, while another 27% uses
public transportation; that while NYC is in the middle of the fuel
consumption by population curve for transportation (well-below the US average,
but above Europe, and far above Asia), Manhattan is extremely far out on the
curve, well below Europe; his insistence that one must keep the quality of
transportation high to accommodate urban population density, but he noted that
�small qualitative changes can have big quantitative effects.� <b>Nick <span
class=SpellE>Retsinas</span></b> of Harvard, who believes that urbanization is
a by-product and pre-condition of the global economy, alarmingly observed about
the economic disparities of that <span class=GramE>economy ,</span> that �In
the United States...eleven of the twenty fastest growing job categories are in
the service sector, each of which pays less than two times minimum wage. I
would suggest that if urban areas prosper, the agglomeration economies that
support that growth will create even more disparities.� Some of the shocking
one-liner facts: <b>Richard <span class=SpellE>Ravitch</span></b>, in
laying out the history of public transportation in the NY area, noted that 50%
of <i>all</i> the public transportation in the US is in the NYC region; <b>Judith
<span class=SpellE>Rudin</span></b>, the new head of the Rockefeller Foundation
and the former president of Penn, stated the astounding fact the largest
employer in Philadelphia�by a tremendous margin�is the University of
Pennsylvania (the opening chapter of the book she is about to publish begins
with the observation that �meds and <span class=SpellE>eds</span>� are fast becoming
the most significant employers in most urban areas); <b>Bob <span class=SpellE>Yaro</span></b>
raised the wonderfully pointed question about why there is an assumption that
transportation should be self-supporting�whereas no one assumes that of police
departments, schools, etc. There were many who pointed out that success
in urban change depends on the political will and courage of leaders�something
I am beginning to become convinced that our current mayor sorely lacks; by way
of contrast, Enrique <span class=SpellE>Pe�alosa</span> voiced his philosophy
that a leader should �take on as much as he can��an approach he clearly lived
by during his three years as mayor of Bogot�. </p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal>One of the very interesting presentations from the
weekend�and the only one currently available for distribution�was given by <b>Bruce
Katz</b> (and co-authored by <b>Andy Altman</b>) of the <b>Brookings
Institution</b>. Entitled �An Urban Age in a Suburban Nation?�, it dealt
with the problems facing urban centers in a country heavily moving toward
suburbanization, with states often working against the interests of their
cities, and with a federal government openly hostile towards major
cities. Bruce presented a compelling case for the need for cities to form
regional alliances with their suburban neighbors, and he presented the real
possibilities for success presented by current trends and changes in the
situation in both the cities and their closely related suburbs. While an
�American �Urban Age� is possible in our suburban nation,� its success is far
from assured, but rather depends �upon cities and suburbs making smart choices
locally and then joining together collectively to push through state and
ultimately federal policies that curb sprawl, promote reinvestment, and grow
the middle class��and it will require �political organizing and coalition building...across
political jurisdictions, across disciplines, across racial and ethnic lines,
and across �red� and �blue� states and regions.� (The full text of this
excellent presentation is available at <a
href="http://www.brookings.edu/views/speeches/katz/20050225urbanage.pdf">www.brookings.edu/views/speeches/katz/20050225urbanage.pdf
</a>, and I recommend it to you highly.)</p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The preceding are just some impressionistic recollections of
some of what for me were high points of the conference. As for the other
presentations and ideas, you will just have to wait until <b>Urban Age</b>
begins to publish some of its proceedings and conclusions. In the
meantime, here are some of the conference�s available resources and descriptive
materials:</p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The <a
href="http://www.urban-age.net/0_downloads/UrbanAgeNewspaper+Insert.pdf">Conference
Newspaper</a> and the more detailed <a
href="http://www.urban-age.net/10_cities/01_newYork/newYork_overview.html">Project
Overview</a> describe the program as follows:</p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>As the world enters a new �Urban
Age�, with over 50% of its population living in cities, new urban forms are
emerging with cities of over 20 million people � the size of <st1:City w:st="on">London</st1:City>
and <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:State>
combined.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>The Cities <span class=SpellE>Programme</span>
at the London School of Economics and the Deutsche Bank�s Alfred <span
class=SpellE>Herrhausen</span> Society have joined forces to organize a
sustained investigation � the �<b>Urban Age</b>� - in how cities are changing
and what policymakers need to do to improve the quality of life for the
millions of urban dwellers around the globe. This is why, over the next two
years, the Urban Age conferences will take place in <st1:State w:st="on">New
York</st1:State>, <st1:City w:st="on">Shanghai</st1:City>, <st1:City w:st="on">London</st1:City>,
