Cities Matter: Resilient Cities after COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has left in its wake a worldwide wave of despair and death. But despite the pandemic, worldwide urbanization will continue, particularly in the developing world. The promise of wealth creation, innovation, creativity, and culture will continue to act as magnets for cities.

The year 2020 showed that in a crisis many ingrained habits of mind can be put aside. A spirit of can-do and why not has made the impossible possible. As former President of Ireland and High Commissioner of Human Rights for the United Nations, Mary Robinson, so aptly put it, this pandemic has proven three things: health matters, science matters, and government matters.

This conference consists of a plenary session and three panels focusing on health, science, and government. The panelists will examine the effects of the pandemic on the cities of today and the world of tomorrow and address the question: Where do we go from here? A range of speakers from the United Nations, public health, science, governance and the design professions includes:

Speakers: 
Dr. Chris Williams, Director, UN-Habitat, New York Office
H.E. Volkan Bozkir, President, UN General Assembly (tbc)
H.E. Ms.Maimuna Shariff, UN Under Secretary General & Executive Director, UN-HABITAT
Mr. Peter Exley, FAIA, President, American Institute of Architects (tbc)
Mr. Kenneth A. Lewis, AIA, President, American Institute of Architects New York
Mr. Edward Mazria, FAIA, Founder, Architecture 2030; Recipient, 2021 AIA Gold Medal
Prof. Ashish Jha, Dean of School of Public Health, Brown University
Prof. Mary Bassett, Director, FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University
Prof. Robert Socolow, Co-Director, Carbon Mitigation Initiative, Princeton University
Mr. David Malakoff, Deputy News Editor, Science Magazine
Prof. Anu Ramaswami, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University
H.E. Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener, Canada, United Cities & Local Governments
H.E. Mr.Mykal Mlynar, Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the UN