The symposium took place Monday, June 13, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Jorge Perez Architecture Center at the UM School of Architecture (1223 Dickinson Drive, Coral Gables, FL). Topics covered included Responding to Change and Building Resilience, Securing Housing Options for All, Investing in People and Communities for Upward Mobility, and Turning High School Neighborhoods into Resilient Communities, which included presentations from the Miami-Dade County Public School students who participated in the May 25 High School Charrette.
United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro kicked off the morning with a videotaped message to the attendees, thanking them for their efforts and hard work in voicing the needs of South Florida to the United Nations and the world.
U-SoA Dean Rudy el-Khoury opened the program, reiterating the importance of the symposium and how it relates to the upcoming Habitat 3 conference. “Miami is ground zero for sea level rise in the United States, and we are already seeing the effects of it,” el-Khoury said. “Today’s program helps provide a voice to the issues in Miami at the UN Habitat III Conference in Ecuador in October, and it’s outstanding to see high school students involved in the work.”
el-Khoury also spoke about U-SoA’s robust history of community engagement in South Florida. “The School is proud of its record of community engagement in SFL, in other US communities and abroad, including work with HUD, going back to the CUCD’s national HUD grant to work with West Grove community more than a decade ago, and so we are pleased to collaborate again with local HUD to host this event, and look forward to more opportunities in the future,” he said.
Lisa Marsh Ryerson, President of the AARP Foundation, presented the keynote address of the day during a working luncheon. She spoke of the needs of seniors and how current housing fails to meet those needs. ““Those in need know what they need,” she said. “We just need to listen.”
Ryerson also spent time addressing isolation versus community, and the negative effects of social isolation on people. “Social isolation can be as damaging to health as heavy smoking; connections are the lifeblood of our communities,” she said. “A town or city is only really well-built if its people can interact, can commune. Social isolation is a real risk.”
Sonia Chao, U-SoA professor and director of the Center for Urban and Community Design, was pleased with the day’s program. “The convening was an excellent opportunity for our School to collaborate with the local HUD office in preparation of the upcoming UN Habitat event,” she said.
Chao moderated the panel of presentations by the high school students after overseeing their work on May 25, with the students in her summer Resiliency and Preservation design studio. “Their understanding of issues and envisioning process were additionally enhanced by the participation of the Resilient Miami Initiative faculty, which is an interdisciplinary and inter-institutional ad-hoc group committed to working with local leaders to promote resiliency strategies,” Chao said.
Specific needs of vulnerable South Florida communities, including East Little Havana and Liberty City, were addressed by some of the day’s panelists:
- Anita Rodriguez of the East Little Havana Community Development Center pointed out that East Little Havana has some of the highest poverty rates in the state.
- Liberty City Rising, discussed by Albert Milo of Related Urban Group, will revitalize Liberty City, focused around Liberty Square, and provide opportunities for the residents.
- Miami has highest percentage of working households spending more than 1/2 of income on housing in the U.S., according to Bobbi Ibarra, Executive Director of Miami Homes for All, formerly the Miami Commission for the Homeless.
Full Agenda and Speakers:
8:00 am Registration and Coffee (Glasgow Hall)
8:45 am Welcome: University of Miami Dean of Architecture Rodolphe el-Khoury; HUD Regional Administrator Ed Jennings, Jr.; AARP Foundation President, Lisa Marsh Ryerson; Ford Foundation Senior Advisor of Equitable Development, Ana Marie Argilagos
9:15 am PANEL I: Responding to Change and Building Resilience, moderated by Jerrie G. Magruder, Resilience Officer, HUD Mississippi Field Office. Panelists: Katie Hagemann, Sustainability Initiatives Coordinator, Miami-Dade County; Amy Knowles, Deputy Resiliency Officer, City of Miami Beach; Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, FAIA, Malcolm Matheson Distinguished Professor of Architecture, University of Miami; Isabel Cosio Carballo, Executive Director, South Florida Regional Council; and Hana Eskra, Florida Market President, Gorman USA Developers10:30 am Coffee break
10:45 am PANEL II: Securing Housing Options for All, moderated by Michael Liu, Miami-Dade, PHCD Director. Panelists: Leroy Moore, COO, Housing Authority, City of Tampa; Albert Milo, Related Urban Group; Anita Rodriguez, CEO, East Little Havana, CDC; and Barbara (Bobbi) Ibarra, Executive Director, Miami Homes for All
Noon Working Lunch Keynote Speaker: Lisa Marsh Ryerson, President, AARP FOUNDATION (Korach Gallery)
1:30 pm Panel III: Turning High School Neighborhoods into Resilient Communities, moderated by Sonia Chao, Research Associate Professor, School of Architecture, Director – Center for Urban and Community Design, University of Miami
2:15 pm Panel IV: Investing in People and Communities for Upward Mobility, moderated by Mark Buchbinder. Panelists: Peter Wood, VP Health Foundation of South Florida; Gepsie Metellus, Executive Director Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center; Ned Murray, Professor, Florida International University Metropolitan Center; Ignacio Esteban, Chief Executive Officer, Florida Community Loan Fund; and Lyle Culver, Professor, Miami Dade College, School of Architecture and Interior Design
3:45 pm Closing Remarks: Harriet Tregoning, HUD Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Community Planning and Development
Partners to Building a Resilient South Florida: AARP Foundation, University of Miami, UM Center for Urban & Community Design, Miami-Dade Public Schools, Florida Memorial University, Miami-Dade College, Miami-Dade County, Good Government Initiative, South Florida Regional Council, Florida Community Loan Fund, Bank United, Atlanta Federal Reserve, Florida International University, Miami Homes for All, Beacon Council, Sant’ La Haitian Neighborhood Center, Alliance for Aging, Citibank, United Way, Knight Foundation, City of Miami Beach, and the South Florida Community Development Coalition
