PART 1: COLLABORATION & INNOVATION
The pandemic has forced us to pivot, to forge collaborations, to rewrite zoning, to lean into new networks, to rethink public space, to reformat businesses. What innovations have arisen during this time that can be instructive moving forward? What lessons have we learned about the nature of our community?
Speakers:
KAJA KÜHL | Columbia University GSAPP, Design for Six Feet
PHILIP MORRIS | CEO, Proctor’s Collaborative, Schenectady
CYNTHIA NIKITIN | Former Senior Vice President, Project for Public Spaces, Senior Fellow, Sustainable Hudson Valley
GEORGETTE STEFFENS | Executive Director, Downtown Albany Business Improvement District
Moderator:
REIF LARSEN | Founder, Future of Small Cities Institute
> Event recap and video here! <
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CULTIVATING RECOVERY & RESILIENCE IN SMALL CITIES
A Three-Part Webinar Series
As small cities across the country struggle with the immediate effects of the Covid pandemic, we are also beginning to look for long-term recovery strategies. How do we begin to establish a resilient economy and culture that will be able to weather the challenges ahead? What lessons have we learned from this pandemic and what innovations might we want to make permanent?
As difficult as the economic slowdown has been for our communities, it has also offered an unprecedented chance to pause and reflect on our practices, to course correct and to envision a more just, more inclusive, more sustainable future. Small cities, while particularly vulnerable to economic disruptions, can also lean into their strong community fabric and adapt new strategies and new partnerships, informed by the past but mindful of what lies ahead.
During these three webinars, we’ll hear from an array of planners, developers, designers, and community organizers who have been thinking deeply about this question of resilience as we look to bounce forward, not back.
This series is presented in collaboration with the Capital Region Business Improvement Districts, the NY Upstate American Planning Association, the Troy Innovation Garage, and the Capital District Regional Planning Commission.
