Soul of the City Program at University of Richmond Will Examine How Cities Can Change to Make Our Lives Better
December 19, 2002
The University of Richmond will present three lectures examining the question of how cities can change to make people's lives more beautiful and rewarding.
Called "The Soul of the City: Spirituality, Sustainability and the Arts," the spring urban practice and policy forum at the university will feature programs on the environment, "neighborly" communications and the arts.
Architect Renato Severino will kick off the series with a speech on "In Quest of the Ideal City" on Jan. 22. Margaret Wheatley, president of the Berkana Institute, will follow with "Turning to One Another" on Feb. 12. The series will conclude with a panel discussion "The City and the Arts: Current Challenges and Practical Applications" moderated by Kathy Panoff, executive director of the Modlin Center for the Arts, on March 19.
All events, which are free and open to the public, begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Modlin Center.
Severino is principal and chief designer of Renato Severino, Architects and Planners. He has designed buildings and projects throughout Europe, the United States, Latin America and Africa. He believes that urban design must move away from glorifying the machine and the industrial age and unite people in open and congenial communities. He is working on a plan to rejuvenate the city center of Greenwich, Conn., as a space for public gatherings for collective affirmation through the arts.
University of Richmond President William E. Cooper will introduce Severino and sign the Talloires Declaration at the lecture. Composed in 1990 at an international conference in Talloires, France, the declaration is the first official statement by university administrators of a commitment to environmental sustainability in higher education. The declaration is a 10-point action plan for incorporating sustainability and environmental literacy in teaching, research, operations and outreach at colleges and universities. It has been signed by more than 275 university presidents and chancellors in over 40 countries.
Wheatley is author of "Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future," which is written from the belief we might change the world if we just begin listening to one another again.
Joining Panoff on the arts panel will be Brad Armstrong, president of the Virginia Performing Arts Foundation; Jack Berry, executive director of Richmond Renaissance; Karen Lewis, executive director of Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts; and Rick Pender, managing editor of Citybeat Magazine in Cincinnati, Ohio.