New Urban Perspectives: Climate Change, Refugees, and Planning

In October 2016, world leaders adopted the “New Urban Agenda” as a roadmap to guide sustainable urbanization for the next twenty years. With the expectation that the world urban population will nearly double by 2050, evidence-based research is critical for the development of policies and practice that reflect the new global urban reality.

Recognizing the need to strengthen the ties between urban policymaking and new scholarly work on urban development, the Wilson Center’s Urban Sustainability Laboratory, USAID, the World Bank, IHC Global and Cities Alliance teamed together to cosponsor the annual “Reducing Urban Poverty” paper competition for advanced graduate students. The competition is designed to encourage a new generation of urban scholars and to disseminate their cutting-edge ideas.

Please join us for a discussion about the latest research from the field on innovative urban approaches to climate change, accommodating refugees in urban areas, and inclusive city planning. Winning authors of the 2016 Graduate Student Reducing Urban Poverty Paper Competition will present their solutions-oriented research, with commentary offered by experienced professionals working in the urban sector. 

Program

Refugees, Incremental Housing, and Shelter in the 21st Century

Valeria Vidal, Francis Goyes, and Sera Tolgay, Master in City Planning, Candidates, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Judith Hermanson, President and CEO, IHC - Global Coalition for Inclusive Housing and Sustainable Cities

The Sea Defense Project in the Ada East District and its Implications for Climate Change Policy Implementation in Ghana’s Peri-Urban Areas

Kwame N. Owusu-Daaku, PhD Candidate, Department of Geography, University of South Carolina-Columbia

 Victor Vergara, Lead Urban Specialist, Independent Evaluation Group, World Bank 

Evidence-based Planning and Housing Approaches Bias: Methodological Alternatives for Broadening Policy Options in Mass Housing Programs

Jakub Galuszka, PhD Candidate, Habitat Unit, Technical University of Berlin

Kevin Nelson, Urban Team Lead, Office of Land and Urban, Bureau of Economic Growth, Education, and Environment, U.S. Agency for International Development