URBAN ANCHORS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
A COMMITMENT TO PLACE, GROWTH, AND COMMUNITY
Hosted by
PENN INSTITUTE FOR
URBAN RESEARCH
Houston Hall
University of Pennsylvania
October 8-9, 2007
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ABOUT
Anchor institutions, including universities, medical complexes, arts and culture institutions, stadiums, public utilities and some large corporations, are critical to the economic health and civic pride to their home cities and regions due to their resources, especially high levels of employment and purchasing power. Their significant location-based real estate investments and/or clientele anchor them in place, making their departure unlikely or difficult. As a class and singly, they play central roles in their communities.
An incipient body of knowledge is emerging to document these roles. This work comes from disparate sources – academic studies, consultants’ reports, assessments by anchor institution executives, public officials and financiers – but no one has brought the studies together in a comprehensive fashion where they can be evaluated and replicated. Further, there are significant gaps in information about anchor institutions among public and private sector leaders.
In an effort to fill these vacuums, Penn IUR and its partners sponsored Urban Anchors in the 21st Century: A Commitment to Place, Growth and Community, October 8-9, 2007 at the University of Pennsylvania. It featured approximately 50 speakers drawn from leadership in “eds and meds,” museums, sports facilities and owners, performing arts centers, finance, law, mayors and other public officials. Among the presenters are: Anne d'Harnoncourt, The George D. Widener Director and Chief Executive Officer, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Janet Marie Smith, Senior Vice President, Planning and Development, Boston Red Sox; Josephine Ramirez, Vice President Planning and Programming, Los Angeles Music Center; John Schmidt, Partner, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP (Chicago Naval Pier and other projects); Jay Cross, President, NY Jets; John Livingston, President, Tishman Urban Development Corporation; Judith Rodin, President, Rockefeller Foundation; Nancy Zimpher, President, University of Cincinnati and chair, Board of Directors, National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC), Hugh Hardy, Principal, H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture LLC; Charles Shorter, Executive Director, Mergers and Acquisitions, Ernst and Young; Carl Wiesbrod, President, Trinity Church Real Estate; Mayor Manuel Diaz, City of Miami and others.
The following are tangible, additional outcomes of the conference:
- Penn IUR announced its newly funded the Penn IUR Anchors Institution Roundtable, an ongoing assemblage of a select group of well-positioned anchor institution and other private and public sector leaders.
- Within a year, Penn Press will publish the conference papers in its City in the 21st Century Series edited by professors Birch and Wachter.
- Penn IUR and its partners will craft and pursue a multi-year research urban research agenda focusing on technical issues related to anchor institution growth and development.
For this conference, Penn IUR partnered with the following: Bank of America; Great Cities Institute, University of Illinois, Chicago; Center for Community Partnerships, University of Pennsylvania; CEOs for Cities; Lincoln Institute of Land Policy; The Rockefeller Foundation; The Knight Foundation; The Annie E. Casey Foundation