<st1:City w:st="on">Johannesburg</st1:City>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region>
City and <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berlin</st1:place></st1:State>.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>While cities offer the promise of
employment, social interaction and shelter, they quickly become concentrations
of poverty, deprivation and social exclusion. The Urban Age conferences will
address these issues, focusing on the links between the physical form of the
city � its buildings, streets, houses, transport routes and amenities� and
their social, economic and political impacts. </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>The New York Urban Age conference
brought together some of the world�s leading urban thinkers, policymakers and
practitioners to compare experiences and debate the key themes of urban change.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>The New York Urban Age conference
provided a platform to compare the social and economic profiles of two world
cities � London and New York � with similar populations and different physical
shapes, both facing a period of projected demographic and economic growth, both
competing for the 2012 Olympics, and both offering models for urban development
across the globe.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'>Key speakers included:</p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Sophie Body-<span class=SpellE>Gendrot</span>, Professor
of Political Science and American Studies and <span class=SpellE>Director<span
class=GramE>,Center</span></span> for Urban Studies, Sorbonne</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Amanda <span class=SpellE>Burden<span class=GramE>,Director</span></span>,
Planning <span class=SpellE>Department,NYC</span></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Ricky <span class=SpellE>Burdett<span class=GramE>,Centennial</span></span>
Professor in Architecture and Urbanism and <span class=SpellE>Director,Urban</span>
Age, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">London</st1:City></st1:place>
School of Economics and Political Science</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Shaun <span class=SpellE>Donovan<span class=GramE>,Commissioner,New</span></span>
York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Jeff Fagan, Professor of Socio-Medical Sciences and <span
class=SpellE>Director<span class=GramE>,Center</span></span> for Violence
Research and Prevention, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Columbia</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Gerald <span class=SpellE>Frug</span>, Louis D. Brandeis
Professor of Law, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Harvard</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Law</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">School</st1:PlaceType></st1:place></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Bruce <span class=SpellE>Katz<span class=GramE>,Vice</span></span>
President and <span class=SpellE>Director,Metropolitan</span> Policy Program,
Brookings Institution</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Hermann <span class=SpellE>Knoflacher</span>, Professor
of Transport Planning and Traffic Engineering, TU Vienna</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
class=SpellE><span style='color:#231F20'>Rem</span></span><span
style='color:#231F20'> <span class=SpellE>Koolhaas</span>, Principal, Office for
Metropolitan Architecture, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rotterdam</st1:place></st1:City></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Dieter <span class=SpellE>L�pple</span>, Professor of
Urban and Regional Economics, TU Hamburg-<span class=SpellE>Harburg</span></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Enrique <span class=SpellE>Pe�alosa<span class=GramE>,Mayor</span></span>
of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Bogota</st1:City></st1:place> 1997
� 1999</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Richard <span class=SpellE>Ravitch</span>, Principal, <span
class=SpellE>Ravitch</span>, Rice & Company</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Nicolas <span class=SpellE>Retsinas<span class=GramE>,Director</span></span>,
Joint Center for Housing Studies, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Harvard</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Judith Rodin, President-Elect, <span class=GramE>The</span>
Rockefeller Foundation</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Daniel Rose, President and CEO, Rose Associates</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Marilyn Taylor, Chairman, SOM Architects</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Anthony <span class=SpellE>Williams<span class=GramE>,Mayor</span></span>
of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Washington</st1:City> <st1:State
w:st="on">D.C.</st1:State></st1:place></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><span
style='font-family:Symbol;color:#231F20'>�</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;
color:#231F20'> </span><span
style='color:#231F20'>Alejandro <span class=SpellE>Zaera</span> Polo, Joint
Director, Foreign Office Architects</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal>A full Program of the closed-door event is available at <a
href="http://www.urban-age.net/0_downloads/UrbanAgeNewYorkProgramme.pdf">http://www.urban-age.net/0_downloads/UrbanAgeNewYorkProgramme.pdf</a>
, and a descriptive Newspaper describing the event and listing all of the
participants is available at <a
