The City We Want & Need: A Mid-Atlantic Regional Convening Provides Awareness and Insight for Upcoming UN-Habitat III

(l to r) Jane Vincent joins Dr. Nancy Stetson and Genie Birch before wrapping up the day.

(l to r) Following their panel discussion on social mobility are Mark Edwards, Anne Fadullon, Jon Carnegie, Susan Wachter, Tom Dallessio with keynoter Amy Liu.

(l to r) Kevin Walsh, Rose Gray, Dan Pontious and Bryan Greene each brought a different perspective to the discussion on housing.

(l to r) Panelists Matt Ward, Caleb Stratton, Christine Knapp, Barry Seymour and Antonio Fiol-Silva focused on sustainability and resiliency issues during their discussion.

More than 100 attended the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Philadelphia and New York Regional Offices and the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Institute for Urban Research and Perry World House co-hosted The City We Want & Need: A Mid-Atlantic Regional Convening on Habitat III held at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA on May 17, 2016. The goal of this one-day event was twofold-to raise awareness about the work underway to improve the nation's urban areas and to prepare our national delegation for their participation in Habitat III, the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development to be held in Quito, Ecuador, October 17-20, 2016.

The UN-Habitat conferences are held once every twenty years. Habitat III is designed to reinvigorate the global commitment to sustainable urbanization and to focus on the implementation of a "New Urban Agenda" that addresses 21st Century urban challenges and harnesses the tremendous potential of cities to promote sustainable development globally. There are many reasons why people are moving to cities, but the short answer is opportunity. Urban living, though not without its challenges, is rich with economic, educational and social possibilities that appeal to a wide range of people.

In concert with issue experts from the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Institute for Urban Research and Perry World House, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Middle Atlantic Regional Council of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (MARC NAHRO), Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, Next City, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, City of Philadelphia, William Penn Foundation, Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association, Urban Land Institute Philadelphia District Council, WHYY, Citiscope and others, the day included insightful discussions about strengthening the nation's urban areas.

"Habitat III is an opportunity to think and act with a collective voice to create and sustain cities of opportunity. More specifically, Habitat III is an opportunity for the U.S. to leverage the collective expertise of those addressing sustainable development globally and develop shared priorities domestically," stated HUD Regional Administrator Jane C.W. Vincent in her welcoming remarks. Co-host and Co-director of the Penn Institute for Urban Research Dr. Eugenie Birch framed the day with her talk on The Nation's Involvement in Habitat III, the Third United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development. While Amy Liu, Metropolitan Policy Program Director at The Brookings Institution, provided her view on the importance of creating Pathways to Inclusive Prosperity in her keynote address. In her closing remarks, Dr. Nancy Stetson, U.S. Department of State's Special Representative for Habitat III, added a full-circle perspective of why Habitat III is so important to our cities-and our nation.

For those unable to attend the day-long event, we invite you to check out the online virtual The City We Want & Need: A Mid-Atlantic Regional Convening on Habitat III (http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/
states/pennsylvania/library/virtualhabitat). Whether you attended any of our sessions that day and for those who have taken advantage of this online site, we'd like to thank each and every one of you for your enthusiasm and participation to date, and look forward to more good work together in the future. For more photographs of the event, please visit Region III's Flickr photo collection (https://www.flickr.com/photos/hudopa/albums/72157668798004825).

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