Join the Department of City and Regional Planning at Cornell AAP for a multi-day symposium including keynote remarks, individual presentations, and facilitated workshops with leaders in planning who are changing cities, communities, and the discipline.
CRPConnect! will take place October 22–24, 2026, on Cornell’s Ithaca Campus. Come to connect with current faculty and students, reunite with former classmates, cultivate professional connections, find a mentor, meet prospective interns, and enjoy the Ithaca area.
Now Open!
Registration
Showcasing a diversity of expertise in housing, climate change, community engagement, transportation, informal settlements, and more, we’re coming together to celebrate our achievements, identify our challenges, and chart a path forward for CRP and the field at large.
Accommodations
A block of rooms at Hotel Ithaca is being held for symposium guests. Make your reservation.
If you need support with accommodations, we have a limited number of students, staff, and faculty who have the capacity to host guests. Please reach out to lindashi@cornell.edu with interest.
Programming
Thursday, October 22
Welcome Reception
5–7 p.m.
Abby and Howard Milstein Auditorium and Sibley Urban Commons
Friday, October 23
Opening Plenary
9–10:30 a.m.
- State of AAP with Dean J. Meejin Yoon
- State of CRP with Chair Sophie Oldfield
- Alumni Panel: What does a cutting-edge and transformative CRP look like in ten years? w/ Zhilin Liu, Antoine Bryant, and Sudeshna Mitra
Break
10:30–10:45 a.m.
Parallel Panels Session 1
10:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
West Sibley Classrooms
- Future of CRP in Rome: A Workshop w/ Simone Mangili, Nick Klein, Nancy Brooks, and Neema Kudva
- Intersection of Professional and Academic Planning in Cleveland w/ Mitch Glass
- Climate Adaptation and Resilience w/ Linda Shi, Malembe Dumont Copero, Phoebe White, and Julián Jaramillo
- Intergenerational Dialogues in Gender-Inclusive Planning: Women’s Planning Forum panel – Rui Xie
Lunch
12:15–1:15 p.m.
Parallel Panels Session 2
1:15–2:30 p.m.
- Future of CRP in NYC: A Workshop w/ Suzanne Charles and Bob Balder
- Community Engagement in Planning: Listening, Learning, and Action w/ Jocelyn Poe, Michaela Tsapatsaris, Ash Kopetsky, Celeste Frye, LaToya Thomas, and John Forester
- Beyond Armoring: Navigating Climate Adaptation Decisions Across New York w/ Rewa Phansalkar, Anjali Fisher, and Anushi Garg
- Building Communities: Innovations in Real Estate Development and Financing w/ Jeremy Zaborowski, Matthew Roland, and Ken Kalynchuk
- Designing Places: Urban Form, Landscape, and Democracy w/ Roger Trancik, Deni Ruggeri, Isabel Fernandez, Bob Balder, and Hobum Moon
Coffee Break
2:30–3 p.m.
Sibley Urban Commons
Plenary 2
3–4:30 p.m.
Milstein Auditorium
Keynote Panel: Celebration of Innovative, Hopeful Planning Practices
- Gretchen Worth, project director, Susan Christopherson Center (M.P.S. ’19, M.A. HPP ’20)
- Baye Adofo-Wilson, developer (M.R.P. ’94)
- Anshul Mishra, managing director, Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (M.R.P. ’21)
- Andrés Blanco, IDB (Ph.D. CRP ’10)
Social Hour
5–6:30 p.m.
Sibley Urban Commons
hosted by Student Organizations
Saturday, October 24
Career Pathways Exploration
8:30–9:30 a.m.
- Mid-to-Advanced Career Networking: Walk along Beebe Lake to Coffee Break at Botanical Gardens
- Early-to-Mid Career Explorations: Breakout groups in West Sibley Classrooms
- Prospective Ph.D. Students: Workshopping applications with faculty
Parallel Panels Session 3
9:45–11 a.m.
- Design Connect: Building on the Past and Planning for the Future
- Committing to Equity and Repair Across Generations: Evolving Practices and Imperatives w/ Mildred Warner, Nick Klein, Jocelyn Poe, Catalina Marshall, and Jubek Yongo-Bure
- Data-Driven Infrastructure and Climate Planning w/ Madison Lore, Eva Birk, Jason Tax, Keaton Wetzel, and Boyang Sa
- Land Matters: Planning, Zoning, and Property in Transition w/ Kelwin Harris, Daniel Mckenna-Foster, Anshul Mishra, Owen Deitcher, and Harvey Jacobs
- Designing Better Gatherings: Tools to Transform You, Your Practice, and Your Communities w/ Joni Palmer, Amy Bell, and Andrew Fearnside
Coffee Break
11–11:15 a.m.
Parallel Panels Session 4
11:15 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- Messaging Planning’s Value and Impact: A Workshop w/ Jamie McCleod
- Equity Planning in the Face of Conflict w/ Ken Reardon, Courtney Knapp, Harley Etienne, Ellen Lafferty, and Ella Redmond
- Climate Storytelling: Planning Through Art w/ Hassan Saleem and Sabina Sethi Unni
- Planning for Heritage: Preservation, Place, and Change w/ Duncan Hilchey, Andrew Roblee, Kamalika Bose
- World Cafe on the Future of Urban Transportation w/ William Wong
Lunch
12:30–1:30 p.m.
Milstein Dome
CRP Alumni Workshop
1:30–3:30 p.m.
What is the future of CRP, and how can alumni engage to achieve that vision?
- Sam Carney, Director of Career Services, Moderator
- Lindsay Ortiz, Director of Strategic Planning, Camoin Associates (M.R.P. ’15)
- Pamela Mikus, Owner Principal at Premiant Development, LLC (M.R.P. ’94)
- Joe Keithley, Keithley Fellowship (U.R.S. ’71)
Closing Plenary
3:30–4 p.m.
Closing Reception
4–5 p.m.
hosted by the Cornell Planning Alumni Organization
