Abstract

In 2018, Perkins Eastman led a consortium to develop a master plan to decommission an existing airport in Guayaquil, Ecuador.  The airport had been constructed in 1950 outside city limits. The 240-hectare site was built when the city had a population of 258,000, and commercial jets had recently gone into service. By 2018, when our firm was brought on board, it stood at the geographic center of Grand Guayaquil.  The surrounding population had grown to 4 million, and the region’s needs had outgrown the site’s usefulness. The mayor, the business community, and other constituents were asking, what’s next?   This lecture will provide an in-depth review of our process, including what it takes for a multinational company based in New York to work effectively in the global south, respecting differences while providing practical leadership. 

Speakers and Moderators

Dr. Anna Rubbo, representing the Earth Institute and Columbia University, will present her work on the Local Project Challenge, demonstrating the worldwide effort made to improve communities, cities, and countries by creating and implementing solutions to social, environmental, and economic issues in our complex world.

Katherine Kline will speak about issues of older people and the disabled and worldwide efforts addressing equity, equality, and inclusion of our aging population and the disabled.

Eugenie Birch, PHD., professor at the University of Pennsylvania and the head of the General Assembly of Partners (GAP), will speak of her work at WUF 11 in addressing the UN Habitat’s SDGs and the New Urban Agenda.

Lance Jay Brown, President of the Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization (CSU), will speak about his work with the Habitat Professional Forum at WUF 11 and Public Space initiatives in cities.

Theodore Liebman, FAIA, Principal, Perkins Eastman, V.P. Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization (CSU) and Senior Fellow, Global Urban Development (GUD), will moderate this program.

Collaborating Organizations for Green Cities 2022

Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization, UN-Habitat, AIA New York, AIANY Planning & Design, the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, Habitat Professionals Forum for Sustainable Cities, Perkins-Eastman, Creative Exchange Lab, Columbia Center for Buildings, Infrastructure & Public Space, and Global Urban Development (GUD)

Learning Objectives

• Describe key actions taken at the World Urban Forum (WUF 11)  in Katowice, Poland, to ensure a sustainable future.
• Identify the role the design professions play in incorporating the WUF 11 targets and goals in the design of cities
• Discuss lessons learned at this gathering of representatives from 155 nations
• Illustrate how the Sustainable Development Goals are increasingly being used to guide practice worldwide.