The event reflected one of RBC’s core principles - to engage multiple perspectives and disciplinary expertise to foster diverse conversations on the nature of urban excellence. The debate kicked off with the session, “Positioning Place,” featuring a dynamic panel of speakers including—

• Dr. Tim Cresswell, Ogilvie Professor of Geography at the University of Edinburgh.
• Dr. Joyce Weil, associate professor of gerontology at Towson University.
• Dr. Sharon Zukin, Professor Emerita of sociology and of earth and environmental sciences at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
• Tony Hiss, author of fifteen books, was a staff writer at The New Yorker and a visiting scholar at New York University for twenty-five years.

The second session, “Envisioning Place,” highlighted the confluence of strategies that professionals and community members utilize to create and maintain quality places. The panel helped the audience explore urban excellence in placemaking through vision and leadership, collaborative partnerships among various disciplines and professions, engaging and empowering people affected by place, and leveraging design. The panel included —

• Dr. David Brain, founder and principal of Civic Design Strategies, and senior research associate with the Center for Housing and Community Regeneration at the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture.
• Dr. Tracy Hadden Loh, a fellow with the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking at Brookings Metro.
• Dr. Emily Talen is a professor of urbanism at the University of Chicago’s School of Social Sciences.
• Marc Norman, founder of the consulting firm “Ideas and Action,” Larry & Klara Silverstein Chair, and associate dean at New York University, Schack Institute of Real Estate.

The third panel, “Co-Creating Place” explored the role of community and advocacy organizations in sustaining place and placemaking activities across diverse contexts and communities. Panelists included—

• Rosanne Haggerty, President and Chief Executive Officer of Community Solutions
• Ethan Kent, Executive Director of PlacemakingX.
• Dr. Jesus J. Lara, professor in the Urban and Regional Planning program at Michigan State University.
• Dan Pitera, FAIA, is dean of the Detroit Mercy School of Architecture & Community Development.

The session fueled a lively debate on who ultimately is, and should be, involved in creating meaningful places — including professionals, community members, and leaders, as well as marginalized stakeholders such as the unhoused and immigrant community. 

Our final session, “Communicating Place,” emphasized the importance of the methods that practitioners, advocates, and community members use to communicate about place and placemaking. The panelists shared stories of creative and inspiring projects that have helped increase understanding of the complex process of enabling beautiful, just, and resilient places. Speakers included —

• Rowena Alegría, Chief Storyteller for the City and County of Denver.
• Dr. Victoria Derr, associate professor of environmental studies at the California State University in Monterey Bay.
• Leonardo Vazquez, AICP/PP, Executive Director of the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation.
• Robert Shibley, FAIA, FAICP is Dean Emeritus of the University at Buffalo's School of Architecture and Planning and the Director of the Rudy Bruner Center for Urban Excellence.