Envisioning Urban Futures
Envisioning Urban Futures
Consider the daily paths you trace across your city—the streets, transit lines, and greenways shared by neighbors and wildlife. Now, what might that experience be like in 100 years? What would be different if we did things ‘right’? Come share your vision with us and together we’ll build a vision for our future together.
You are invited to Envisioning Urban Futures: On the Move, a space created for shared understanding and a collective exercise in imagining our future habitats. Under this year’s theme, an interdisciplinary mix of academics and practitioners will give short, TED-style talks designed to spark genuine dialogue and share bold visions for movement through urban spaces of the future.
Beyond the stage, an interactive expo will feature local organizers and creators demonstrating their visions for tomorrow. The experience will unfold through shared, sensory moments, pairing live music with food and drink crafted to make you reflect on future food systems. Together, these elements will offer an opportunity to slow down, connect deeply, and co-imagine how the way we move defines the places we call home.
Save the date for this event, which will take place on Wednesday, March 3, 2027, in Hunt Library on NC State’s Centennial Campus.
If you are interested in presenting as part of the event expo, please fill out this interest form by Tuesday, December 1.
Featured Speakers
- Andy Clarke is the Director of Strategy at Toole Design. He is at the forefront of the bicycling and walking movement, both in the United States and in Europe. He has spent his career trying to improve, analyze and explain complex national transportation policies, programs, and procedures so that state and local agency staff and community groups can create more bicycle-friendly and walkable communities.
- Roland Kays is a Research Professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at NC State and the Director of the Biodiversity & Earth Observation Lab at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. He is a scientist studying the ecology and conservation of mammals. Recently, he was part of a team that retraced the historic route of Lewis and Clark, comparing their wildlife observations with what our camera traps find today.
- Billy M. Williams is the Director of the Institute for Transportation Research and Education and a Professor in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering at NC State. He is an expert in transportation management, traffic operations, and traffic flow theory.
- Tab Combs is an Assistant Professor in City and Regional Planning at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research explores how city design and transit policies impact human behavior, the environment, and social equity. Ultimately, she aims to provide decision-makers with the insights needed to build healthier, more sustainable, and socially just communities.
About the Symposium
This symposium is jointly organized and sponsored by NC State University’s Peter A. Pappas Real Estate Development Program, the NC State University Libraries, and Outreach & Engagement. It is a core component of The Long View Project, which is generously supported by the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology & Science.
Read about our past events and view recordings of the talks:
- Envisioning Urban Futures: More-Than-Human Cities (January 2026)
- Envisioning Urban Futures: Charlanta (November 2024)
- Envisioning Urban Futures: The Cities of Tomorrow (October 2023)
For more information on this event, or to be added to an interest list, please reach out to Dr. Jory Weintraub, Director of Science Engagement ([email protected])