Urbanism Next to host second national conference in Portland

This May, participants from academia, architecture, government, planning, real estate and related fields will gather in Portland for the second National Urbanism Next Conference.

The conference will be an opportunity for stakeholders to come together to engage in a national conversation about how cities can best prepare for the dramatic changes emerging technologies create. The focus of this year’s conference will be on how technological innovations can be harnessed to achieve desired outcomes.

Speakers from cities around the world will talk about what they’ve tried, what lessons they’ve learned and what they think should be tried next. This year’s conference also will examine how the private and public sectors can collaborate to ensure that desired outcomes drive technological innovation, rather than the other way around.

“These conversations are just starting, and there’s a tremendous desire for this,” said Nico Larco, Urbanism Next director and co-director of the UO’s Sustainable Cities Initiative. “We have been overwhelmed by the interest in these topics across the public, private and academic sectors. People are just waking up to the impacts of this new reality and are hungry for information about how they can prepare.”

Urbanism Next is a University of Oregon cross-disciplinary research initiative focused on understanding how new technologies such as autonomous vehicles, new mobility, e-commerce and the sharing economy affect land use, street design, land valuation and pressures on sprawl, and in turn examining how these changes influence equity, health, the economy, the environment and governance in communities.

Urbanism Next is partnering with the national and Oregon Chapters of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the American Institute of Architects, the American Planning Association and the Urban Land Institute Northwest to present the conference.

The event takes place May 7-9 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. Andrew Salzberg of Uber, Hana Creger of the Greenlining Institute and landscape architect Martha Schwartz will be among the speakers.

On the first day of the conference, participants can engage in any of seven interactive workshops that focus on a different aspect of the opportunities presented by emerging technologies. Urbanism Next is also presenting a full-day workshop specifically for elected officials and government leaders.

Find a detailed schedule of presentations, workshops and other conference events at urbanismnext.com/schedule-2019.

Conference registration is now open, and special rates are available for students and academics. Visit the registration page for additional details and to complete registration.

By Rachael Nelson, University Communications