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 but there are significant gaps in information about anchor institutions among public and private sector leaders.In an effort to fill this vacuum, Penn IUR and its partners are sponsoring URBAN ANCHORS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: A COMMITMENT TO PLACE, GROWTH AND COMMUNITY, October 8-9, 2007, University of Pennsylvania.

Approximately 60 speakers are slated. They include Henry Cisneros, former Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Amy Gutmann, President, University of Pennsylvania, 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); Marilyn Swartz-Lloyd, President and CEO, Medical, Academic, and Scientific Community Organization, 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,Ernst and Young; Carl Wiesbrod, President, Trinity Church Real Estate; Mayor Manuel Diaz, Miami, Mayor Mark Mallory, Cincinnati and others.

Sponsors: Penn Institute for Urban Research, The Great Cities Institute, University of Illinois, Chicago, The Lincoln Institute for Land Policy, CEOs for Cities, Penn Center for Community Partnerships, Bank of America Foundation, Knight Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation.

For more information including a complete agenda and on-line registration, visit www.upenn.edu/penniur/anchors or call 215-573-8386

Related Link: Urban Anchors in the 21st Century: A Commitment to Place, Growth and Community

For more information contact:

Amy Montgomery
Penn Institute for Urban Research
210 S. 34th Street
Philadelphia
Pennsylvania 19104
USA

Phone: 215-573-8386
Fax: 215-898-5731
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://upenn.edu/penniur