AIA Japan - Reactivating Cities: Accelerating Urban Regeneration to Save Our Downtowns
When: Friday 14 April 2023 @ 08:00 (Eastern US Time)/ Saturday 15 April @ 10:00 (Japan time)
CES Credits - Estimated 2 LU/ HSW for AIA Members
Speakers
Ellen Lou, FAIA, AICP, LEED-AP BD+C, Principal, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Description
American cities are facing a major crisis. As we transition into the post-pandemic era, people have not returned to work in the Central Business Districts (CBDs) as intensely as pre-pandemic time. Office vacancies remain stubbornly high in these districts. Companies with jobs that could be performed online and provided employees the options for hybrid work (in-person and remote). As a result, many cities are increasingly facing the challenge of empty downtowns, business closure and reduced tax revenue.
Many cities also lost residential population, as people moved to the suburbs and even other cities or regions that can afford them more space, amenities, and better environment. The urban exodus further exacerbates the decline of urban centers.
Are downtowns dying? Urban centers could recover from the impact of the pandemic and changing demands if downtowns could adapt for a hybrid workplace future and offer attractive culture, entertainment, lifestyle choices, and a sustainable environment. Then these urban centers would thrive again. In fact, many of these trends are not new as evident by the vibrant mixed-use urban districts of some of the growing cities. The post pandemic trends just accelerated the need for transformation.
This presentation discusses the challenges cities’ face, current trend, and shifts inclusion best practices to reactivate downtowns through workplace adaptations, residential conversion; Integrate education, sports, cultural attraction, entertainment destinations as catalyst for transformation; place making through design; and climate adaptation that will transform our downtowns for a resilient and carbon neutral future.
Case studies in North America and the Pacific Rim will be introduced to demonstrate the urban design and planning approaches, policies and lessons learned.
Speaker Bio
Ellen Lou works at the forefront of urban regeneration, advancing new development models and climate-adaptive design strategies for cities across North America and Asia. As a principal for SOM’s City Design Practice, she tackles the complex challenges of urban transformation, integrating priorities for cultural preservation, social equity, ecological resilience, and economic vitality into actionable visions.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, she has shaped the development of key neighborhoods, from San Francisco’s Transbay District to San Jose’s Downtown and Diridon Station Area. Her master plans for innovation communities and academic campuses have set the stage for public-private investment in California, Salt Lake City, and Shanghai. In Asia, her pioneering strategies for district-scale preservation and catalyzing ecological restoration through new town development have influenced development throughout the region.
Ellen serves on the boards of the Institute for Transportation Development Policy (a global NGO), SPUR, a San Francisco Bay Area urban policy think tank, and the Visiting Committee for the Department of Urban Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
