Building the Next Generation of American Cities

By: Brian D’Arcy, Co-Chair of Working Californians and Business Manager for IBEW Local 18, and Marvin Kropke, Co-Chair of Working Californians and Business Manager for IBEW Local 11

Leaders from across California and across the country are coming together to share ideas about how to build the next generation of American cities.

Today’s urban revitalization projects are driven by a new spirit driven by a new generational consciousness and complex new realities. We live in a world where poverty and income inequality threaten American upward mobility. We are more ethnically diverse than ever, and it is important to ensure that the core American value of opportunity remains open to our future generations.

We also face challenges from climate change. Sustainability and environmental awareness and sensitivity must be incorporated into our planning and urban design.

Left to right: Brian D’Arcy, Marvin Kropke

We have seen past generations of urban construction and design lead to unintended consequences in our past – inadvertently exacerbating problems of poverty, crime and other urban ills. Equipped with that knowledge and through sharing ideas from leaders from diverse backgrounds, we believe we can build and plan for a better urban future for all.

That is the goal of the 2nd Annual Social Innovation Summit.

Hosted by Working Californians, the conference will host leaders from government, business, technology and academia, and work toward a shared vision to jump-start small business creation in South Los Angeles and Los Angeles’ urban corridors. The event will feature some of the state’s most prominent elected leaders, including Secretary of State Alex Padilla and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, as well as CEOs, academic leaders and members of Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration.

The one-day summit begins Saturday, April 11 at Los Angeles Trade Technical College in Downtown Los Angeles.

The challenge of revitalizing America’s cities is taking on new dimensions in the 21st Century. Today’s cities must cater to growing and increasingly diverse populations.

With good jobs still at a premium, even amidst a broad economic recovery, public and private investment in our cities will be key to putting California and America back to work.

But it will take more than just brawn to get our cities back on track. Unprecedented partnerships between the public and private sectors, and new types of innovation in everything from urban planning to structural engineering will be needed to set us on a prosperous and sustainable course for the 21st Century. The government, technology and business sectors must work together to create a long-term plan for the future of our urban centers.

The Summit will feature the Innovations Director of Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation, leaders from New Orleans and Detroit’s top entrepreneurial incubation hubs and regional academic experts in the fields of entrepreneurship with the goal of building the entrepreneurial and start-up spirit seen in LA’s Silicon Beach and bringing that spirit and the necessary tools to LA’s urban corridors.

More than ever, we need to come together to share ideas across many different sectors about how to rebuild our state and our country to ensure vibrant and dynamic cities for our future.

Working Californian’s social innovation is kicking-off that conversation in Los Angeles, and we invite you to join in to better not only Los Angeles, but cities across the country.

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