href="http://www.urban-age.net/0_downloads/UrbanAgeNewspaper+Insert.pdf">http://www.urban-age.net/0_downloads/UrbanAgeNewspaper+Insert.pdf</a>
.<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span>A descriptive Bulletin released after
the conference is most informative:<span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>� </span><a
href="http://www.urban-age.net/0_downloads/UABulletin1June2005.pdf">http://www.urban-age.net/0_downloads/UABulletin1June2005.pdf</a>
</p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=GramE>And, a broader view of the <b>Urban Age</b>
undertaking (again from the <a
href="http://www.urban-age.net/downloads/theUrbanAge-proposal.pdf">Project
Outline</a> ):</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>THE
CONFERENCES</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>The
principle aim of The Urban Age is to shape the thinking and practice of urban
leaders. The two-year conference series is the first step towards the creation
of an ongoing forum which will debate and influence how the city is studied,
planned and managed. The series will operate as a mobile laboratory, testing
and sampling the urban condition using a combination of expert presentations,
site visits and opportunities for informal information exchanges. These results
will then be analyzed, searching for regional patterns and global similarities
that will shape the future development of cities and the processes that sustain
them.</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>CONFERENCE
FORMAT</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>Each
Urban Age conference will last for two days, with one half-day dedicated to
visiting key sites of change and development within the host city. </span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>Four core
themes on will be the focus in each conference reflecting the basic human
activities of living, working,<span class=GramE> playing</span> and
moving (life in the city).</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='font-family:Arial;
color:black'>􀂃</span><span style='color:black'> <span class=SpellE>Labour</span>
and work places</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='font-family:Arial;
color:black'>􀂃</span><span style='color:black'> Public life and urban
space</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='font-family:Arial;
color:black'>􀂃</span><span style='color:black'> Mobility and transport</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='font-family:Arial;
color:black'>􀂃</span><span style='color:black'> Housing and <span
class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>In
addition, a group of broader, overarching issues (governance) will be
investigated. These are:</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='font-family:Arial;
color:black'>􀂃</span><span style='color:black'> Investment and
economic development</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='font-family:Arial;
color:black'>􀂃</span><span style='color:black'> Planning and legal
structures</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='font-family:Arial;
color:black'>􀂃</span><span style='color:black'> Sustainability and
energy consumption</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='font-family:Arial;
color:black'>􀂃</span><span style='color:black'> Political economy and
networking cities</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>In order
to address local and global concerns, urban experts representing each core
research theme, and a group of urban practitioners including architects,
politicians, engineers and planners will travel to all conferences,
accumulating knowledge and comparative experiences through participation in
each conference throughout the two-year period. </span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>The
presentations and subsequent publications will employ different modes of
translating information from the two-dimensional geographic scale to the
three-dimensional urban design scale, thus facilitating dialogue between
academics, policymakers and practitioners. A key objective of the Urban Age
conference series is to identify what trends and policies are failing to
respond to local needs, resulting in the continued propagation of dysfunctional
urban areas across the globe. In addition to the academic experts, a group of
urban practitioners, comprised of politicians, architects and engineers, will
be present at each conference, supporting and challenging the notions put forth
by the academics and local participants.</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>CONFERENCE
OUTPUTS</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>While the
primary objective of the Urban Age conference series is to shape urban
practices by engaging the various actors in a meaningful dialogue, lessons
learned from discussions will challenge many existing policies and modes of
operation. At the conclusion of each conference, the <span class=SpellE>travelling</span>
experts will compose reflection papers, based on responses to issues raised
during presentations and discussions. Experts will contribute to the final
�white book on cities�, which will chart the accumulation of international
knowledge and urban best practice. This �white book�, together with a digital
version, will be</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span class=GramE><span
style='color:black'>widely</span></span><span style='color:black'> distributed
to mayors, policymakers and advisors in the autumn of 2006, coinciding with the
final conference in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Berlin</st1:State></st1:place>.
