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Sustainable Urban Design Summit
November 9, 2023, Newlab Detroit
A one day event shaping sustainable city futures through ideas and insights. Fostering networking opportunities engaging in discussions on urban cities and sustainability
NOVEMBER 9, 2023
9AM - 9PM
NEWLAB DETROIT
- 00days
- 00hours
A ONE DAY EVENT
SHAPING SUSTAINABLE CITY FUTURES
THROUGH IDEAS AND INSIGHTS
fostering networking opportunities
engaging in discussions on
urban cities and sustainability
2023 SPEAKERS

CARLA WALKER-MILLER
Founder, CEO
Walker-Miller Energy Services

CLAUDE MOLINARI
President and CEO
Visit Detroit

JEANETTE PIERCE
Founder, President
City Institute

LIESL CLARK
Director, Sustainable Climate Action Engagement
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability

MELANIE MARKOWICZ
Executive Director
Greektown Neighborhood Partnership

IAN LAMBERT
Dean of Graduate Studies and Research
College for Creative Studies

Maria Mercedes Galarza
Deputy Director, Office of Sustainability
City of Detroit

Ryan Friedrichs
Vice President
Related Companies

Sarah Hayosh
Director of Land Use and Sustainability
Detroit Future City

FRANS DE WITTE
Partner and Architect
MVRDV

Shamayim ‘Mama Shu’ Harris
Founder & CEO
Avalon Village

Kimathi L. Boothe
Vice President of Energy Operations
Dunamis Clean Energy Partners
MORE SPEAKERS TO BE ANNOUNCED. UPDATED REGULARLY.
URBAN
DESIGN
Circular economy, sustainable architecture, smart city development, spatial planning, infrastructure design
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Outreach, engaging and empowering, bringing in those that matter around topics that matter
MOBILITY
Infrastructure development, sharing knowledge, tech innovation, EVs and autonomous vehicles
SUMMIT MISSION
TO LEVERAGE THE FUTURE-FOCUSED MINDSET
OF APPLYING SOLUTION-BASED DESIGN THINKING
TO URBAN DEVELOPMENT, MOBILITY, COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT, AND READINESS TOWARDS THE
CIRCULAR ECONOMY


2023 SCHEDULE OVERVIEW
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9
9:00 AM: Doors/coffee/networking
9:30 AM: Kickoff intro
9:40 AM: Panel
10:00 – 10:45 AM: Panel
10:50 – 11:30 AM: Panel
11:30 – 11:45 AM: Coffee Break
11:50 – 12:30 PM: Panel
12:35 – 1:15 PM: Panel
1:15-2:15 PM: Lunch
2:15 – 3:00 PM: Panel
3:05 – 4:00 PM: Panel
4:05 – 4:30 PM: COFFEE BREAK
4:35 – 5:00 PM: Panel
5:05 – 5:45 PM: Panel
3:00 – 6:00 PM: Urban Dialogues
6:00 – 9:00 PM: Networking cocktails
A MORE DETAILED SCHEDULE COMING SOON
SUMMIT TOPICS
Our focus is on the human impact and human condition of growth, opportunity, challenges, and the outcome of conversations around the topics.
NEIGHBORHOOD
DEVELOPMENT AND ENGAGEMENT
Discussing challenges and vision for the development of neighborhoods in the physical domain including design and planning, socio economic, and the interdependency of community.
mobility
The impact of mobility in terms of transport and transit will have on city’s, and individuals within them. What will it take to build out a smart mobility focused city, what does that mean, what services and support are needed, what can we learn from.
SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Drawing valuable insights from both challenges and successful strategies, the thoughtful and sustainable planning of infrastructure, services, design, technology, innovation, and education serves as a cornerstone for bolstering cities in the face of climate change, economic downturns, and various civic and social hardships.
URBAN DIALOGUES

Taking place the same day as the Sustainable Urban Design Summit at Newlab, Detroit, the Urban Dialogues, led by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Chicago, are three, curated workshops and conversations focused on Urban Design, Mobility, and Community Engagement. Experts and innovators here have a chance to engage in and attend deep dive conversations into each of the three topics alongside their peers.
Both Urban Dialogues and the Sustainable Urban Design Summit focus is to general novel new ideas that aggregate efforts and ideas across continents and expertise.
40+ PREVIOUS SPEAKERS

GARLIN GILCHRIST
Lieutenant Governor
State of Michigan

Eric Larson
CEO
Downtown Detroit Partnership

Bo Shepherd
Co-owner, Designer
Woodward Throwbacks

Antoine Bryant
Director of Planning and Development
City of Detroit

James Witherspoon
VP, Architecture and Design
Bedrock Detroit

Kristina Knauf
Associate MVRDV Climate
MVRDV

FEDOR BRON
Associate Director
MVRDV

INGRID VAN DER WACHT
International & Public Affairs Manager
Dutch Design Foundation

SIMON SYLVESTER CHAUDHU
Founder & Executive Director
CIV:LAB

EVA GLADEK
Founder & CEO
Metabolic

Joshua Brugeman
Expert in Residence
Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Tech University

Benjamin J. Leffel
Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Michigan, Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise

Winka Dubbeldam
Founding Partner / Chair of Dept of Architecture
Archi-tectonics / University of Pennsylvania

Nate Trevethan
Principal
MVVA

John Jourden
Design Director
Gensler Detroit

Christopher Moyer
Sr. Director Communications
Visit Detroit

Laprisha Daniels
Executive Director
DWEJ

Emily DaBish Yahkind
Detroit Director
CIV:LAB

Lauren A. Hood
Founder and Chief Visionary
Institute for AfroUrbanism

Terry Barclay
Chair, CEO
SBN Detroit, Inforum

Doug Voigt
Urban Design and Planning Partner
SOM

Rob Adams
Embassy of Mobility
Dutch Design Foundation

Olga Stella
VP, Strategy and Communications
College for Creative Studies

Alexa Bush
Program Officer Detroit
The Kresge Foundation

Marc Pasco
Director of Communication
Detroit Riverfront Conservancy

Dr. Irene Luque Martin
Project Manager Research & Innovation
Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS)

Anke van Hal, MSc, PhD.
Professor Sustainable Building
Nyenrode Business Universiteit

Jen Guarino
CEO
ISAIC

Matthijs Bouw
Founding Partner
One Architecture

Zachary Damato
Co-Founder
Urban Rivers

Liesl Clark
Director
Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE)

Britany Affolter-Caine
Executive Director
Michigan’s University Research Corridor

Ruben Dubelaar
Advisor International Strategy
Holland Circular Hotspot

Tracy Metz
Moderator/Media Influencer

GUIDO BRAAM
Co-founder
Powered by Meaning

VICTORIA PROUSE
Former Transportation Planning Lead
Michigan Central, Ford

RYAN FRIEDRICHS
Vice President
Related Companies

KATE GASPARRO
Director, Land Development
Bedrock Detroit

JORN KONIJN
Former Head of Program
Dutch Design Week

IVANA KALAFATIC
Founder
2gathr & Detroitisit

PETER WIJSMAN
City Executive & Vice President
Arcadis
PREVIOUS PARTNERS



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2022
Sustainable Urban Design Summit Overview
At the Madison Building, on October 13, 2022, creative solutions were developed through a global yet hyperlocal program focused on Sustainable Urban Planning, the Circular Economy, Climate and the City, Smart City, Energy Efficiency, Social Justice in Urban Design, and more. A multi-layered conversation is envisioned as a bridge builder to grow the best solutions for long-term partnerships and opportunities between the two geographies.
2021
Sustainable Urban Design Summit Overview
October 19 & 21, 2021 together with The Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Chicago, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Washington DC, and Dutch Design Week, we co-hosted the first virtual Sustainable Urban Design Summit on Zoom. Over two days, we explored the challenges and opportunities in the built environment with U.S. and Dutch thought leaders of sustainable urban design and the circular economy.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
I loved the diversity of the panel, the breadth of experience among the panelist and projects shard, as well as the interactive nature of the event.
I loved the topics, and the diverse perspectives coming from the panelists. The panelists were each excellent. Thank you for organizing the event and making it available to the public. It re-inforced my passion for sustainability in Detroit.
The speakers were excellent. There is a concern for revitalizing both the communities, and the inclusiveness of the topics and the efforts on the grorund is quite good. Understanding how these two very different environments are changing is inspiring.
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