DATE:  Tuesday, September 21, 2021

TIME: 7PM-8PM EDT

“Throughout American history, a reconfiguring of society following a crisis often catapulted the nation forward. Shouldn’t today’s interrelated crises do so as well?”



Alex Krieger (Cornell ’74), a Research Professor in Practice of Urban Design at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, will share his research on historical exhibits of idealism and optimism in American society with a focus on our contemporary moment and how a recommitment to optimism can help us move together towards a more equitable and secure future. Alex’s talk will be followed by a Q&A session.



At Harvard, Alex studies forms of settlement, considering what aspirations and desires shape our towns, cities and urban regions. His work highlights the efforts, cultural trends, and beliefs about what makes a good neighborhood, a better town, or a more humane city, and considers some longer consequences of proceeding to build such places. He is the author of City on a Hill: Urban Idealism in America from the Puritans to the Present (2019). For a short introduction to his work, see his recent article on optimism during the current moment of crisis HERE.

Event questions: Meghan Brown ’13

Registration questions: Cole Johnston ’20