Princeton-Fung Global Forum: The Future of the City, Shanghai 2013

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

Day 1 Wednesday, January 30

Mr. William Fung will introduce Shirley M. Tilghman, the president of Princeton University, who will bring to order the first annual Princeton Fung Global Forum. Tilghman will set the tone for this new series of international scholarly conferences in a conversation with Alejandro Zaera-Polo, dean of the Princeton School of Architecture, and Rupali Gupte, co-founding member, Collective Research Initiatives Trust, and Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture, Mumbai.

How important is an identity to a city? Should we think only about economic or political resources? This panel, moderated by Gyan Prakash of Princeton University, gathers leading philosophers and urbanists to explore the role of an urban ethos in shaping a city's political, cultural and economic life. Panelists are Lawrence Vale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Daniel A. Bell, Shanghai Jiaotong University and Tsinghua University.

Cities have been the sites for some of the world's most squalid conditions; yet, they are also where reformers have been most innovative. In recent years, the United States has seen some creative experimentation in tackling the most intractable of all urban dilemmas: the ghetto. We have asked some leading figures to reflect on the American experience and put it into global perspective. Chaired by Guangyao Jin, Fudan University, with Mitchell Duneier, Princeton University; Douglas Massey, Princeton University; and Mario Luis Small, University of Chicago.

For the first time in history, the majority of humans live in cities.  Ours is an urban millennium. But cities are not just where we live, they are our home. What does this mean? How has the very concept of home — from the concept of neighborhood to understandings of citizenship — changed? This panel, headed by Ling Fan of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, takes a long look at the political, economic and cultural influences that have shaped struggles over the question of belonging. Panelists are Gyan Prakash, Princeton University; Janet Chen, Princeton University; and Kamran Asdar Ali, University of Texas, Austin.

Tokyo. Mexico City. Moscow. Sao Paulo. Lagos. Manila. Megacities have emerged on every continent save Antarctica as the lure of the urban area pulls more and more people out of rice paddies, mountain villages and small towns. What are the implications for the 21st century and beyond? This discussion led by Max Page of the University of Massachusetts will peer over the horizon at the building yet to come and examine the structures — social and material — that will shape the future. On the panel are Mario Gandelsonas, Princeton University; Rupali Gupte, Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture, Mumbai; and Arilella Masboungi, Ministry of Ecology, France.

Day 2 Thursday, January 31

Day Two of the Forum begins with an examination of its host city: Shanghai, the fast-growing financial and cultural powerhouse of 25 million people. Saskia Sassen of Columbia University will discuss with Xuejin Zuo of the Institute of Economics at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences how the city has evolved and what other cities might take away from this glittering model of modernization.

In a global economy, how can any one city distinguish itself? In such a competitive environment, how can cities sustain their growth? And what's the best way to build and expand the city of the future? This panel of distinguished urbanists led by Stephen Redding of Princeton University will address those questions and explore the economic pressures with which the modern city leaders must contend. Joining Redding are Edward Glaeser, Harvard University; Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, Princeton University; and Partha Mukhopadhyay, Center for Policy Research, New Delhi.

Among the urban design professions over the past 100 years, city and regional planning has regarded itself as the most committed to questions of equity. Has the field lived up to this commitment? What are the challenges of the next century, and will planning be able to shape a more equitable future in different world regions?  What might the new strategies be, and which familiar approaches will lose relevance?   Where will the new ideas come from? Jiang Wu, vice president of Tonji University, presides in a session with Christine Boyer, Princeton University; Ananya Roy, University of Calfiornia-Berkeley; Juan Du, Hong Kong University; and Alison Isenberg, Princeton University.

An architecture and engineering exhibition showcasing diverse projects that address 21st-century questions of resilience in climatic, structural and urban terms. Designer and coordinator: Lydia Xynogala

Yangtze River Delta Project (YRDP): Guy Nordenson, Princeton University School of Architecture; Howard Stone, Princeton University, MAE and Environmental Institute

Counterpart Cities: Hong Kong and Shenzhen: Jonathan Solomon, associate dean, School of Architecture, Syracuse University; Dorothy Tang, School of Architecture, Hong Kong University

Slow/Soft Infrastructures: Mario Gandelsonas, Princeton University, CAUI

Engineering Resilient Structures

Getting Into Shape: Sustainable Civil Infrastructure: Sigrid Adriaenssens, Princeton University, Form Finding Lab, CEE

Going with the Flow: Urban Dynamic Systems: Qianchuan Zhao, Department of Automation and TNList, Tsinghua University

Shaking and Burning: Earthquake and Fire Resilient Buildings: Maria Garlock, Princeton University, CEE

Nervous System for a Resilient City: Branko Glisic, Princeton University, SHM Lab, CEE

Conquering the Sky: Exhibition organized by Sigrid Adriaenssens, Branko Glisic and Maria Garlock

Cinematic expression has profoundly shaped our visions of urban life. A new generation of filmmakers has emerged to provide us with fresh depictions and reflections on the city. These films double as cultural artifacts of contemporary cities and commentaries on them. The conversation between filmmakers Andrew Jarecki of the United States and Anurag Kashyap of India, representing two different cinematic styles of this generation, will consider their work and cinematic representations of the city.

Day 3 Friday, February 1

The images from tsunamis, typhoons and hurricanes in recent years are seared into memory: people huddling as the waters rise, boats tossed like toys, buildings plowed and smashed. Does climate change portend similar disasters with more frequent and more furious storms? Or does a more gradual, ineluctable catastrophe await cities on the water's edge? A panel chaired by Rupali Gupte of the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute of Architecture will examine climate change and the ways cities can engineer a defense. Joining her are panelists Michael Oppenheimer, Princeton University; Guy Nordenson, Princeton University; and François Gemenne, Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations.

As the global population continues to grow, what choices do we have in determining our built environment? How do we optimize infrastructure to get food and water to residents, and how do we move them safely and effectively from point to point? This panel, chaired by James Smith of the Princeton Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will examine the options and choices the leaders of today must make to insure the efficacy of the cities of tomorrow. He will be joined by Denise Mauzerall, Princeton University; Tong Zhu, Peking University; Marc Parlange, dean, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne; and Susan Grimmond, Kings College London.

From the founding of ancient empires to the challenges of this new century, urban areas have faced innumerable challenges to their survival and growth. This session, moderated by Princeton University Provost Christopher Eisgruber, will cap three days of Forum discussion by pulling together the threads from previous sessions to forge recommendations for governments, urban planners, architects and others concerned about the fate of the world's cities. Panelists include Ariella Masboungi, Ministry of Ecology, France; and Ye Qi of Tsinghua University, director of Climate Policy Initiative Beijing.