Talking About Cities with Carol Coletta of The Kresge Foundation

Andrea Batista Schlesinger, a partner at the real estate and economic development consulting firm HR&A Advisors, dscusses her experience in developing strategies to make cities equitable and inclusive, emphasizing aspects such as equal access to public spaces and community-engaged design.

Georgia State University’s successful decade-long effort to use big data to improve student success – especially among students of color and first-generation students ­– is the focus of the latest episode of the Talking About Cities podcast series hosted by Kresge Senior Fellow Carol Coletta. Dr. Tim Renick, senior vice president for student success, explains how GSU used hundreds of points of data already available to craft warning signs and interventions that head off problems facing students early, keep them on track to graduate and close achievement gaps between different groups.

Richard Reyes-Gavilan, executive director of District of Columbia Public Library, discusses libraries' evolution from mainly repositories of information to “engines of human capital,” how library patrons increasingly are becoming "creators" rather than simply "consumers," and how the D.C. system is building new libraries for a booming population and crafting some unusual public-private partnerships along the way.

Shannon Mattern, an associate professor at the New School in New York City, discusses the current media environment and its effect on public trust, the "smart city" movement and the importance of libraries and librarians to smart cities and people's lives.

Adele Yellin, director of Los Angeles' 100-year-old Grand Central Market, talks about one of the city's few true civic spaces and how it draws together people and provides them with a wide range of food and experiences.

Suzie Graham, president of the Downtown Akron Partnership, Nick Moskos, chief of planning for Summit Metro Parks, and Dan Rice, president and CEO of the Ohio and Erie Canalway Coalition discuss Akron's work to take full advantage of the historic canalway and the importance of listening to local residents, building trust and the challenges of working in broad coalitions.

Detroit Planning Director Maurice Cox, Liv-6 Alliance Co-director Michael Forsyth and landscape architect Alexa Bush discuss efforts to redevelop neighborhoods in northwest Detroit with an emphasis on inclusive growth and investing in civic infrastructure to direct redevelopment. Detroit is one of five cities participating in the Reimagining the Civic Commons initiative, co-funded by Kresge.

Theaster Gates, a social practice installation artist, and David Reifman, head of Chicago's Department of Planning and Development, discuss the city's approach to Reimagining the Civic Commons, a three-year five-city effort to reinvest in civic assets to create inclusive, attractive communities.

Kathryn Ott Lovell, Philadelphia’s commissioner of parks and recreation, and Jennifer Mahar, senior director of civic initiatives for the Fairmont Park Conservancy, discuss the aspirations and challenges of using public-private partnerships to revitalize public places as assets that can help form the foundation of a vibrant, equitable civic life. Philadelphia is one of five cities participating in the Reimagining the Civic Commons initiative, co-funded by Kresge.