Urban Development Conference: U.S. and Poland\'s Cities in the Global Economy

26 lutego, 2013

Over the span of centuries, the cities proved to be the best humankind’s hope for economic advancement and the eradication of poverty around the world. However, the way we develop our cities in Europe and in the U.S. differs a lot.

McKinsey Global Institute indicated in its April 2012 report that by 2025 as much as 10% of the global GDP will come from large U.S. cities. As of now, 80% of Americans live in large urban areas vs. less than 60% in Europe. The consequence of this phenomenon is that in 2010, 85% of the U.S. GDP was generated by 259 largest cities only. But not every urban development is a success story. While cities like New York, London or Warsaw prosper, some cities like Detroit decline dramatically. In 2008, Detroit’s per capita income was $14,976, which was lower than Poland’s $20,200 and about the same as Mexico’s $14,700. So what are the recipes for the development of a successful city in Europe and America? Are they infrastructural mega-projects, vibrant entrepreneurial communities or geography and climate? What can the Europeans and the Americans learn from each other? And the case of Detroit poses yet another important question. What is the role of ethnic and racial minorities in the development of the cities? How can communities, like the Polish Americans, contribute an additional value to their American societies? Our Conference will aim at answering many of those questions.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

9.00 – 10.30 am	Registration
10.35 am	Opening remarks by Mrs. Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka, Consul General of Poland
10.45 am	“Polish Cities in the Global Economy: How Cities can Benefit from Globalization.” by Mr. Marceli Niezgoda, Under Secretary of State, Poland’s Ministry of Regional Development
11.00 am	“United Nations and New York City: How Cities Around the World Can Benefit From Cooperation With International Organizations.” by Muhamed Sacirbey, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bosnia & Herzegovina, lecturer at Montclair State University
11.15 am	“An Expert’s Perspective: Why Urban Neighborhoods Develop and Decline and How Neighborhoods Affect Well-Being?” by Ingrid Ellen, Ph.D. , NYU Wagner
11.30 am	Presentation & Speech by Edward Glaeser, Ph.D., Harvard University
11.45 am	“An Expert’s Perspective: Poland’s Experiences With Large Urban Development Projects & Municipal Credit and Bonds Valuation.” by Marcin Jakubaszek, Esq., Partner at Miller Canfield, (Warsaw, Poland) and Richard Walawender, Esq., Senior Partner at Miller Canfield (New York, NY)
12.00 – 12.45 pm	Panel Discussion (affordable housing, urban homelessness & poverty): - Edward Glaeser, Ph.D., Harvard University - Brenda Rosen, Managing Director, The Common Ground - Amie Pospiesiel, Deputy Director, The Common Ground - Ron Stefanowicz, Executive Director, Linden Economic Development Corp. - Tadeusz Truskolaski, Mayor of Białystok, Poland
12.45 – 1.15 pm	Q&A for the Panelists
1.15 – 2.00 pm	Lunch break (free Polish meals served at the Consulate)
2.00pm – 3.00 pm	Multimedia Presentations by Polish Cities - Białystok - Zabrze - Łódź - Kolbuszowa
3.00 – 3.15 pm	Break & Refreshments
3.15 – 4.15 pm	Panel Discussion (urban development, education, economic growth, tax policies): - Tadeusz Truskolaski, Mayor of Białystok, Poland - Małgorzata Mańka-Szulik, Mayor of Zabrze, Poland - Ed Pawlowski, Mayor of Allentown, PA - Izabela Bacza, Councilwoman of Wallington, NJ - Chuck Lesnick, President of City Council, Yonkers - Lucian Pawlak, former Mayor of New Britain, CT
4.15 – 4.45 pm	Q&A for the Panelists
4.45 – 5.00 pm	Break & Refreshments
5.00 pm	“Research Study: Polish Americans as a Voting Bloc in the U.S. Presidential, State and Local Elections.” by Thadeus Radzilowski, Ph.D., Piast Institute
5:20 pm	“Polish Americans in U.S. politics. New Jersey Example.” by Wojciech Siemaszkiewicz, National Director of the Polish American Congress
5:40pm – 6.00pm	Technical break
6.00 pm	National Anthems of the Republic of Poland and the United States of America
6.10 pm	“Polish Perspective: Effective Management of a City. The Zabrze Example.” by Mrs. Małgorzata Mańka-Szulik, Mayor of Zabrze, Poland
6.20 pm	“Polish Perspective: Effective Management of a City. The Bialystok Example.” by Mr. Tadeusz Truskolaski, Ph.D., Mayor of Bialystok, Poland
6.30 pm	“The Economic Development of Ithaca, NY. Vision for the Future.” by Svante Myrick (D), Mayor of Ithaca, NY
6.40 pm	“The Economic Development of Allentown. Vision for the Future.” by Ed Pawlowski (D), Mayor of Allentown, PA
6.50 pm	“The Government Transparency.” by Adam Andrzejewski (R), former Candidate for the Governor of Illinois
7.00 pm	“The Republican Vision of The Development of New York City.” by Tom Allon (R), Candidate for the Mayor of New York City
7.10 pm	“The Democratic Vision of The Development of New York City.” by Bill Thompson (D), Candidate for the Mayor of New York City
7.20 pm	Closing remarks by Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka, Consul General of Poland
7.30pm–9.00pm	Party & Degustation of Polish Beverages