Remaking Cities Congress: Final Propositions
by Abigail Eberts
At the Remaking Cities Congress, delegates were separated into five different workshops, all focusing on a different topic. In these workshops, delegates decided on and wrote propositions of what they deemed necessary for the rebuilding of cities. The propositions were presented to the entire congress, where they were voted on.
WORKSHOP 1: RE-POSITIONING THE POST-INDUSTRIAL CITY IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
Title: Use Education as Economic Development Strategy
Proposition: Post-Industrial cities’ greatest economic development strategy should be to invest in education to cultivate the talent of their people.
Strongly Agree: 58%
Agree: 36%
No Opinion: 3%
Disagree: 2%
Strongly Disagree: 1%
Title: Invest in Neighborhoods for Equity
Proposition: Post-Industrial cities need to commit to sustained investment in under-valued and blighted neighborhoods over the long-term. They must demonstrate measurable strategies to achieve social and economic equity.
Strongly Agree: 54%
Agree: 29%
No Opinion: 9%
Disagree: 6%
Strongly Disagree: 2%
Title: Redesign Urban Accounting for Sustainability
Proposition: Make post-industrial cities more accountable to the principles of sustainability through a new system of urban triple-bottom-line accounting.
Strongly Agree: 36%
Agree: 30%
No Opinion: 23%
Disagree: 9%
Strongly Disagree: 3%
Title: Create Innovative Districts
Proposition: Cities should create local innovation districts that leverage existing assets, attract investment, benefit investors, and create equity for the proximate community, encouraging diverse uses and actives that support innovation.
Strongly Agree: 56%
Agree: 34%
No Opinion: 12%
Disagree: 14%
Strongly Disagree: 4%
Title: Form Municipal Leagues
Proposition: Post-Industrial cities around the world should form municipal leagues in order to consolidate their power, resources, and ability to affect change.Strongly Agree: 26%
Agree: 24%
No Opinion: 23%
Disagree: 20%
Strongly Disagree: 5%

POST-INDUSTRIALISM AND THE PHYSICAL CITY
Title: Adaptive and Flexible Housing
Proposition: The Post-Industrial Cities of the Future must develop housing and policies that allow for adaptive and changing communities and demographics with the goal of providing different opportunities over multiple life stages.
Strongly Agree: 56%
Agree: 33%
No Opinion: 7%
Disagree: 1%
Strongly Disagree: 1%
Title: All Cost Accounting
Proposition: The Post Industrial Cities of the Future must change the paradigm of economic development to include full and complete public costs in decisions.
Strongly Agree: 58%
Agree: 25%
No Opinion: 12%
Disagree: 4%
Strongly Disagree: 1%
Title: Financial Incentives for Reuse
Proposition: The Post Industrial Cities of the Future must develop a wider range of creative financial incentives to encourage residents and small developers to reuse existing lands, buildings, and neighborhoods.
Strongly Agree: 69%
Agree: 21%
No Opinion: 4%
Disagree: 3%
Strongly Disagree: 3%
Title: Community Investment
Proposition: The Post-Industrial Cities of the Future must create innovative financial and wealth building strategies for development of the physical city. (community-invested development, community landbanking, micro-loans, rent-to-own programs, etc.)
Strongly Agree: 59%
Agree: 30%
No Opinion: 6%
Disagree: 2%
Strongly Disagree: 3%
Title: No More Funds for Coffeehouses
Proposition: The Post-Industrial Cities of the Future must stop public funding of communities that have tipped.
Strongly Agree: 25%
Agree: 21%
No Opinion: 26%
Disagree: 12%
Strongly Disagree: 15%

THE 21ST CENTURY CITY AS AN INNOVATION HUB
Title: Create the 21st Century Cottage Industries
Proposition: Cities must create street-level incubators that respond to local needs/aspirations and generate economic growth by accelerating the cycle from invention to innovation to production.
Strongly Agree: 56%
Agree: 30%
No Opinion: 7%
Disagree: 6%
Strongly Disagree: 1%
Title: Reconceive the Library as Infothéque
Proposition: We must reinvent libraries as critical hubs in urban neighborhoods that act as portals for life-long learning, access to information and places for social interaction in the 21st century.
Strongly Agree: 47%
Agree: 31%
No Opinion: 10%
Disagree: 7%
Strongly Disagree: 3%
Title: Create Sticky Cities
Proposition: Communities must identify and harness the unique assets of the place (physical, cultural, technological, human, natural, n@) to attract and retain people who will invest and grow new businesses.
Strongly Agree: 56%
Agree: 29%
No Opinion: 8%
Disagree: 5%
Strongly Disagree: 2%
Title: Redistribute Wealth
Proposition: Cities should direct innovation funding to include a portion of the resources invested to training, education, mentoring, and participation for underserved communities.
Strongly Agree: 59%
Agree: 22%
No Opinion: 9%
Disagree: 5%
Strongly Disagree: 5%
Title: Blow Up Education
Proposition: Cities must reinvent a neighborhood-based education system that grows from the values and aspirations of citizens. Discard the current administrative structure and adapt to local context.
Strongly Agree: 38%
Agree: 24%
No Opinion: 7%
Disagree: 15%
Strongly Disagree: 16%

