Friday, September 23, 2016
12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.

Ben Hecht
President and CEO, Living Cities

For generations, low-income people from around the world have viewed American cities as the best path to a better life. In recent decades, however, the promise of opportunity has been outstripped by reality. Moreover, when opportunities exist to further one’s education or get a better job, it can take too long, cost too much, or there may be other barriers—such as lack of access to broadband or child care. Our assumptions about how people access opportunity have remained largely static, tied to a mental model that causes us to repeatedly focus on traditional means of access, such as public transit or a car, and fails to harness all that technology can offer. We need a New Urban Practice: a fundamentally different way of solving problems and riding trends of change that can move the needle on poverty and economic opportunity in cities.