Cincinnati Magazine: UC’s School of Planning makes the case for cities

According to Cincinnati Magazine, major U.S. cities have been flash points in the spread of COVID-19 and in protests against racial injustice, leading some politicians and TV commentators to blast them as dangerous places losing tons of jobs and residents. Thanks to the negative drumbeat of news, urban planners fear that two decades of urban renaissance could possibly come undone in the span of less than a year.

The University of Cincinnati’s School of Planning is stepping up to remind us that cities aren’t the source of America’s current predicaments, but instead can be the ultimate solution to a healthier, more sustainable and more equitable society. UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning  is hosting a free online conversation series called "The Case for Cities." The monthly conversations will be broadcast from the Mercantile Library and feature national and local experts speaking virtually with DAAP professors.

Read the full Cincinnati Magazine story.

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DAAP professor Vikas Mehta hosts urban designer Ken Greenberg and University of Washington landscape architecture professor Jeff Hou to discuss public spaces and social and political places.

A conversation on creating healthy neighborhoods, supporting healthy people, hosted by DAAP professor Christopher Auffrey.

Julie Wagner, president of the Global Institute on Innovation Districts, and Allen Woods, co-founder of the Over-the-Rhine-based MORTAR accelerator program, talk innovation and growth to lift all boats.

A city that’s walkable, bikable and well-connected by transit provides efficiency and equity while also bringing diverse groups together in a shared space of mobility. Mehta hosts with guest Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, distinguished professor of urban planning, UCLA.

A discussion of housing growth and equity featuring Liz Blume, director of the Community Building Institute at Xavier University, hosted by Auffrey.

A discussion of how our unique food and drink culture has placed Cincinnati on the national map and how we can ensure that all residents benefit from it, hosted by DAAP Assistant Professor Conrad Kickert

Balancing nature and justice, hosted by Danilo Palazzo, director of UC’s School of Planning.

The series concludes with a conversation about planning, designing and advocating for cities that are places of choice and of justice. Guests include Miami University history professor Steven Conn and Tufts University urban policy and planning professor Julian Agyeman.