April 15, 2011

Waldorf-Astoria, NYC

8am - 4pm

followed by a cocktail reception

hosted by

chaired by

$275 / General
$250 / Members & returning

The assembly is sold out!

Waldorf-Astoria

The Waldorf-Astoria is located at 301 Park Avenue, between 49th and 50th Streets, in New York City. The hotel has a second entrance on Lexington Avenue, also between 49th and 50th Streets. For directions, please refer to Google Maps.

If they are to succeed,
cities, like businesses,
must continually innovate.

Municipalities large and small from around the world are adopting new technologies and new management systems to improve their ability to attract economic growth, manage precious natural resources and improve the quality of life of their residents.

RPA’s 2011 Regional Assembly, “Innovation and the Global City,” will explore what global cities, from Singapore to London, and from Stockholm to New York, are doing to remain competitive on the world stage.

View the Assembly Program (pdf)

Assembly Photos

Featuring

Assembly Chair

Barbara Kux, Member of the Managing Board, Siemens, Head of Supply Chain Management and Chief Sustainability Officer

Keynotes by

Richard Burdett, Professor of Urban Studies, London School of Economics, and Director, LSE Cities and Urban Age

Edward Glaeser, Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University

The Honorable Dannel P. Malloy, Governor, State of Connecticut

The Day's Agenda

8:00 – 8:30 Breakfast & Registration

8:30 – 11:15 Morning Program

Welcome

Thomas K. Wright, Executive Director, Regional Plan Association

Keynote

Edward Glaeser, Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University

Plenary Response

Moderator: Julia Vitullo-Martin, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Urban Innovation, RPA

Julian Goh, Head of Urban Planning & Smart City, Siemens

Lynne B. Sagalyn, Professor and Director of the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate, Columbia University

Robert K. Steel, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, City of New York

Keynote

Richard Burdett, Professor of Urban Studies, London School of Economics, and Director, LSE Cities and Urban Age

Plenary Response

Moderator: Julia Vitullo-Martin

Derek Douglas, Special Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs

Jay H. Walder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Nicholas You, Chairman of the Steering Committee of the World Urban Campaign, UN-Habitat

11:15 – 12:30 Morning Breakout Sessions

Seaports: A Port for the 21st Century

Governance: New Collaborations for Sustainability

Intercity: High-Speed Rail in America

Energy: Energy Infrastructure as Economic Driver

Landscapes: The Conservation of Regional Landscapes

12:30 – 2:30 Luncheon Program

Welcome

Robert D. Yaro, President, RPA

Elliot G. Sander, Board Chair, RPA, and Group Chief Executive of Global Transportation, AECOM

Presentation of RPA’s Lifetime Leadership Award

Presented to Tonio Burgos, CEO, Tonio Burgos and Associates

by The Honorable Mario M. Cuomo, former Governor, State of New York

Luncheon keynotes

Barbara Kux, Member of the Managing Board, Siemens, and Head of Supply Chain Management and Chief Sustainability Officer

The Honorable Dannel P. Malloy, Governor, State of Connecticut

 

2:30 – 3:45 Afternoon Breakout Sessions

Airports: World-Class Airports

Congestion: Strategies to Manage Congestion

Finance: Innovative Infrastructure Finance

Data: Smart Cities, Smart Citizens

4:00 – 5:00 Cocktail Reception

sponsored by

Workshops

Seaports

A Port for the 21st Century

Listen to the Audio

The New York region owes its existence to its seaport. This panel will explore the challenges and opportunities facing the port today – expansion of the Panama Canal, intensified competition from other ports, congested rail and road links, technological advances amid longstanding labor practices, waterfront redevelopment, climate change and limited financial resources.

Moderator: Hope Cohen, Associate Director of the Center for Urban Innovation, RPA

Kevin S. Corbett, Vice President, Strategic Development, AECOM

Kenneth T. Jackson, Jacques Barzun Professor of History and the Social Sciences, Columbia University

Christopher O. Ward, Executive Director, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey

Governance

New Collaborations for Sustainability

Listen to the Audio

The federal government has embarked on one of its most ambitious experiments in decades. HUD, DOT and EPA are aligning housing, transportation, economic and environmental efforts at federal and regional scales. New York and Connecticut are at the heart of this effort with a bi-state partnership to lay the foundation for a new era of globally competitive, equitable growth.

Moderator: Christopher Jones, Vice President for Research, RPA

Edward J. Blakely, Honorary Professor in Urban Policy at the United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney

The Honorable Bill Finch, Mayor, City of Bridgeport

Patrick Foye, Appointed Deputy Secretary to the Governor of New York

Shelley R. Poticha, Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Arlene Rodriguez, Director of Partnerships and External Affairs, Living Cities

Intercity

High-Speed Rail in America

Listen to the Audio

This country’s nascent program to build high-speed rail in the most urbanized regions is a bold step toward meeting the infrastructure needs of the coming century, yet it is not without its challenges – from politics to funding, to environmental regulatory review. This panel will discuss the U.S. debate about high-speed rail, as well as ways that other counties have successfully implemented high-speed rail systems.

