Carnival: Governing, Designing, and Educating Urban Futures

Governing, Designing, and Educating Urban Futures is the title of the half-day symposium, as part of the Carnival programme of the 18^th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, co-hosted by the Council on Urban Initiatives, held on Thursday, August 31^st from 2:00 pm to 5:45 pm at the Teatro Piccolo Arsenale.

The Council on Urban Initiatives is a research and advocacy platform. It was established in partnership between UN-Habitat, UCL Institute of Innovation and Public Purpose, and LSE Cities in 2021 to promote just, green and healthy cities. It is co-chaired by Ricky Burdett and Mariana Mazzucato, who will moderating the event, alongside Lesley Lokko, curator of the Biennale Architettura 2024.

Bringing together mayors, social scientists, designers and educators, Governing, Designing, and Educating Urban Futures will investigate how innovations in urban governance, planning and education can bring about transformative change, with an emphasis on new, inclusive and socially progressive narratives.

The event will be structured into two sections. The first session will feature a panel on innovation in city governance to discuss the way in which different economic and delivery models can lead to positive change. A second panel with designers, planners and social scientists will explore how enduring spatial and educational frameworks lock cities into regressive environments that fail to promote inclusion and justice.

2:00 pm – 2:15 pm

Welcome greetings
Roberto Cicutto (President of La Biennale di Venezia)
Luigi Brugnaro (Mayor of Venice)

Opening Remarks
Lesley Lokko (Curator, Biennale Architettura 2023)           
Mariana Mazzucato (Director, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, and co-chair Council on Urban Initiatives)

2:15 pm – 3.45 pm
Session 1 - Governing Urban Futures: Financing and Negotiating Urban Transformations
Format: Roundtable Discussion

Speakers: Claudia López (Mayor of Bogota, Colombia), Ada Colau (Mayor of Barcelona, Spain), Soledad Núñez (former Minister for Housing and Habitat, Paraguay), Laura Lieto (Deputy Mayor of Naples, Italy)
Moderator: Mariana Mazzucato / Introduction: Mariana Mazzucato

Q&A with the audience

Break 3:45 pm – 4.00 pm

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Session 2 - Designing and Educating: Learning to Unlearn
Format: Roundtable discussion

Speakers: Dan Hill (Director, Melbourne School of Design), Rahul Mehrotra (Professor, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University), Alcinda Honwana (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs), Richard Sennett (Emeritus Professor of Sociology, LSE), Mariana Mazzucato

Moderator: Ricky Burdett (Director, LSE Cities and co-chair Council on Urban Initiatives)
Introduction: Richard Sennett

Q&A with the audience

5:30 pm – 5.45 pm

Closing Remarks
Mariana Mazzucato, Ricky Burdett, Lesley Lokko

Admission is free until capacity is reached.
Simultaneous translation service to and from Italian and English will be available.