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AIA FIRM AWARD
MONOGRAPH 2020
LOCATIONS
915 N. Orianna St.
Philadelphia, PA, 19123
(215) 925-7000
555 South Mangum St.
Suite 100
Durham, NC 27701
(984) 250-8775
Thank you for attending! Your support helped make this sold-out event a success.
THE ADAPTIVE CITY
October 10th, 5:30pm915 N Orianna St., Philadelphia, PA
"The Adaptive City," an engaging evening exploring the future of urban development through the lens of innovation,
technology and adaptability.
Bryan Alexander, an award-winning, internationally known futurist, researcher and writer will deliver a keynote on how cities can harness technology and creative strategies to navigate the complexities of an ever-evolving urban life. Drawing from his extensive research and expertise, he will discuss the essential components of adaptability in urban environments, emphasizing the importance of forward-thinking approaches to meet emerging challenges.
Following the keynote presentation, a panel discussion Moderated by Scott Erdy will bring together Paul Levy and Eleanor Sharpe with Bryan Alexander will explore share practical insights on adaptive urban strategies. The panelists will address the key challenges cities face today and explore opportunities for creating more resilient urban environments.
The program will continue over drinks and light fare where guests can meet the speakers and engage in deeper conversation about our shared futures.
Don’t miss this chance to gain valuable insights into the future of our cities and contribute to the conversation about urban adaptability!
Learn more about our speakers:
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BRYAN ALEXANDER
Bryan Alexander is an award–winning, internationally known futurist, researcher, writer, speaker, consultant, and teacher, working in the field of higher education’s future. He completed his English language and literature PhD at the University of Michigan in 1997, with a dissertation on doppelgangers in Romantic-era fiction and poetry. Then Bryan taught literature, writing, multimedia, and information technology studies at Centenary College of Louisiana. There he also pioneered multi-campus interdisciplinary classes, while organizing an information literacy initiative.
From 2002 to 2014 Bryan worked with the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE), a non-profit working to help small colleges and universities best integrate digital technologies. With NITLE he held several roles, including co-director of a regional education and technology center, director of emerging technologies, and senior fellow. Over those years Bryan helped develop and support the nonprofit, grew peer networks, consulted, and conducted a sustained research agenda. In 2013 Bryan launched a business, Bryan Alexander Consulting, LLC. Through BAC he consults throughout higher education in the United States and abroad.
Bryan speaks widely and publishes frequently, with articles appearing in venues including The Atlantic Monthly, Inside Higher Ed. He has been interviewed by and featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal, US News and World Report, National Public Radio (2017, 2020, 2020, 2020, 2020), the Chronicle of Higher Education (2016, 2020), the Atlantic Monthly, Reuters, Times Higher Education, the National Association of College and University Business Officers, Pew Research, Campus Technology, The Hustle, Minnesota Public Radio, USA Today, and the Connected Learning Alliance.
Bryan’s book Academia Next: The Futures of Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020), won an Association of Professional Futurists award. He latest book, Universities on Fire: Higher Education in the Age of Climate Crisis, appeared in 2023. He is currently working on Peak Higher Ed: How to Survive the Emerging Academic Crisis, under contract with Johns Hopkins. His other books include Gearing Up For Learning Beyond K-12 and The New Digital Storytelling (second edition).
Bryan is currently a senior scholar at Georgetown University and teaches graduate seminars in their Learning, Design, and Technology program.
Bryan Alexander will be available to sign copies of his book, Universities on Fire: Higher Education in the Age of Climate Crisis!
Read Bryan's full bio here!
ELEANOR SHARPE, AICP, LEED AP
With a distinguished career spanning over a decade with the City of Philadelphia, Sharpe's most recent position was Interim Deputy Mayor/Director of the Department of Planning and Development. In this role, she led collaborative efforts with diverse stakeholders, including elected officials, developers, and communities to enhance, plan, preserve, and develop vibrant neighborhoods across the city. Under her dynamic leadership, the department implemented landmark initiatives across key divisions, including Housing and Community Development, Development Services, and Planning & Zoning, overseeing bodies such as the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, the Philadelphia Historical Commission, the Philadelphia Art Commission, and the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Notably, in 2020, she initiated the groundbreaking "Planning and Equity: A Commitment to Change" initiative, aimed at addressing historical injustices within the planning profession, particularly within communities of color. Her pledge has gained widespread support from planning directors across the United States.
Sharpe's academic background includes a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Howard University and a Master's in City Planning degree from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to her impactful work in the public sector, she has contributed to academia as an adjunct professor in city planning and architecture at Temple University, Drexel University, and the University of Pennsylvania over the past two decades.
PAUL LEVY
Paul was the founding chief executive of Philadelphia’s Center City District (CCD) and served in that capacity from January 1991 to December 2023. He now serves as the chair of the CCD board and the executive director of the Center City District Foundation, raising funds for CCD special projects and is continuing to manage two major capital projects of the District
The CCD is a business improvement district with a $31 million annual operating budget, which supplements municipal services with programs for security, hospitality, cleaning, place marketing and planning, business retention and attraction for the central business district of Philadelphia. The CCD has also financed and carried out $160 million in streetscape, lighting and façade improvements, including the transformation of four downtown parks that are now managed and programmed by the CCD (www.centercityphila.org).
He has consulted with a broad range of North American, European, Australian and Japanese cities on downtown and town center management
He serves on the board the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. He also teaches in the graduate City Planning Department of the University of Pennsylvania and holds a Masters and Ph.D. from Columbia University.
technology and adaptability.
