**POSTPONED DUE TO COVID

Speaker:  Dan Douglas,
Former director of Raleigh Urban Design Center

We will explore how historically the downtown neighborhoods of many capital cities have often how been overlooked or neglected, even as they sit in the shadow of the state legislature. Recently, however, there has been a resurgence in our state capitals, as cities like Sacramento, Columbus, Providence, and Oklahoma City have all experienced a kind of urban renaissance, with a new focus on pedestrians, cultural infrastructure, density, and sustainable communities.

Our keynote speaker will be Dan Douglas, former director of Raleigh Urban Design Center. Dan helped to oversee Raleigh's own phenomenal growth in the past two decades, when it transformed from a sleepy administrative center to a humming, vibrant destination, packed with young people, families and cultural events. What were the forces that came together to allow for such a transformation? And what lessons might we apply to Albany and the Capital Region as it undergoes its own dynamic transformation?

We will examine some of the unique challenges capital cities face—their complex relationship to state governments, the historical disincentives to innovate or invest in capitol-adjacent real estate, the entrenched culture of suburban commuting—as well as some of the exciting new developments and initiatives happening across the Capital Region. Our local panelists will include Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, Jeff Buell, CEO of Redburn development, and Maggie Cahill, artistic director for Capital Repertory Theater.

An accompanying series of masterclasses for a select group will extend and deepen the conversation and lead to possible policy suggestions.

Reif Larsen, the 2019-2020 Writer-in-Residence at the Troy Innovation Garage, will host the Garage Talks series.