Spotlight Vol. 9, No. 1: A Good Idea Needs Many Hands

By Jeff Ferzoco, Creative and Technology Director, RPA

Cities have long been centers for innovation because ideas travel quickly through a crowd. Although the image of the lone inventor working in solitude in a laboratory or office endures as the symbol of innovation, in fact, great gadgets and greater ideas usually have many parents. New schemes and new thoughts need to be exposed to many eyes, to be checked over and scrutinized. Collaboration and observation are part of a recipe for coming up with successful new ways of doing things.

As great believers in the social and economic progress that can accompany innovation, RPA is hosting a day-long discussion of innovation at our 20th Annual Regional Assembly on Friday April 16th at the Waldorf-Astoria. "Innovation and the American Metropolis" will cover many of the topics you've come to know and rely upon from RPA, but with the addition of a few new ones that we feel are important. Along with transportation, economy, community development, open space, energy and housing, we will look at communications, design, technology, and collaboration as tools to improve regions.

More of the schedule details will be revealed over the next three months, but we'd love to set you up to watch it develop. First, please visit the site at www.regionalassembly.org. That is where we will be updating all relevant information, including the program, cost and some background reading about the topics. We will also be speaking out on twitter @regionalplan, and you can find us on Facebook as well.

We hope you will join us on April 16 and be part of the conversation. The discussion can't go very far without the crowd, and we're excited to see the results. We hope to see you there.