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GCPE Lecture Series: The Path to a Just Future

April 5, 2019 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment
Spring 2019 Lecture Series

A transdisciplinary panel on how we move from ideas and proposals to implementation focused on organizing, advocacy, development of equitable planning policies, and setting us on a path to a just future.


RSVP to Taylor at tkabeary@pratt.edu. Free and open to the public.


The nation is at a crossroads. Political conditions in Washington and Albany have shifted yet again. This moment in our history feels as fraught as ever, with the potential for long-term progressive change tantalizingly close, yet still facing significant obstacles: hate, xenophobia, and a spate of “isms.” What visions have emerged to solidify progress and secure an equitable, just, and sustainable planet?

Alyssa Katz, Deputy Editor, The City, an independent, nonprofit news outlet dedicated to hard-hitting reporting.

Council member Carlos Menchaca, council member for the 38th District of the New York City Council. The district includes Sunset Park, Red Hook, Greenwood Heights, and portions of Borough Park, Dyker Heights, and Windsor Terrace.

Alexander Gleason, Director of Policy, Research, and Legislation of the New York City Central Labor Council. Alex is an adjunct professor at the Harry Van Arsdale Center at UNY Empire State College and NYU, where he teaches politics and public policy.


The Spring 2019 Lecture Series “From Inequality to a Just Future,” will examine the history of inequality and injustice in the United States to reveal how we can best organize and plan to redress those inequities. Together with thought leaders, activists, and advocates, we will discuss and debate: How has structural inequality manifested itself in the United States? What are some strategies to dismantle systemic racism? How are progressive movements responding to the changes in Washington and Albany and in our communities? What are the social, economic, environmental, and climate justice strategies for transformation in the near future and over the long-term?

The GCPE lecture series is moderated and curated by Eddie Bautista, Executive Director, NYCEJA and Ronald Shiffman, Professor Emeritus, Pratt Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment.

The series is sponsored by the Pratt Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.