Recap of the Sustainable Urban Design Summit in Detroit

For the Sustainable Urban Design Summit in Detroit, Detroitisit, in partnership with The Consulate General of the Netherlands in Chicago, and Dutch Design Week, hosted conversations with sustainability industry leaders from Detroit, across the Midwest, the greater U.S. and the Netherlands. At the Madison Building, on October 13, 2022, the Summit developed creative solutions through a global yet hyperlocal program focused on Sustainable Urban Planning, the Circular Economy, Climate and the City, Smart City, and Smart Energy Solutions. A multi-layered conversation is envisioned as a bridge builder to grow the best solutions for long-term partnerships and opportunities between the two geographies.

Click here for a full Summit video, here for a Summit promo video, and here for event photos.

Watch the panel videos by clicking the links below:

Design Conversation
* Rob Adams, Embassy of Mobility of the Dutch Design Foundation
* Olga Stella, VP, of Strategy and Communications at College for Creative Studies
* Moderator – Antoine Bryant, Director of Planning for the City of Detroit

Programming, Interactivity, and Thinking Sustainably About Activating a City
* Alexa Bush, Program Officer Detroit at the Kresge Foundation
* Marc Pasco, Director of Communications at Detroit Riverfront Conservancy
* Anke van Hal, Professor Sustainable Building at Nyenrode Business Universiteit
* Eric Larson, CEO, Downtown Detroit Partnership
* Moderator – Jen Guarino, President and CEO of ISAIC

Waterfronts, Water Resiliency, & Mobilizing Corporate, Private & Local Government to Design for Climate Change
* Matthijs Bouw, Founding Partner of One Architecture
* Zachary Damato, Co-Founder of Urban Rivers
* Liesl Clark, Director, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE)
* Moderator – Britany Affolter-Caine, Executive Director of Michigan’s University Research Corridor

Circular Economy, New Manufacturing Models, and the Impact on Design
* Ruben Dubelaar, Advisor International Strategy for Holland Circular Hotspot
* Bo Shepherd, co-owner, and designer of Woodward Throwbacks
* Joshua Brugeman, Expert in Residence at Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Tech University
* Benjamin J. Leffel – Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow at Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan
* Moderator – Olga Stella, VP, of Strategy and Communications College for Creative Studies

Process Thinking for Sustainable Urban Design While Furthering Development of a City
* Winka Dubbeldam – Founder & Partner Archi-Tectonics NY, Miller Professor & Chair Weitzman Architecture Director of Advanced Research & Innovation Lab [ARI] University of Pennsylvania
* Nate Trevethan, Principal, MVVA
* John Jourden, Design Director, Gensler Detroit
* Moderator – Antoine Bryant, Director of Planning for the City of Detroit

Designing Resilient Community and Neighborhoods
* Christopher Moyer, Sr. Director of Communications, Visit Detroit
* Laprisha Daniels, Executive Director, Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice
* Emily Dabish Yahkind, Detroit Director, CIV:LAB
* Lauren A. Hood, Founder, and Chief Visionary, Institute for AfroUrbanism
* Moderator – Terry Barclay, Chair, Sustainable Business Network Detroit and CEO, Inforum

Emergent Urbanism and Building of Tomorrow’s Urban Spaces
* Doug Voigt, Urban Design and Planning Partner, SOM
* James Witherspoon, VP, Architecture and Design, Bedrock Detroit
* Kristina Knauf, Associate MVRDV Climate, MVRDV
* dr. Irene Luque Martin, Project manager Research & Innovation projects, Circularity in Urban Regions, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS)
* Moderator Rob Adams, Embassy of Mobility of the Dutch Design Foundation