ICF Virtual Panel: “The New Abnormal”

Episode #1: Reducing health risks & planning actions for urban planning during COVID-19 – impacts on the public realm and built form

To view the video, click here:

Moderator:

Lou Zacharilla, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum; New York City

Panel:

• John G. Jung, Chairman & Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum & ICF Canada; Toronto
• Joe Berridge, Partner, Urban Strategies, Inc. & Author (The Perfect City); Toronto
• Luigi Ferrara, Dean, Centre for Arts, Design & Information Technology, George Brown College, Toronto
• Ibrahim (“Ibbi”) Almufti, Risk & Resilience Leader, Arup Group, San Francisco

Produced by Matt Owen, Director of Operations as part of ICF’s “No Place BUT Home” series.

Topics covered:

• Walk this Way: can we quickly redesign the public realm – streets, sidewalks, squares and parks to enable spatial or social distancing? Can short term solutions become long-term opportunities? Are we living in a global CityLab? For planners and urban designers what impacts will there be on current zoning and development models?
• “Nothing So Focuses the Mind….”: From what is taking place now to avoid the “noose” of healthcare and economic collapse, are there innovations that might become new policies and investments?
• Good Density vs “Bad Density: Cities are going to not be trusted after this Pandemic is resolved. So, in our buildings and living realms, what is considered good density? What are the anti-density factions saying? What about ethical densities? What about dominant versus forgotten densities?
• What About the “Deplorables?” Will there be a new demand on suburban, ex-urban and rural areas in a post-COVID-19 world? How will design ideas reach them to ensure a more robust economic and social index?
• Tools of the Trade: What will be the impact of technology? What new technologies will be introduced, or are being introduced?  Will there be a greater demand or an aware appreciation for robust high-speed broadband?
• Best Practices & Collaboration: For sure we are all in this one together. That is a virtue and curse.  What are the current best practices that have been observed to mitigate risk and rebuild confidence and trust that things will be better and safer?

Future sessions will look at the Future of Co-existence after COVID19; The New Technological Paradigm- Surveillance Capitalism; Ethical Smart Cities; and other topics related to how rural and small towns are doing and what their plans are after the pandemic, and more. Watch for announcements in the ICF Canada Newsletter and in the ICF Website.