Bryan Alexander, an award-winning, internationally known futurist, researcher and writer will deliver a keynote on how cities can harness technology and creative strategies to navigate the complexities of an ever-evolving urban life. Drawing from his extensive research and expertise, he will discuss the essential components of adaptability in urban environments, emphasizing the importance of forward-thinking approaches to meet emerging challenges.
Following the keynote presentation, a panel discussion Moderated by Scott Erdy will bring together Paul Levy and Eleanor Sharpe with Bryan Alexander will explore share practical insights on adaptive urban strategies. The panelists will address the key challenges cities face today and explore opportunities for creating more resilient urban environments.
The program will continue over drinks and light fare where guests can meet the speakers and engage in deeper conversation about our shared futures.
Don’t miss this chance to gain valuable insights into the future of our cities and contribute to the conversation about urban adaptability!
Learn more about our speakers:
BRYAN ALEXANDER
Bryan Alexander is an award–winning, internationally known futurist, researcher, writer, speaker, consultant, and teacher, working in the field of higher education’s future. He completed his English language and literature PhD at the University of Michigan in 1997, with a dissertation on doppelgangers in Romantic-era fiction and poetry. Then Bryan taught literature, writing, multimedia, and information technology studies at Centenary College of Louisiana. There he also pioneered multi-campus interdisciplinary classes, while organizing an information literacy initiative.
From 2002 to 2014 Bryan worked with the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE), a non-profit working to help small colleges and universities best integrate digital technologies. With NITLE he held several roles, including co-director of a regional education and technology center, director of emerging technologies, and senior fellow. Over those years Bryan helped develop and support the nonprofit, grew peer networks, consulted, and conducted a sustained research agenda. In 2013 Bryan launched a business, Bryan Alexander Consulting, LLC. Through BAC he consults throughout higher education in the United States and abroad.
Bryan speaks widely and publishes frequently, with articles appearing in venues including The Atlantic Monthly, Inside Higher Ed. He has been interviewed by and featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal, US News and World Report, National Public Radio (2017, 2020, 2020, 2020, 2020), the Chronicle of Higher Education (2016, 2020), the Atlantic Monthly, Reuters, Times Higher Education, the National Association of College and University Business Officers, Pew Research, Campus Technology, The Hustle, Minnesota Public Radio, USA Today, and the Connected Learning Alliance.
Bryan’s book Academia Next: The Futures of Higher Education (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020), won an Association of Professional Futurists award. He latest book, Universities on Fire: Higher Education in the Age of Climate Crisis, appeared in 2023. He is currently working on Peak Higher Ed: How to Survive the Emerging Academic Crisis, under contract with Johns Hopkins. His other books include Gearing Up For Learning Beyond K-12 and The New Digital Storytelling (second edition).
Bryan is currently a senior scholar at Georgetown University and teaches graduate seminars in their Learning, Design, and Technology program.
Bryan Alexander will be available to sign copies of his book, Universities on Fire: Higher Education in the Age of Climate Crisis!
Read Bryan's full bio here!
ELEANOR SHARPE, AICP, LEED AP
With a distinguished career spanning over a decade with the City of Philadelphia, Sharpe's most recent position was Interim Deputy Mayor/Director of the Department of Planning and Development. In this role, she led collaborative efforts with diverse stakeholders, including elected officials, developers, and communities to enhance, plan, preserve, and develop vibrant neighborhoods across the city. Under her dynamic leadership, the department implemented landmark initiatives across key divisions, including Housing and Community Development, Development Services, and Planning & Zoning, overseeing bodies such as the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, the Philadelphia Historical Commission, the Philadelphia Art Commission, and the Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Notably, in 2020, she initiated the groundbreaking "Planning and Equity: A Commitment to Change" initiative, aimed at addressing historical injustices within the planning profession, particularly within communities of color. Her pledge has gained widespread support from planning directors across the United States.
Sharpe's academic background includes a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Howard University and a Master's in City Planning degree from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to her impactful work in the public sector, she has contributed to academia as an adjunct professor in city planning and architecture at Temple University, Drexel University, and the University of Pennsylvania over the past two decades.
PAUL LEVY
Paul was the founding chief executive of Philadelphia’s Center City District (CCD) and served in that capacity from January 1991 to December 2023. He now serves as the chair of the CCD board and the executive director of the Center City District Foundation, raising funds for CCD special projects and is continuing to manage two major capital projects of the District
The CCD is a business improvement district with a $31 million annual operating budget, which supplements municipal services with programs for security, hospitality, cleaning, place marketing and planning, business retention and attraction for the central business district of Philadelphia. The CCD has also financed and carried out $160 million in streetscape, lighting and façade improvements, including the transformation of four downtown parks that are now managed and programmed by the CCD (www.centercityphila.org).
He has consulted with a broad range of North American, European, Australian and Japanese cities on downtown and town center management
He serves on the board the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. He also teaches in the graduate City Planning Department of the University of Pennsylvania and holds a Masters and Ph.D. from Columbia University.
Erdy McHenry Architecture
915 N. Orianna St., Philadelphia, PA, 19123
© 2022
LOCATIONS
915 N. Orianna St.,
Philadelphia, PA, 19123
Philadelphia, PA, 19123
555 South Mangum St.,
Suite 100
Durham, NC, 27701
Suite 100
Durham, NC, 27701
© 2022 Erdy McHenry Achitecture. All Rights Reserved