URBAN SYSTEMS, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND THE POST-INDUSTRIAL CITY
Title: Shift Infrastructure Decision-Making
Proposition: Revolutionize infrastructure decision-making to ensure integrated, ecologically, economically and socially brilliant futures. Integrate soft/hard and local/regional water, food, heat, power, mobility (instead of transportation) and data/voice (connectivity) infrastructures to ensure quality of life and equity.
Strongly Agree: 51%
Agree: 32%
No Opinion: 11%
Disagree: 3%
Strongly Disagree: 3%
Title: Prioritize Natural Systems
Proposition: Prioritize geography and natural systems and their contributions to ensuring resiliency in the face of resource shortages and climate change. Balance natural and engineered infrastructure at each scale-the building, the community, and the region.
Strongly Agree: 60%
Agree: 25%
No Opinion: 10%
Disagree: 2%
Strongly Disagree: 3%
Title: Use Infrastructure to Empower People
Proposition: Invest in infrastructure through public engagement to create inspiring places that catalyze grassroots creativity and a ladder to equity.
Strongly Agree: 47%
Agree: 26%
No Opinion: 16%
Disagree: 7%
Strongly Disagree: 3%
Title: Align Governance with System Scale
Proposition: Conceptualize governance to align with the scale of each infrastructure system, and create visionary alliances to futurize infrastructures. Alliances will be based on regions, resources, amenities, conditions, and the capacity of citizens, professionals, government, foundations and corporations.
Strongly Agree: 40%
Agree: 28%
No Opinion: 17%
Disagree: 10%
Strongly Disagree: 5%
Title: Redirect National Security Investments
Proposition: Redirect investments in climate change, resilience, and national security into infrastructure innovation and economic development, to benefit the greatest number of citizens.
Strongly Agree: 40%
Agree: 26%
No Opinion: 18%
Disagree: 9%
Strongly Disagree: 6%

PLANNING AND SOCIAL INNOVATIONS FOR THE POST-INDUSTRIAL CITY
Title: Cultivate the Soul of the City
Proposition: We’ve got soul- We need urban justice. The city of 2040 starts from the understanding of its soul: its people, identity, and values.
Strongly Agree: 71%
Agree: 17%
No Opinion: 7%
Disagree: 2%
Strongly Disagree: 3%
Title: Grow Entrepreneurial Capacity
Proposition: The city of tomorrow must cultivate the dormant entrepreneurial capacity of its people in order to rebuild rich, vibrant, adaptable communities thus creating a strong sense of place.
Strongly Agree: 65%
Agree: 27%
No Opinion: 5%
Disagree: 3%
Strongly Disagree: 0%
Title: Connect the City
Proposition: The city of tomorrow must provide transit and alternative modes of transportation to ensure all communities have access and connectivity to jobs, education, food, housing and services.
Strongly Agree: 78%
Agree: 18%
No Opinion: 2%
Disagree: 1%
Strongly Disagree: 1%
Title: Balance Subjective and Objective Understandings
Proposition: The city of tomorrow must equate the importance of subjective and objective data in decision making to inform its plan.
Strongly Agree: 42%
Agree: 31%
No Opinion: 17%
Disagree: 5%
Strongly Disagree: 4%
Title: Redefine Government
Proposition: We must redefine government to respond more efficiently to its people and economic opportunities, then target resources to the equitable vision and will of the people.
Strongly Agree: 41%
Agree: 34%
No Opinion: 13%
Disagree: 10%
Strongly Disagree: 2%
Title: Stop Displacement
Proposition: Permanent displacement from one’s community creates economic and social fractures; we must place a 25 year moratorium on displacement.
Strongly Agree: 17%
Agree: 20%
No Opinion: 18%
Disagree: 24%
Strongly Disagree: 22%
Title: Confront Racism and Marginalization
Proposition: We need to muster the courage to confront and expose racism and other forms of marginalization within ourselves, the economy, the criminal justice system, the education system and throughout society to truly create cities with liberty and justice for all.
Strongly Agree: 78%
Agree: 10%
No Opinion: 9%
Disagree: 2%
Strongly Disagree: 1%