The physical and cultural changes in Harlem and NYC will be explored in a symposium to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Architect's Renewal Committee in Harlem. The event will be held at CCNY's Aaron Davis Hall.
Grants from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies and the West Harlem Development Corporation (WHDC), in the amount of $10,000 each, were awarded to support ARCH @ 60: “Bridging Past Visions and Present Realities,” a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Architects’ Renewal Committee (ARCH) in Harlem at CCNY’s J Max Bond Center for Urban Futures, Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture on Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16 at CCNY’s Aaron Davis Hall. The event critically examines the current shifts and their relative causes in the physical and cultural transformations of Harlem and New York City.
ARCH, established in 1964 by C. Richard Hatch, is recognized as one of the first community design centers in the U.S. It emerged during a period marked by the civil rights movement, anti-Vietnam War protests, and the burgeoning environmental movement. ARCH was instrumental in opposing urban renewal projects that threatened to dismantle communities in Harlem. The organization’s interdisciplinary approach, involving architects, planners, advocates, organizers, and educators, was pivotal in addressing the diverse needs of Harlem residents and community-based organizations.
The symposium will serve as a forum for critical information and knowledge exchange on community development, gentrification, housing financialization, and the impact of highly evolved market forces. Professionals, researchers, and citizen panelists will explore the relevance of the nonprofit community design center model in today’s context, the market forces that shape Harlem’s development, and the roles of policy and activism in supporting the production of affordable housing.
Events are free and open to the public but registration is required.
On Friday at 5.30 p.m., the keynote lecture, "Race, Gentrification and the Financialization of Housing", will be given by Dr. Seumalu Elora Lee Raymond, director, Ph.D. Program and assistant professor of City & Regional Planning at Georgia Institute of Technology, with a response from Moses Gates, vice president for Housing and Neighborhood Planning at the Regional Plan Association, immediately after.
The keynote is co-sponsored by the New York Chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (nycoba|NOMA); AIANY Diversity and Inclusion Committee and is this year's AIANY J Max Bond, Jr. Lecture.
On Saturday, program introduction and welcoming remarks begin at 10 a.m.
The panels are:
10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Panel 1: Community Design in Harlem, Then and Now
Moderator: Venesa Alicea-Chuqui, Kean University; Brian Goldstein, Swarthmore College; Wayne Benjamin, Land Use, Community Board 12; Melvin Mitchell, Bryant Mitchell Architects; Roberta Washington, Roberta Washington Architects
1:30 PM - 2:50 PM
Panel 2: Housing Harlem
Moderator: Milton Curry, Cornell University Department of Architecture; Dominique Bernucca-Hood, Met Council on Housing; Gregory Baggett, APRSNA; Yvonne Stennett, Community League of the Heights; Kirk Goodrich, Monadnock Development
3:15 PM - 4:35 PM
Panel 3: 125th Street & the Shift of the Private Sector
Moderator: Shawn Rickenbacker, J. Max Bond Center, Spitzer School of Architecture, CCNY; Curtis Archer, Harlem Community Development Corporation; Kenneth Knuckles, New York City Planning Commission; Marc Norman, New York University, Schack Institute of Real Estate; Maxine Griffith, Trinity Church Wall Street
Closing remarks are at 4:35 p.m.
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Thea Klapwald
e:
tklapwald@ccny.cuny.edu