Creativity in Practice
When: March 18, 1 to 4 p.m.
Where: At the art-filled home of architect and political activist, Christine Forester in San Diego, CA
What: Although identifying a creative city may be easy, developing a creative city is a challenge. There is no ready recipe.
After a year of intense exploration of the concept of creative cities, we examine how city leaders can put the network's insights into practice. We will be discussing how leaders can develop the conditions and capacity for creativity in their cities and begin to articulate strategies for cultivating these conditions.
This final meeting for phase one of the Network will be held in San Diego as part of CEOs for Cities' Strategy Session 2009.
Note that space for this meeting is limited and filling quickly. This meeting is for members only, and knowledge of previous discussions through prior participation in the network meetings or review of provided summaries will be required.
Members may RSVP for this and other sessions of the San Diego meeting here.
CEOs for Cities Announces Next National Meeting
Strategy Session 2009: The Upside of Down
San Diego, CA, March 18-20
Hosted by CEOs for Cities and the University of California San Diego
Hard times force us to re-consider everything.
What are the opportunities for your city to innovate now and emerge from these hard times stronger than before? What are the new leadership models needed both to inform ideas for innovation and to carry them out?
Those questions and more will shape the CEOs for Cities Strategy Session 2009: The Upside of Down.
THIS MEETING IS FOR MEMBERS ONLY.
Join us for this critical conversation about the future of cities.
Click here for a detailed schedule of events.
Register now by clicking here.
Strategy Session 2009: The Upside of Down
Strategy Session 2009: The Upside of Down will feature a series of provocative conversations around the opportunities for cities to innovate and come out of the economic crisis stronger than before, and the new leadership models required both to inform ideas for innovation and carry them out. Plus, we’ll present the ideas from the CEOs for Cities GOOD Magazine Design Challenge.
Below is a rundown of the meeting schedule. And remember, we've arranged it so that the special rate of $179 at the conference hotel is available two days before and two days after the meeting.
REMINDER: THIS MEETING IS FOR MEMBERS ONLY.
March 18
Creative Cities Network Meeting
1 to 4 p.m. at the art-filled home of architect and political activist Christine Forester
After a year of intense exploration of the topic, the Creative Cities Network is shifting into action mode. We’ll recap what we’ve learned, address any outstanding questions and begin to design a blueprint for action for cities ready to tackle the challenge of becoming a Creative City through tapping into the creative capacity of all its citizens.
Sunset Drinks and Conversation
5:30 to 8 p.m. at the home of Walter Munk, Distinguished Researcher at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography
With the Pacific Ocean as our backdrop, catch up with colleagues over drinks and hors d'oeuvres. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can make your way down to the beach.
March 19
Strategy Session 2009
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (includes continental breakfast and lunch) on the campus of the University of California San Diego
We’ll dig into our main session with a daylong discussion on the topic we’re most passionate about: cities.
Evening Reception and Conversation: The Public Value of a 21st Century Research University with MIT President Emeritus and President of the National Academy of Engineering Charles Vest
6 p.m. to 7 p.m. (reception) 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. lecture on the UCSD campus
During his 14-year tenure as president of MIT he added a strong international dimension to education and research programs, strengthened relations with industry, increased racial and cultural diversity, and rebuilt public understanding and support for higher education and research. He has written two books on higher education, Pursuing the Endless Frontier: Essays on MIT, and The Role of Research Universities. Dr. Vest will talk about the “Public Value of a 21st Century Research University.”
March 20
Breakfast and keynote speaker
(More details to come)
Optional Activities:
Briefing on the Border with UCSD Professor of Architecture and border expert Teddy Cruz (Time TBA)
Guided Tour of Downtown San Diego (Time TBA)
Tours will end by 2 p.m.
The conference hotel is La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. We have reserved a block of rooms at a discounted rate of $179 per night. To reserve your room, call 800.237.5211 and mention CEOs for Cities. The cut off for discount reservations is Feb. 18, 2009, but we urge you to reserve your room today as quantities are limited. The discounted rate is available for members two days prior to the start of our meeting and two days after the meeting ends.
Questions? Email Shreya Parekh at sparekh@ceosforciteis.org.
CEOs for Cities Announces Next National Meeting
Strategy Session 2009: The Upside of Down
San Diego, CA, March 19-20
Hosted by CEOs for Cities and the University of California San Diego
Hard times force us to re-consider everything.
What are the opportunities for your city to innovate now and emerge from these hard times stronger than before? What are the new leadership models needed both to inform ideas for innovation and to carry them out?
Those questions and more will shape the CEOs for Cities Strategy Session 2009: The Upside of Down.