Moderator: Petra Todorovich, Director of America 2050, RPA

Fabio Casiroli, Professor of Transport Planning, DPA Milan Polytechnic, and Founder, Systematica

Albrecht P. Engel, Vice President, High-Speed Rail, Amtrak

Peter Gertler, Chair High-Speed Rail Services, HNTB Corporation

Joan McDonald, Commissioner, New York State Department of Transportation

Karen Rae, Deputy Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration

sponsored by

Energy

Energy Infrastructure as Economic Driver

Listen to the Audio

Energy’s share of worldwide economic output could quadruple in the next decade. In order to reap those economic gains through a clean energy economy, the tri-state region must reposition itself to compete globally, particularly with developing economies such as India and China. What energy infrastructure strategies are currently in place? What future strategies are needed in order to spur innovation and strengthen the region’s competitiveness?

Moderator: J. Andrew Murphy, Executive Vice President and Regional President for the Northeast, NRG Energy

Gordon Feller, Gordon Feller, Director of Urban Innovation/IBSG, Cisco Systems

Ashok Gupta, Director of Energy Policy, Natural Resources Defense Council

Kathleen A. McGinty, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Strategic Growth, Weston Solutions, Inc.

Joseph P. Oates, Vice President for Energy Management, Con Edison

sponsored by

Landscapes

The Conservation of Regional Landscapes

Listen to the Audio

Only regional-scale conservation strategies can address global challenges like watershed and ecosystems processes, urbanization, and climate change. This panel will assess the prospects for innovative landscape-scale approaches to conservation in the United States and the New York Metropolitan Area in particular.

Moderator: James Levitt, Fellow, Lincoln Institute for Land Policy, and Director of the Program on Conservation Innovation, Harvard University

Alexander Brash, Northeast Regional Director, National Parks Conservation Association

Mickey Fearn, Deputy Director for Communications and Community Assistance, National Park Service

Henk Ovink, Director for National Spatial Planning, Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning, the Netherlands

Robert Pirani, Vice President for Environmental Programs, RPA

sponsored by

Workshops

Airports

World-Class Airports

Listen to the Audio

View the Prensentation (pdf)

The New York region’s air space is among the most congested in the nation with some of the worst delays and no room to accommodate future growth. This panel will present solutions proposed by RPA in a recent study. Expert panelists will discuss key issues including environmental and regulatory hurdles, as well as best practices in other world cities.

Moderator: Marilyn J. Taylor, Dean, University of Pennsylvania School of Design

Christopher W.N. Cain, Chair, Forum for Regional Airports in Europe and Principal, Aviation Strategy and Policy Consultancy

Patty Clark, Senior Advisor to the Aviation Director for Aviation Policy, The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey

Carmine Gallo, Eastern Regional Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration

Rich Kassel, Senior Attorney and Director of the Clean Fuels and Vehicles Project, Natural Resources Defense Council

Arthur J. Torno, Vice President of New York Operations, American Airlines

Jeffrey M. Zupan, Senior Fellow for Transportation, RPA

sponsored by

Congestion

Strategies to Manage Congestion

Listen to the Audio

New York City has made great strides to encourage walking, bicycling and bus transit, often on a shoe-string budget. Yet vehicles continue to have a heavy negative impact on air quality and streetlife in the urban core. This panel will discuss a range of strategies to manage and reduce traffic that have been adopted in the U.S. and around the world.

Moderator: Timur Galen, Managing Director & Head of Global Corporate Services & Corporate Real Estate, Goldman Sachs

David Bragdon, Director, New York City Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability

Walter Hook, Executive Director, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy

Gunnar Söderholm, Director of Environment and Health Administration, City of Stockholm

Jon Zeitler, Executive Vice President for Corporate Development, Zipcar

Finance

Innovative Infrastructure Finance

Listen to the Audio

Cash-strapped governments across the country have been forced to cut back infrastructure capital investment. This panel will explore challenges and opportunities for innovative ways to continue investing in our nation’s future through private investment, public-private partnerships, public investment and inter-governmental finance.

Moderator: Bradley I. Abelow, Chief Operating Officer, MF Global Holdings Ltd.

Peter Davidson, Executive Director, Empire State Development Corporation

Doreen Frasca, Principal, Frasca & Associates, LLC

Anthony R. Coscia, Partner, Windel Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP

The Honorable Thomas R. Suozzi, Senior Advisor, Lazard Freres

Data

Smart Cities, Smart Citizens

Listen to the Audio

Live and near-live data streams are changing our cities. Soon, urban dwellers will know in real time critical information about the management of their city, from transportation to safety, and from energy to community events. How will real-time information improve city operations and consumer behavior? How will residents best be able to take advantage of the new information?

Moderator: John Tolva, Director of Citizenship & Technology, IBM

Ron Dembo, Founder and CEO, ZeroFootprint

Mario Gandelsonas, Director of the Center for Architecture & Urbanism and Infrastructure Professor, Princeton University

Susan Piedmont-Palladino, Curator, National Building Museum and Professor of Architecture, Virginia Tech

Janette Sadik-Khan, Commissioner, New York City Department of Transportation

Rachel Sterne, Chief Digital Officer, City of New York

sponsored by

 

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