When: Feb. 9th – 17th, 2019
Where: Turner & Townsend
6th Floor 55 Spring Gardens
Manchester, M2 2BY
United Kingdom
Who: University of Pennsylvania School of Design, University of Texas Austin School of Architecture, University of Texas Austin Center for Transportation Research, UK2070 Commission, WSP, Regional Plan Association (RPA), CT Next, Turner & Townsend, Northern Powerhouse BEIS, IPPR North, Leeds City Council, Core Cities UK, University College London (UCL), CLES (Centre for Local Economic Strategies), North West Business Leadership Team, London First, Steer Group, Space Syntax, Transport for the North (TfN), Peel Holdings, Cardiff University, Commonwealth Association of Planners, University of Manchester, and the Royal Town Planning Institute among others.
What: The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) are engaged in a joint CM2 funded research-education project to investigate the potential for strategic investments in transportation infrastructure that would transform the economy of cities and regions that have fallen behind larger, more successful metropolitan places in two of America’s largest megaregions: the Northeast and the Texas Triangle. As part of this project, teams of Master’s degree and PhD candidates from both universities will participate in a week-long Charrette in Manchester, England. The Charrette is being hosted by the UK 2070 Commission, an independent commission being led by Lord Kerslake, which is investigating similar trends in the United Kingdom. While in Manchester, Penn and UT Austin team members will also engage with leaders of the Northern Powerhouse initiative, the UK’s $100 billion initiative to build two new high-speed rail lines and upgrade motorways as part of a broader initiative to revitalize the economy of several disadvantaged mid-size cities across the North of England. This charrette provides a unique opportunity for CM2 researchers and students from multiple institutions to learn from international initiatives that address megaregional mobility as well as conduct technology transfer of current CM2 research at a global scale.