NewCities Expands Fellowship Program to Highlight Leading Urban Thinkers

May 10, 2017 — Press

NewCities appoints four leading urban specialists as Associate Fellows as part of expanding Fellowship Program
Associate Fellows to play key role in advancing NewCities mission to make cities more inclusive, connected, healthy and vibrant

Montréal, Canada – May 10, 2017. The NewCities Foundation has today appointed four Associate Fellows, deepening its expertise and helping to extend the reach of these top practitioners and researchers through the NewCities web platform and global network.

In order to further its efforts to stimulate the global conversation on pressing urban challenges, NewCities has identified a diverse set of experts across sectors to align with its 12 Impact Areas. Associate Fellows represent a unique set of backgrounds in research and experience that enable the Foundation to bridge the gaps between theory and practice, academia and on-the-ground implementation. NewCities seeks to continue to establish cross-cutting partnerships and innovative new models for transfer of knowledge to drive change in cities at the global scale.

These four Associate Fellows are distinguished members of the NewCities network who actively participate in the global conversation surrounding key urban issues. Their work will be showcased on the NewCities new web platform and across its global network.

The four NewCities Associate Fellows appointed are:

Mariela Alfonzo
Associate Fellow, Placemaking
Bridging the worlds of academia and practice, Dr. Alfonzo is the Founder of State of Place, an urban data analytics platform that helps placemakers identify and economically justify optimal urban design, planning, and development projects that create thriving places people love.

David Gomez-Alvarez
Associate Fellow, Citizen Engagement
David Gomez-Alvarez is co-editor of Steering of the Metropolis, a UN-Habitat publication on metropolitan governance. He is currently a visiting scholar and fellow of the Special Program for Urban and Regional Studies (SPURS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Sarah Moser
Associate Fellow, Greenfield Cities
Sarah Moser is an Assistant Professor of Geography at McGill University. Her research examines new master-planned cities, nation building, the cultural politics of urban mega-projects, and urban trends in the Middle East and Asia.

Roger Sherman
Associate Fellow, Built Environment
Roger Sherman is Design Director of Urban Strategy at Gensler Los Angeles. Previously, Roger was founder of Roger Sherman Architecture and Urban Design. A Senior Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Global Cities Institute, he is author of three books, including LA Under the Influence: The Hidden Logic of Urban Property.

The expansion of the Fellowship program follows the success of the Connected Mobility Initiative and the Financing Urban Infrastructure Initiative. The Associate Fellows will join Greg Lindsay, Senior Fellow, Mobility and Julie Kim, Senior Fellow, Financing Strategies. Both of these 2016 research initiatives produced published reports offering insight and analysis for policymakers in cities around the world.

NewCities will continue to expand its Fellowship program, adding Associate Fellows to its roster of experts in the year ahead.

John Rossant, Chairman, NewCities said: “We are delighted to welcome our first Associate Fellows to the NewCities Foundation and look forward to working with them to share the leading insights into what is happening, on the ground, in our cities. Their contributions will expand upon our tradition of sharing expert perspectives to improve our cities in meaningful ways.”

Greg Lindsay, Senior Fellow, Mobility, NewCities said: “Joining NewCities as a Senior Fellow has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. My affiliation with the Foundation has opened doors and made incredible introductions while affording me the intellectual independence to question conventional wisdom and argue forcefully in favor of policies for making better cities.”

Julie Kim, Senior Fellow, Financing Strategies, NewCities said: “NewCities has a tremendous global network of key stakeholders at all levels who can collectively affect how the current urbanization trend unfolds in the future. My urban finance fellowship with NewCities allowed me to better understand the challenges facing the growing cities around the world and put me right in the middle of the critical and much needed dialogues that can help shape our urban future.”

Learn more about NewCities at www.newcities.org

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Press contact:
Thomas Ledwell
Director of Communications
NewCities
tledwell@newcitiesfoundation.org
+1.514.588.0752

About NewCities

NewCities is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to making cities more inclusive, connected, healthy and vibrant. Focusing on people, places and policies, we bring together a global network of public and private sector leaders and Urban Tech innovators to foster results-oriented collaboration. We also produce actionable research that can be implemented by decision-makers across sectors.