As a final output, a BBC-produced documentary film will capture the
investigation of the Urban Age themes on the ground in each of the conference
cities.</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>KEY
ISSUES</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>Behind
current debates on cities lies the fundamental question of whether free markets
lead to concentration or dispersion of resources. This classic economic
quandary takes on an unquestionably pertinent character when applied to cities,
leading to a series of further questions: If there were no planning
restrictions, how would development respond? How would the shape of the city
evolve? Would the market lead to sprawl or dense concentration of buildings? In
the past, the answer was simple: housing would sprawl and offices and industries
would concentrate. This answer, however, has proved</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span class=GramE><span
style='color:black'>errant</span></span><span style='color:black'> for several
reasons: the housing-preference side is too deterministic � in many markets
middle and upper income people have demonstrated different preferences; and the
commercial side does not respond to the massive split which has occurred
between front-line service industries, which require concentration to work, and
back-offices, which are cheaper to disperse. This pattern is seen throughout
the developed world, and is shaping the structure of many emerging cities in
the developing world. The question for architects, <span class=SpellE>urbanists</span>
and mayors is how to plan and manage infrastructure and development without
constraining growth, while simultaneously promoting the social and economic
benefits of proximity and complexity in compact urban systems. The aspirations
are clear, but the actual impact on the social economy of urban communities has
yet to be understood. The process of investigation and exchange of The Urban
Age will provide clues to the next generation of urban policymakers to better
understand these interrelationships and successfully connect the physical
arrangement of the built environment to sustainable growth.</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>The core
knowledge areas have been designed to address these questions and how they relate
to each other. Core topics will be discussed at both the larger geographic
scale and well as the smaller urban design scale, while simultaneously linking
them to the political and decision-making structures by which they are
influenced. The specific thematic issues which each core knowledge area will
address include:</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span class=SpellE><span
style='color:#B5001E'>Labour</span></span><span style='color:#B5001E'> market
and work places</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='color:black'>Key
Expert: Dieter <span class=SpellE>L�pple</span>, <span class=SpellE>TU</span>
Hamburg-<span class=SpellE>Harburg</span></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='color:#B5001E'>Public
life and urban space</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='color:black'>Key
Expert: Sophie Body-<span class=SpellE>Gendrot</span>, Sorbonne</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='color:#B5001E'>Mobility
and transport</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='color:black'>Key Expert:
Hermann <span class=SpellE>Knoflacher</span>, <span class=SpellE>TU</span>
Vienna</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='color:#B5001E'>Housing
and urban <span class=SpellE>neighbourhoods</span></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='color:black'>Key
Expert: Ricky Burdett,
LSE
</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>CONFERENCE
DATES AND LOCATIONS</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><span style='color:black'>Six
cities, representing urban regions in each of the major continents, have been
chosen as partner cities for the Urban Age conference series:</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><span style='color:#B5001E'>New York</span></st1:place></st1:State><span
style='color:#B5001E'> </span><span style='color:black'>| 25 and 26 February
2005</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='color:black'>Opening
Conference, North American Regional Conference</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='color:#B5001E'>Shanghai
</span><span style='color:black'>| July 2005</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='color:black'>Asian
Regional Conference</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><span style='color:#B5001E'>London</span></st1:place></st1:City><span
style='color:#B5001E'> </span><span style='color:black'>| November 2005</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='color:black'>European
Regional Conference, European Mayors Conference</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><span style='color:#B5001E'>Johannesburg</span></st1:place></st1:City><span
style='color:#B5001E'> </span><span style='color:black'>| February 2006</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='color:black'>African
Regional Conference</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><span style='color:#B5001E'>Mexico City</span></st1:place></st1:City><span
style='color:#B5001E'> </span><span style='color:black'>| July 2006</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='color:black'>Central/South
American Regional Conference</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'> </p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on"><span style='color:#B5001E'>Berlin</span></st1:place></st1:State><span
style='color:#B5001E'> </span><span style='color:black'>| November 2006</span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in'><span style='color:black'>Final
Conference<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.0in;text-align:justify'><span
style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='color:black'>The
main web site for Urban Age is <a href="http://www.urban-age.net/">www.urban-age.net</a>
.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><img border=0 width=573 height=6
id="_x0000_i1025" src=line1.gif></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><a href="http://www.rlrubens.com/"><i>Return
to Dead Parrot homepage. </i></a></p>
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