The Innovations in Economic Development Forum brings together faculty, other researchers, students, economic developers, and policymakers to discuss leading-edge ideas and practices in economic development and innovation policy. Established in 2004, the Forum meets three to four times per semester at Georgia Tech, usually in Technology Square. The Forum is free and open to the public.

Our spring semester 2009 innovations in economic development forum kicks off on February 4 with a presentation called Retrofitting Suburbia. Hear about innovative solutions to a problem plaguing cities of all sizes in Georgia.

Dr. Ellen Dunham-Jones is the director of the Architecture Program at Georgia Tech's College of Architecture.
Our spring semester 2009 innovations in economic development forum kicks off on February 4 with a presentation called Retrofitting Suburbia. Hear about innovative solutions to a problem plaguing cities of all sizes in Georgia.

The biggest development effort of the past 50 years has been the reproduction of a popular, but no longer sustainable, sprawling suburban landscape whose motor-vehicle dependency and consumer lifestyle have contributed to Americans' disproportionate carbon footprint. The major project for the next 50 years will entail retrofitting this landscape into more urban, more sustainable places. Drawing on her recently published book, Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs (co-authored with June Williamson), Ellen Dunham-Jones will discuss infrastructure innovations and demographic drivers already evident in scores of redeveloped shopping malls, office parks, commercial strips, and other suburban properties.

Co-sponsored by the Georgia Tech School of Public Policy and the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute