16 OF OUR 2020 FAVORITES
December 23, 2020 — Blog
Finding yourself with extra time over the holidays to finally sit back and watch some of the content you pinned during the year? We compiled a list of our favorite NewCities event panels, webinars, and blog posts!
Scroll down or watch directly on our 2020 Staff Pick Youtube channel.
1.[Webinar] The Big Rethink | Housing: Room for Improvement
One of the first webinars we launched back in April as part of our Big Rethink series, reimagining cities after COVID-19.
This talk, calling for transformation in the housing sector, still rings true now, as millions of Americans remain at risk of eviction going into the new year.
[icon name=”video-camera” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Featuring Angela Hurlock, Eugene Jones, Jonathan Woetzel, and host Diana Lind.
2. [Panel] Higher Ground | Opening Keynote with Kim Stanley Robinson
Attendees of our December event on climate migration voted the Opening Keynote with sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson a highlight–and we have to agree with them!
3. [Panel] Wellbeing Cities Forum | DIY City: The Power of Public Participation & Engagement
A brilliant panel on the power of public participation. The talk focused on inclusivity, challenging the notion of traditional experts, exploring community-led planning, and underscoring the pandemics potential to access those “hard to reach groups.”
[icon name=”video-camera” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Featuring Camille Choplin, Elaine Gauthier, Antonio Gomez-Palacio, Naomi Murphy, and host Orlando P. Bailey.
4. [After-Hours Session] New Housing Solutions | McMansion Hell LIVE
McMansion Hell LIVE tagged “best virtual happy hour” was a special live-action version of Kate Wagner’s satirical blog hosted during our New Housing Solutions event. Participants were encouraged to submit their home, neighbors’ home, or least favorite “starchitect” for a scathingly funny critique.
5. [Panel] Higher Ground | Everyone Should Know What’s Coming
The exception that proves the rule when it comes to allowing presentations in panel discussions. “Everyone Should Know What’s Coming” featured a dynamic presentation by Spencer Glendon followed by a Q&A with panelists offering a wealth of insight into climate risk.
[icon name=”video-camera” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Panelists include Spencer Glendon, Mekala Krishnan, Skylar Olsen, Anna Murray, and host Greg Lindsay.
6. [Editorial] The Big Picture: Climate Migration | Letter to Evie
A creative writing piece by Ingrid Burrington and Brendan C. Byrne, award-winning authors of The Training Commission, penned in February for our Big Picture on Climate Migration.
7. [Report] Research | The Millennial Dilemma
A NewCities original: the Millennial Dilemma–where will the most misunderstood generation live and why?
The report aims to decode current trends and explode myths about lifestyle preferences so that readers — public officials, policymakers, private actors, housing advocates, real estate professionals, entrepreneurs, and millennials themselves — might imagine a different America, one more responsive to their needs.
8. [Panel] New Housing Solutions | Rethinking Health and Homes After Coronavirus
A panel that set the tone for our New Housing Solutions event back in July. “Rethinking Housing and Homes After Coronavirus” was a solutions-driven exchange on affordable housing and what it would take to meet the housing needs of the American population.
[icon name=”video-camera” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Featuring Eugene Jones, Richard Gerwitz, Jacqueline Waggoner, and moderator Sasha Perigo.
9. [Keynote] Higher Ground | Keynote with Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz
Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz of San Juan, Puerto Rico joined us at Higher Ground to deliver a personal and heartfelt account of the devastating impacts of climate-driven disaster in Puerto Rico and what is needed to redress it. Seriously worth the watch.
10. [Editorial] “Zoning and Land Use Rules are the Key to Affordability” by Anthony Flint
“If there’s anything the year of 2020 has shown us, it’s that institutional structures and government policy really do guide what the outcomes are in our society..” says Anthony Flint, Senior Fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. His article featured in our Big Picture issue Amplifying New Housing Solutions, traces how zoning, coding, and land-use regulations dictate the composition of communities everywhere.
11. [Panel] Wellbeing Cities Forum | (Re)Building the Urban Economy, Revitalizing our Neighborhoods
An inspiring group of panelists reimagined our economies and neighborhoods in more sustainable and equitable ways.
[icon name=”video-camera” class=”” unprefixed_class=””] Featured panelists: George Benson, Paul Lacerte, Carmen Mays & host Lucinda Hartley.
12. [Editorial] “Designing for a Healthier Future: Cities, Suburbs, and Beyond” by George Athens and Nancy Kohout
A piece by SmithGroup’s George Athens and Nancy Kohout for our Big Picture on Wellbeing and the Built Environment, emphasizing our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rethink the meaning, greening, and purpose of city spaces.
13. [Panel] Higher Ground | The Maria Diaspora
Higher Ground panelists Mayor Alex Morse, Ana Cruz, and Fernando Rivera discussed what climate migration looks like on the ground in two receiving cities: Orlando, FL., and Holyoke, MA., both having welcomed thousands of Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane Maria since 2017.
14. [Editorial] Blog | 8 Questions for Kathryn Travers
On International Women’s Day, we asked 8 questions to our Associate Fellow for Gender Inclusive Cities, Kathryn Travers, and here’s what she said..
15. [Webinar] The Big Rethink | Ep. 5 Technology vs. Democracy with Bianca Wylie
In this episode of the Big Rethink: “Technology vs. Democracy,” Bianca Wylie joins host Greg Lindsay to talk about Big Tech, and why the problem isn‘t always technology or data, but what we expect from our public servants and democracy itself.
16. [Film Club] New Housing Solutions | The Pruitt-Igoe Myth
A virtual Film Club on the 2011 documentary The Pruitt-Igoe Myth hosted by St. Louis Development Corporation’s Daffney Moore and the University of Michigan’s Robert Fishman during our New Housing Solutions event in July.
And that’s a wrap! We hope you enjoyed the reel [icon name=”film” class=”” unprefixed_class=””].