Hutchison caps ’21st Century City’ conference in Florence

Sociology Prof. Ray Hutchison of Urban and Regional Studies recently returned from Florence, Italy and the Everyday Life in the 21st Century City conference he organized for the Del Bianco Foundation.

Hutchison presented one of the three keynote talks, addressing the topic “When Austerity Came to the United States.” The other keynotes were by Derek Hyra, director of the Metropolitan Policy Center at American University, and Circe Monteiro, chair of Architecture and Planning at the Federal University Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil.

The three-day conference included some 45 speakers from more than a dozen countries including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, England, Israel, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Taiwan and the United States.  Sessions were organized around the themes of The Right to the City, The Well-Being Challenge, Neoliberal Urban Policy, Suburbanization and New Communities, and Urban Night Life.  Speakers included four persons who had presented papers at the first Everyday Life conference (Everyday Life in the Segmented City) in 2010.  Hutchison is currently working with the Del Bianco Foundation to plan a conference in June 2016 on the topic of Immigration: Crisis, Policies, and Remedies.

The snapshots here show 1) Participants en route to Capella Medici (the conference provided passes to Florence museums); 2) a tour of the Palazzo Coppini and the offices of Del Bianco Foundation; 3) Simone Giometti, secretary general of the Foundation, introducing one of the sessions; 4) Corinna Del Bianco at the opening plenary session, with Hutchison and Hyra at the table; and 5) Hutchison making a point.

(Click thumbnails to enter slideshow view.)

Photos submitted by Ray Hutchison