The Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation hosted its inaugural Urban Innovation Summit from October 30 – November 1, 2017. The Summit was conceived to tackle vexing urban challenges using real-world projects identified by Lindy’s first class of Urban Innovation Fellows. The Summit showcased Drexel’s unique interdisciplinary approach to urban problem solving drawn from the talents of our faculty and students in our newly created Masters in Urban Strategy (MSUS) program. Multidisciplinary problem solving is a hallmark of the Lindy Institute’s mission and vision and the Summit brought together expertise from a variety of fields such engineering, environmental science, urban design, planning, policy, economics, creative placemaking, real estate and development, public health and criminology to create innovative approaches to the Fellows’ challenges.

Over the three days, interdisciplinary teams led by internationally renowned experts participated in a Fellows Forum to produce strategies that the Urban Innovation Fellows are carrying forward in collaboration with Lindy and the inaugural cohort of MSUS students in 2018. Leading members of the local urbanist community joined community members identified by the Fellows and undergraduate students on three workshop teams.  

The Summit culminated in the inaugural Drexel Dialogues: Urban Innovation in the Age of Trump, where guests like Bruce Katz and Jeremy Nowak shared global innovations which confront current urban challenges and show the way for an equitable and inclusive future. 

Watch the Video

Please watch this page for information on future Summits and please feel free to email lindyinstitute@drexel.edu with any questions.