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MICD and Penn Partner to Explore Impact of Urban University Development in Cities
PHILADELPHIA — The Mayors’ Institute on City Design recently partnered with the University of Pennsylvania to host a first-of-its-kind symposium, critically examining the relationships between universities and their cities during a meeting on November 16-18, 2005.
The theme "The University and Public Design: the Impact of Urban University Development in Cities" recognized the importance of universities in defining the urban landscape, serving both the public sector and the university community by organizing and articulating the best practices and processes that recognize the value of mayors and universities working collaboratively to shape the form and design of their cities.
Mayors from Salt Lake City, Providence, Pasadena, and Bethlehem joined university leaders from major urban universities in their cities and a team of design professionals to discuss best practices and opportunities for working collaboratively to shape the form and design of their cities.
“There is a symbiotic relationship between the health and success of our universities and the communities where they reside,” said Aaron Koch, Director, Mayors’ Institute on City Design. “This Institute seeks to spur creative ideas about ways to develop stronger university-city partnerships.”
The University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution with a distinctive past, has been actively involved in the revitalization of West Philadelphia, an area that had been in decline. Ten years ago, recognizing that its continued health and success depends not just on what happens within campus, but also on the quality of life in the surrounding neighborhood, Penn embarked on a five-prong effort known as the West Philadelphia Initiatives, aimed at improving the community's educational, housing and business opportunities, retail amenities, and safety and cleanliness.
Penn has seen tremendous success in the West Philadelphia Initiatives in part because of its readiness to embrace its role as a public designer and community developer. This willingness to stand at the forefront of economic and community revitalization has made Penn a standard bearer for the impact universities can have when working in partnership with their cities and communities.
"America needs strong cities, and cities need strong colleges and universities," said Omar Blaik, Senior Vice President of Penn's Facilities and Real Estate Services and board member of the Penn Institute on Urban Research. "By involving university presidents at this conference the MICD is embracing the role of the university as a planner, developer and redeveloper of towns and cities, and helping to increase the dialogue about the importance of planning among the public and private sectors"
The following cities were represented by their mayors and officials from leading universities in their cities:
Bethlehem, PA — Mayor John Callahan and Gregory Farrington, President, Lehigh University Miami, FL — Donna Shalala, President, University of Miami and Sergio Rodriguez, VP for Real Estate, Campus Planning and Construction, University of Miami Pasadena, CA — Mayor William Bogaard and Dean Currie, Vice President, California Institute of Technology, and Patricia Oliver, Senior Vice President, Educational Planning and Architecture, Art Center College of Design Providence, RI — Mayor David Cicilline and Robert Zimmer, Provost, Brown University Salt Lake City, UT — Mayor Ross Anderson and John Francis, Senior Vice President Academic Affairs, University of Utah
The design resource team consisted of the following individuals:
Karen Alschuler, Principal and Director of Planning and Urban Design, Simon Martin-Vegue Winkelstein Morris Omar Blaik, Senior Vice President, Facilities and Real Estate Services, University of Pennsylvania Rick Chellman, TND Engineering Michael Dennis, Professor of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Gayle Farris, President, Forest City-Science + Technology Group Steven Foote, Principal, Perry Dean Rogers and Partners Architects Alexander Garvin, President and CEO, Alex Garvin and Associates John Livingston, President and COO, Tishman Urban Development Group Dennis Pieprz, President, Sasaki Associates, Inc. Rich Richman, Chairman, The Richman Group of Companies Margie Ruddick, Principal, Wallace, Roberts & Todd, LLC Lisa Gould, Director of Health + Science Design, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP
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