reSITE 2013 Conference | Metropolis Central: Infinite Resources

June 20-21, 2013 / DOX Center for Contemporary Art, Prague

reSITE Conference 2013 Metropolis Central: Infinite Resources" addressed the issue of modernizing Prague and other post-communist / premodern cities of the CEE region.

The conference focused on providing solutions for politicians, citizens and investors; to grow and yet weave in a complex past. We feel certain that reSITE Conference 2013 catalyzed the public and business community to influence positive changes.

Discussions and targeted lectures from international and local experts merged design, development and finance, government and community participation. Moderators from around the world transitioned seamlessly from one topic to the next. Why did we merge so many topics into one conference? Simply put, the city is built this way.reSITE called architects, politicians, urbanists, developers, landscape architects, planners, innovators, engineers, economists, financiers, community activists, transportation planners, scientists, artists, students and any individuals with an active interest in cities to attend the second annual reSITE Conference.

Key themes at reSITE 2013 conference were: Livable Metropolis: Transparent Processes, City COMBINE : Urban resiliency and City Ecosystems, reCLAIMING Waterfronts, reGENERATIVE Metropolis: Tools of Stimulation, Quality Leadership and Governance: European Perspective, Investment and Urban Development, and Community Participation.Thus, the conference focused on providing solutions for politicians, citizens and investors.

reSITE Conference 2013 catalyzed the public and business community to influence positive changes. Speakers like Greg Lindsay (Fast Company Magazine) talked about innovation and smarter work environments. Alex Washburn (City of New York) addressed finance, zoning, sustainable and bottom-up / top-down urban planning. Adrian Benepe (City of New York) talked about resiliency and Mayor Bloomberg’s goal of having a park within a 10-minute walk of every New Yorker, because that is healthy for citizens and good for real estate investment.

We highlighted foreign expertise by having Kees Christiaanese discuss urban planning at KCAP in Rotterdam. Enrique Penalosa brought a 400-person audience nearly to a standing ovation, with a thundering applause for his critique of democracy and his observations in the city of Prague. Winy Maas, the world-famous architect from the Netherlands, talked about merging the past with the future, but in an innovative way that stimulates controversial discussions about the cities he works in. A special panel of experts like Gines Garrido and Barbara Wilks talked about flooding and waterfront investment ideas with local officials like Tomas Ctibor and Pavla Melkova from the Prague Office for Public Space at the City Development Authority. Nigel Atkins stimulated discussion with his crtique of the Czech system while young Slovak architects presented their community initiative that started an urban market. Other international guests stressed the importance of public/private partnerships to invest in public infrastructure and public spaces. At the end of two days of inspiring presentations, it was clear that these diverse and experienced professionals have added significant value into the cities they live and work in and they inspired the audience.