Urban Planning focus of Global Cities Conference

Local high school students will learn about and present urban planning practices from around the globe during Grand Valley’s inaugural Global Cities Conference.

The March 21 event, presented by Grand Valley’s Urban Planning Association student organization, will take place in the L. William Seidman Center (room 1008B) located on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.

“The intention of the Global Cities Conference is to introduce Grand Rapids and the GVSU community to the city planning and sustainable development initiatives from around the globe, as well as to show students the plethora of career and academic choices that the field of city planning has to offer,” said Yulia Conley, Urban Planning Association president.

During the conference, student teams from Allendale High School will give 10-minute presentations about urban planning practices and approaches in their assigned global cities.

“This year the conference will feature several global cities including London, Moscow, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Abu-Dhabi and Bogota, and will showcase examples of public transportation, public spaces, sustainability, innovation and historic preservation from these cities,” Conley said.

Conley added that as the populations of the world occupy mostly urban environments, it is imperative that citizens take stock in the evolution of their own cities.

“It is predicted that by the year 2050 nearly 80 percent of the world’s population will be living in cities. With the direction that our development is currently heading, however, this urbanization trend will not only be unsustainable, but nearly impossible to accommodate,” Conley said. “Therefore, we are passionate about sharing the sustainable city planning practices and initiatives with our high school and college peers.”

The conference will welcome a handful of guest speakers, including Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell and Dean Menon, associate dean of Grand Valley’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Also, student will be able to attend a Department Showcase Session, faculty guided walking tours of downtown Grand Rapids, and a documentary screening of “The Human Scale” by Gehl Architects.

The event will conclude with a “Fix my City” game that will challenge students to apply their new knowledge of sustainable development strategies to fix problematic hypothetical scenarios.

For more information about the Global Cities Conference, contact Yulia Conley at [email protected].