Intractable Democracy: Fifty Years of Community-Based Planning celebrates Pratt’s role in the evolution of community-based planning. It features practitioners, activists, students, academics, and enthusiasts—each approaching the field from a different angle, but all striving toward the same end: realizing a more just and inclusive city. Order your copy by mail at a cost of $20 inclusive of shipping.

Intractable Democracy tells part of our history; we invite you to scan our newsletters (on-line, at http://www.pratt.edu/gcpe/) for more of the story of how we are contemporizing our mission to at once educate and make a difference. We have strengthened our inter-discpilinary pedagogy, fully integrated sustainability, and launched important research and advocacy often in concert with the Pratt Center for Community Development.

Pratt’s planning program is unique in the nation in its ambition and pedagogy. We trust that you will be a continuing participant in our events and efforts. We hope that you will help us to train, motivate and propel the next generation of progressive planners.

Many thanks to those of you who already dug deep to help out—your name is inscribed in Intractable Democracy, the publication of our half-century mark. But it is not too late to augment or provide new, tax-deductable support to the next 50 years of progressive, community-centered planners at Pratt.

• Make your contribution online at http://www.pratt.edu/gcpe.
• OR mail your check to: Lacey Tauber, Pratt Institute, City and Regional Planning Program, 61 St. James Place, Room 206C north, Brooklyn, NY 11238. Make checks payable to Pratt Institute, but be sure to include “GCPE” in the memo line.
• AND for a lasting impact, become a GCPE Partner by signing up for a recurring gift. As a GCPE Partner, you will receive a complimentary copy of Intractable Democracy.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Friday, May 14, 2010

Opening

Welcome from John Shapiro and description of the 50th Anniversary Weekend events

Welcome from Host Committee Chairs Frank Fish and Sarah Wick

Introduction/Welcome from Thomas Schutte, President; Tom Hanrahan, Dean of Architecture

Keynote Speaker - Mitch Silver, President-Elect, American Planning Association

Rust Belt Road Trip Presentation

Cocktail Reception

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Check-In and Continental Breakfast

Welcome back from Frank Fish and Sarah Wick

Tom Hanrahan, Dean, School of Architecture
Speakers: Gary Hattem, DeutscheBank
Brad Lander, New York City Councilmember
Ron Shiffman, Professor

Breakout Sessions: Introduced by Adam Friedman, Director, Pratt Center for Community Development: "What is the Pratt ethic/pedagogy?"

Keynote: Roberta Gratz, "Looking through the Moses/Jacobs Lens"

Panel Discussion: "Does True Sustainability require Intractable Democracy?" with former Chairpersons, moderated by Eva Hanhardt, Founder, Pratt Institute Environmental Systems Management Program

Lunch, Pratt Institute Sculpture Garden Tour

Myrtle Avenue Open Studios Tour

Become a PSPD Partner!!

Becoming a PSPD partner helps us to improve the outstanding education we provide our future planners through scholarships that emphasize diversity, program assistance and additional program resources. To join us, please click here to make a tax-deductible donation.

Thank you for your support, and we look forward to seeing you in May!

This year, Pratt Institute's planning program celebrates its 50th year. On May 14th and 15th 2010, the Host and Welcome Committee members invite you to celebrate the program’s successes and honor the individuals who made the program what it is today.

Former Chairpersons, alumni, current students, new graduates, faculty, and community partners will spend a fun and engaging weekend celebrating the work of Ron Shiffman and the program’s eleven past chairs, and participating in lively, cross-generational dialogue. We will also host a panel discussion moderated by a special guest, urban critic and author (most recently of The Battle for Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs) Roberta Brandes Gratz. You will also have an opportunity to view the innovative work of our current students.

We begin Friday evening with a cocktail reception at 6:00 p.m., where you can mingle with students and catch up with old friends. Saturday morning starts with continental breakfast and remarks from Ron Shiffman, Pratt Center for Community Development Director Adam Friedman, and City Councilmember Brad Lander. It continues with roundtables then a panel discussion of the future of New York. Next, learn how we are adding to the dynamism of the Planning program with an interdisciplinary alliance, entitled Programs for Sustainable Planning and Development (PSPD). After lunch, join us for an optional tour of local public art and commercial revitalization efforts, including the Myrtle Windows Gallery and the SONYA Open Studio Stroll; or take a stroll through the main campus’s sculpture park.

We hope you are able to help us continue the impact of the program into the future. To make your tax-deductible contribution online, visit http://www.pratt.edu/gcpe. To donate by mail: Make checks payable to Pratt Institute, making sure to include “GCPE” in the memo line. Mail to: Pratt Institute, City and Regional Planning Program, 61 St. James Place, Room 206C north, Brooklyn, NY 11238, attention Lacey Tauber, Assistant to the Chair.

For even more impact, become a sustaining “GCPE Partner” by signing up for a recurring gift that provides long-term support of the program. As a GCPE Partner, you will also receive a complimentary copy of Intractable Democracy, a special-edition publication that takes a reflective look at community-based planning as carried out by current and past faculty, students, and alumni. The magazine includes interviews with former Chairpersons of the department. To become a GCPE Partner: Visit http://www.pratt.edu/gcpe.

Please RSVP for the event and the gallery tour by May 5, 2010 to prattplanning@gmail.com or call Lacey Tauber at (718) 399-4340. For updates on the event, visit http://www.pratt.edu/gcpe. Also, send digital photos of your Pratt years to the same address for a slideshow at the event.

Thank you for your time and support, and we look forward to seeing you in May.