Kelbaugh Lecture: Emmanuel Pratt

Re-Mapping the Publics

Emmanuel’s talk offers a critical examination of how cities utilize public resources, labor, land, and materials to address challenges and plan for the future of the built environment. The conversation explores SWF’s  practice of re-mapping cities’ resources at its Communiversity to create true Common Wealth – the spaces, structures, networks, resources, and opportunities essential to mending the urban fabric, healing communities, and equipping our neighborhoods to thrive, rather than merely survive. The talk invites us to imagine: “What if??? What if…. neighborhood development took place on a human scale, fueled by the critical connections that cultivate the relationships and collective commitment to do the necessary work?”

About Emmanuel Pratt

Emmanuel Pratt is an Urban Designer, