“We face the biggest refugee and migration crisis since World War II. Over the last year, more than 60 million people have been forced from their homes. Desperate conditions are compelling people around the world to move…States must significantly boost the number of refugee resettlement places – and share equitably in this effort.”
-Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General, United Nations
The unprecedented number of migrants and refugees on the move has put new pressure on cities to respond to increases in population, resource scarcity, and climate change. Moreover, as migrant and refugee populations take shelter in temporary housing and camps, it is important to remember what makes a city habitable for its residents: access to public space, education, and basic healthcare. When planning these emergency accommodations, we must remember that migrants and refugees require access to these basic needs in order for their new living situations to be truly habitable.
Following the conversations held at the UN General Assembly’s Summit for Refugees and the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development’s Habitat III, panelists will discuss the design community’s responsibilities and obligations to this global refugee crisis, and will share global case studies, best practices, and solutions for how to integrate these migrant and refugee populations within existing urban contexts. Further topics for discussion include the national, regional, and local implications for design and the positive impact migrants and refugees can have on cities.
Speakers:
Nisha Agarwal, Commissioner, NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
Floris Alkemade, Chief Government Architect, Netherlands
Deborah Gans, FAIA, Founder and Principal Architect, GANSstudio
Urs P. Gauchat, Hon. AIA, Dean, College of Architecture and Design, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Board Member, Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization
Erik Jester, Assoc. AIA, Senior Associate/Project Manager, +LAB Architect; Program Co-chair, AIANY Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee
Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman, Urban Anthropologist and Director, THINK.urban
Theodore Liebman, FAIA, Principal, Perkins Eastman; Board Member, Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization
Don Weinreich, FAIA, Management Partner, Ennead Architects
Moderator: Lance Jay Brown, FAIA, Professor, CUNY; Co-chair, AIANY Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee
