Urban Spaceship Will Land In Milwaukee

The second annual Urban Spaceship conference will focus on the future of cities in a post-pandemic world.

And while the pandemic is still ongoing, conference hosts NEWaukee and NAIOP Wisconsin are looking to the future. The in-person event will take place November 9 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at No Studios, 1037 W. McKinley Ave., in The Brewery District.

The conference is a spiritual successor to the Empty Storefronts conference the two organizations ran for five years. The conference sought to serve as a platform to exchange ideas and strategies for filling vacant storefronts and addressing blight. Urban Spaceship has a broader focus, with a target of identifying actionable items and sparking ideas that can improve cities.

Speakers include RINKA principal Chad Griswold, developer Juli Kaufmann, architect Chris Socha, Department of City Development Commissioner Lafayette Crump, Milwaukee Riverkeeper Cheryl Nenn, developer Que El-Amin, community builder Nick O’Brien, landscape architect Tom Mortenson, real estate technology entrepreneur Naveen Kankate, lobbyist Steve Baas, UW-Milwaukee architecture professors Mo Zell and Alex Timmer and Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District engineer Patrick Elliott.

Panel topics include “live, work and play – the urban way,” modular furniture and entrepreneurial infrastructure for vacant storefronts, the revitalization of the Kinnickinnic River and the expansion of Interstate 94.

Yours truly will be moderating a panel in the afternoon on “rehumanizing transit and a focus on the last mile.” Panelists include Vaughn Roland of dockless scooter operator Bird, Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic and Milwaukee County Transit System manager of planning Jeff Sponcia.

Two of the presentations will be given by remote speakers. Natalia Krysiak from Cities for Play will discuss how to build cities for children and Barry Hand and Justin Rankin of architecture firm Gensler will discuss how corporate headquarters development can transform communities. Two local representatives of AARP Wisconsin will give a presentation along with AARP’s national director of livable communities on how to design cities for seniors.

The event is presented by Greenfire Management Services, with support from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, City of Milwaukee, The Kubala Washatko Architects, RINKA, MMSD and Town Bank.

Urban Spaceship was originally launched as a podcast in 2020 by NEWaukee’s Jeremy Fojut alongside fellow urban advocates Montavius Jones and Michael Bradley.

Want to go to the event for free? Urban Milwaukee has 10 tickets available for its members. Claim yours today.

Not a member? Tickets are available for $25.