Geography 2050:
Exploring Our Future in an Urbanized World

Geography 2050 is a multi-year strategic dialog about the vital trends that will reshape the geography of our planet by 2050. In 2014, AGS mounted an “Expedition to the Future”, and a topic that prominently recurred through much of the dialog was “urbanization.” An ever increasing proportion of the world’s population will dwell in urban areas by 2050, even as the world’s total population swells by billions. The geographies of our urban habitats are poised to change radically by 2050, and the implications of this for local, regional, and global decision makers are significant and paramount to our well-being. The spatial-temporal processes and patterns that will reshape our cities – and the rest of the planet - are many and interrelated, and will manifest differently in different places over time. In short, there is no single “urban habitat” and it is imperative that we, as a global society, understand the variety and interconnectedness of the world’s towns, cities and mega-cities as they evolve by 2050

The AGS Fall Symposium brings together leaders in business, government, science, and education that might not otherwise have the opportunity to interact, and provides opportunities for discussion, debate, and collaboration to further the understanding of the future of our cities.

Welcome

Speaker

Dr. Jerome Dobson (President, American Geographical Society)

Introduction

Speaker

Dr. John Konarski (Chief Executive Officer, American Geographical Society)

The Geographic Implications of Migration, Immigration, and Resettlement

Speakers

Dr. Marie Price (Professor, George Washington University)

Ms. Nisha Agarwal (Commissioner, NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs)

Dr. Audrey Singer (Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution)

Dr. David Rain (Director of Undergraduate Studies, George Washington University)

The Future Geography of Economic Exclusion and Integration

Speakers

Dr. Deborah Popper (Professor, College of Staten Island)

Ms. Claudia Juech (Associate Vice President, Rockefeller Foundation)

Mr. Patrick Ellis (Human Geographer, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency)

Complexity, Multi-Dimensionality, and Vulnerability: The Future of Urbanization

Speakers

Dr. Richard Wolfel (Professor, U.S. Military Academy)

Dr. Amy Krakowka Richmond (Professor, U.S. Military Academy)

Dr. Mark Read (Deputy Head, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, U.S. Military Academy)

Emerging Urban Forms

Speakers

Dr. Christopher Tucker (Chief Executive Officer, MapStory Foundation)

Mr. Christopher Curry (Senior Executive Vice President, The Howard Hughes Corporation)

Future Game Changer: Vertical Farming

Speakers

Dr. Antoinette WinklerPrins (Director, Environmental Programs, John Hopkins University)

Dr. Dickson Despommier (Emeritus Professor of Microbiology and Public Health, Columbia University)

Big Cities = Big Data

Speakers

Mr. Anthony Quartaro (Chief Executive Officer, Spatial Networks)

Mr. Mikel Maron (Data Team Member, MapBox)

Mr. Anthony Calamito (Chief Technology Officer, Boundless)

The Future Role of Cities in the Geo-Strategic Landscape

Speakers

Mr. Keith Masback (Chief Executive Officer, U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation)

Ms. Susan Gordon (Deputy Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency)

Dr. Alexander Murphy (Professor, University of Oregon)

Dr. Lee Schwartz (The Geographer, U.S. Department of State)

Cities at Risk of Disaster

Speakers

Dr. Robert Chen (Director, Center for International Earth Science Information Network)

Dr. Ebru Gencer (Executive Director, Center for Urban Disaster Risk, Reduction and Resilience)

Mr. Jacob Rosengarten (Chief Enterprise Risk Officer, XL Catlin Group)

Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig (Senior Research Scientist, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies)

Sensing Urban Change from Above

Speakers

Hon. Jeffrey Harris (Chairman, Board of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation and the Open Geospatial Consortium)

Mr. Andrew Zolli (Director of Resilience and Impact Initiatives, Planet Labs)

Mr. Omar Balkissoon (Chief Executive Officer, OGSystems)

Mr. Brian Follmer (Vice President, Leidos)

Mr. Lawrie Jordan (Director of Imagery, ESRI)

Mr. Bryan Lane (Product Owner, Pixia Corporation)

Human Security in the Future Urban Habitat

Speakers

Mr. Al Di Leonardo (President and Chief Executive Officer, Human Geo)

Col. Patrick Mahaney (Director, U.S. Army Strategic Studies Group)

Dr. Melinda Laituri (Director, Geospatial Centroid at Colorado State University)

Urban Social Research and Technology Design

Speaker

Mr. Mitchell Sipus (Co-Founder, Symkala)

Investing in an Urban Future

Speakers

Ms. Adrianne Dicker Kadzinski (Chief Executive Officer, Structuring Strategic Capital LLC)

Mr. Christopher Jones (Vice President, Regional Plan Association)

Mr. Josh Wilkes (Portfolio Manager, Pine River Capital Management)

Mr. Dylan Hixon (President, Arden Road Investments)

AGS Honors and Awards Ceremony 2015

Speakers

Dr. Jerome Dobson (President, American Geographical Society)

Dr. Doug Sherman (Chair, AGS Honors Committee)

Dr. Martin Pasqualetti (2015 Alexander and Ilse Melamid Medal Recipient)

Keynote Address - Urbanization

Speaker

Dr. Joan Clos (Executive Director, U.N. Human Settlements Program)