THIS MEETING IS FOR MEMBERS ONLY.
Join us for this critical conversation about the future of cities.
Register now by clicking here.
The Creative Cities Network will convene for its third meeting following our National Meeting. This post-conference session will be held Nov. 7, 2008 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Between two existing paradigms for cities expressed by Tom Friedman’s ‘race-to-the-bottom,’ flat world view versus Richard Florida and Bill Bishop’s spiky world, perhaps a third paradigm emerges in the creative cities world view.
In this ‘Third Way,’ all cities have the inherent potential to succeed in today’s social and economic context by tapping the potential that exists in their assets, connections and people. The key differentiator for cities and their success will depend on how a city unleashes, connects and grows this creative capacity.
This third meeting will build upon the insights of the Network’s conversations to date to generate ideas and strategies for enriching the creative performance of our cities.
CEOs for Cities members interested in joining this conversation can contact Rebecca Eggleston at reggleston@ceosforcities.org or by reserving your spot online by logging onto www.ceosforcities.org/meetings.
Two days after the Presidential election, CEOs for Cities will convene in Chicago for a special one-day meeting to challenge the President-elect and his transition team to establish a new era of cooperation between the Federal government and America's cities. At a national press conference during the Nov. 6 meeting, our network of urban leaders will commit itself to innovative bottom-up initiatives and will ask a fresh-start administration to meet us halfway in a collaborative working relationship to make the best of difficult times.
Representing the nation’s primary source of wealth, employment and global competitiveness, urban leaders will ask for a new attitude from the federal government – an attitude of encouragement and support for nation-building at the grassroots. For its part, CEOs for Cities will roll out at this special session three strategies the organization has derived from years of research into how to grow and to green urban economies.
The three strategies will be detailed at the members-only meeting and later to the press. CEOs' Talent Dividend, Green Dividend, and Core Vitality Dividend show projected urban gross regional product growth – in dollar terms – from progressive improvement in clearly defined areas of human capital development, environmental improvement, and core-city revitalization. This alone makes it a must-attend meeting.
In an era of fiscal constraint at every level of government, CEOs for Cities intends to show two days after election day that its unique membership of city mayors, urban university presidents, business leaders, and city-based philanthropists is a creative problem-solving force that has innovated practical economy-building – and people-building – initiatives worthy of the federal government’s attention and respect.
On Thursday, Nov. 6 we'll convene promptly at 8:30 a.m. with agenda-setting conversations through 3:30 p.m. Plan to join us for a special evening event to kick off the meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 5, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. If you can stay an extra day, we have small group meetings on current and future initiatives, including the Creative Cities Network, Friday morning that will wrap up by 1 p.m.
The full agenda will be available in the coming weeks.
For more information, contact Bridget Marquis at bmarquis@ceosforcities.org.
Aly Khalifa, Owner, Gamil Design, Inc. and Co-Founder, Designbox was a panelist at the Urban Next Summit. He provided a clear structure for self-organizing that is used for SPARKcon a creative festival of sorts that integrates the exploration of technology, art, independent business and inclusivity. Could cities and other organizations use similar techniques to stimulate civic action? His presentation can be found below and if you would like be part of the next SPARKcon event it will be held this September in Raleigh, NC.
The Culture of Opportunity session at the Urban Next Summit focused on what it is that makes people perceive a city as a place where they can be successful. Eric Robertson, Chief Administrative Officer, Center City Commission and Co-Founder, New Path started the panel off by laying out the concept from an anthropologic perspective. What can each of us do to instill this culture in our cities?
See Eric's presentation to the Summit below and read the forum he will be kicking off on this subject on MyCity.
Bill Bishop, author of The Big Sort, told us that we are no longer Red States and Blue States. We are Red Neighborhoods and Blue Neighborhoods. We are sorting ourselves by beliefs, values and lifestyles. That poses a major challenge for urban leaders, especially those in cities that can succeed with neither a "world is flat"? nor a "world is spiky"? approach. The first is a race to the bottom. And the second assumes a few dazzling winners and a whole lot of losers. See Bill's presentation to our National Meeting below:
Hear audio from Bill's presentation and panel below:
Doug Farr, author of Sustainable Urbanism, told us that real cities "dense, mixed use and transit-served" are the answer to the challenge of global warming, not, as commonly believed, the problem. Contrary to popular wisdom, technological fixes - better light bulbs and hybrid cars - won't win the day. Instead, we need good old-fashioned walkable cities. See Doug's presentation from our National Meeting below:
Listen to the audio from Doug's presentation and panel below: