2019-09-24

Mobility & Urban Space at #rpDetroit

From Grandmont Rosedale to Eastern Market and North End, Detroit offers a wide urban scope, but how does access vary for each neighborhood? Considering development projects that seek to move the needle from urban decline to the city’s innovation labs, citizens and entire neighborhoods are feeling the impact – for better or for worse. re:publica Detroit explores questions regarding Access to Mobility & Urban Space.

These are some of the session highlights of the Mobility & Urban Space Track at #rpDetroit:

The opening keynote on "Access Ain't the Issue: The Failure of Placemaking in Detroit" by Lauren Hood explores how placemaking efforts have failed to acknowledge the wisdom of neighborhood folkways, resulting in interventions that are oftentimes alienating.

Self-driving vehicles are live on streets globally. How are new services impacting the way we get around today? How will this change in the future? A keynote on "What Scooters Can’t Fix: Addressing issues of transport with tech-enabled disruptions" will look a how a variety of recent technology-enabled disruptions have changed the transport landscape.

The panel "Accessing All Abilities - New Mobility Options for Equity & Access" will look at the potential to improve people’s ability to get to work, school, shopping, and doctor’s appointments. But ensuring access for all abilities (age, physical) is not guaranteed. Who is making these decisions today? Who should be engaged? What design considerations need to be taken into account?

"Surveillance Doesn't Make Us Safer" will explore the increasing use of surveillance in the city of Detroit, a majority black city, through the Project Greenlight Program and facial recognition technology, and how a coalition of organizations in Detroit are challenging the city's use of this technology.

Are those who built the legacy of a city also those who thrive off its future? Where do we stand in Detroit's rise/fall/rise, and how can the trifecta of government + citizens + organizations build resilient cities? The panel on "Building Blocks" looks at ownership in Detroit, explores how inclusive architecture looks like, and how tech-enabled urban spaces foster accessibility.

Find all sessions on Mobility and Urban Space here.

This track is co-curated by Jessica Robinson, Executive Director at the Michigan Mobility Institute and Karen Prater Jasmine, Executive Director at National Organisation for Minority Architects.