2016 Symposium

21st Century Neighborhoods: Research, Leadership, Transformation

More than 250 city leaders and experts from across the U.S. attended the inaugural 21st Century Neighborhoods Symposium in Baltimore, MD on Sept. 15-16, 2016.

This page provides an event recap, including videos and photos, and links to white papers, presentations, and media coverage.

Symposium Videos

Symposium Highlights (as featured above)

Place Matters Panel Highlights

Doing Well By Doing Good Panel Highlights

Neighborhood Safety Panel Highlights

The ABCs of Pre-K Expansion Panel Highlights

Day 1: Sept. 15, 2016 (Full Day, unedited). To jump to specific panels or speakers, view the video in YouTube and click on the corresponding time codes in the video description section.

Day 2: Sept. 16, 2016 (Full Morning, unedited). To jump to specific panels or speakers, view the video in YouTube and click on the corresponding time codes in the video description section.

Symposium Presentations

Click the links below to access the presentations from Day 2 of the symposium.

• Nathan Connolly: The Profitability of Segregation & Mapping Inequality
• Andrew Cherlin: The Effects of Parental Incarceration on Children
• Deborah Gross: Strengthening Parenting Capacities in Early Childhood: What Urban Leaders Should Know
• Andy Smarick: A Different Way for Mayors to Engage in Education
• Daniel Webster: Evidence and Partnerships to Guide Cities’ Efforts to Reduce Gun Violence
• Jon Links: A Call to Action: Taking a systems approach to solving problems in our cities

Symposium White Papers

The 21st Century Cities Initiative commissioned two white papers as background reports for the symposium, a literature review of place-based programs and policies and a study demographic shifts in cities across America. Click the links below to read the full papers, or click here to read summaries of the two white papers.

1. The Power of Place: Evaluating Policies to Transform Distressed Urban Neighborhoods by Laura Tach, Cornell University, Christopher Wimer, Columbia University and Allison Dwyer Emory, Cornell University
2. Urban Revitalization in U.S. Cities and Neighborhoods, 1990 to 2010, Ann Owens, University of Southern California

Federal-Local Partnerships Playbook

The 21st Century Cities Initiative released the Federal-Local Partnerships Playbook on Thursday, September 15th. The Playbook is designed as an interactive, Gitbook resource for teams of federal employees working with local communities on place-based initiatives to address stubborn challenges or respond to crises. 

Media Coverage

• Camden mayor sees improvements with federal help
• Mayor Kasim Reed Participates in inaugural 21st Century Neighborhoods Symposium at Johns Hopkins University
• Johns Hopkins Symposium to Bring Local Leaders to Baltimore
• Cities working for change: Johns Hopkins event brings together leaders from across the country
• Sunlight at the 21st Century Neighborhoods Symposium: How humanizing data will improve our communities