Jane Jacobs’ Influence on Urban Development - Value at the Street

In conjunction with The Municipal Art Society’s initiative, Celebrating the City: Jane Jacobs at 100, the Columbia GSAPP Real Estate Development program and the School of International and Public Affairs will host a panel discussing how development projects make the most of the street level and civic interface, due to Jane Jacobs’ teaching: Retail, Residential, and Office Properties.

MODERATOR:

Rosemary Scanlon, B.A., M.A., Hon. LL.D.
Divisional Dean (Retired), NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate
Research Scholar for Center for Urban Real Estate (CURE)

Rosemary Scanlon began her career in New York in 1969 as an economist for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, serving as its chief economist from 1983 to 1993. She was New York State Deputy Comptroller from 1993 to 1997 with the assignment to monitor the budget and economy of New York City and conduct performance audits of city agencies. During 1997-99, Rosemary was a visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics, where she was project director of the London-New York Economic Study published by the Corporation of London in June 2000; and co-author of four reports on financing issues of the London Underground. She joined the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate in 2000. Rosemary earned her undergraduate degree in economics from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia and a graduate degree in economics from the University of New Brunswick, where she was a Ford Foundation Scholar.

PARTICIPANTS:

Patricia Brown, Director of Central

Patricia Brown’s advisory and non-executive work spans disciplines, sectors and geographies. As director of her niche consultancy, Central, Patricia works with a range of clients at senior level across the public and private sector, building on her understanding of the dynamics of cities and the inter-connection of business, public services and communities. From 1998-2008 she was Chief Executive of Central London Partnership (CLP), the public private partnership for central London. As Deputy Chair of the Mayor’s Design Advisory Group she has helped lead its Good Growth Agenda, focused on retaining and improving quality of life as London grows. Patricia is Chair of the London Festival of Architecture, Deputy Chair of the Mayor’s Design Advisory Group and Vice Chair of the British Property Federation’s Development Committee. She also sits on Great Western Railway’s Strategic Advisory Board and is on the Design Panel for the HighSpeed 2, a new national rail link.

John J. Gilbert III, COO/EVP/CTO of Rudin Management

John J. Gilbert III is COO/EVP/CTO of Rudin Management Company (RMC), the largest privately owned real estate company in NYC managing over 15 million square feet of commercial and residential space owned by the Rudin Family. John has been involved in every major project the company has built over the last 20 years including the redevelopment and creation of the world’s first smart building at 55 Broad Street (1995-1996), the development of the Reuters Building at 3 Times Square (1998-2001), the redevelopment of the former ATT Long Lines Building at 32 Avenue of the Americas (1999-2002), the redevelopment of 130 West 12th Street (2010-2011), as well as the redevelopment of The Greenwich Lane (2006-2014). He is acknowledged nationally as an industry thought leader in the integration of technology into the built environment and a co-inventor of DiBOSS.

Seth Pinsky, Executive Vice President at RXR Realty

Seth Pinsky is an Executive Vice President at RXR Realty, where he is leading efforts to invest in “emerging opportunities” in the New York region. He focuses on areas with significant growth potential, particularly in the Outer Boroughs and suburban downtowns. Prior to RXR, Pinsky was Director of Mayor Bloomberg’s Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency, which developed a $20 billion plan to protect the City from climate change impacts. Pinsky also served at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, where he was President from 2008 to 2013. Prior to NYCEDC, Pinsky was an associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and a financial analyst at James D. Wolfensohn Inc. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Harvard Law School, and is an Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs.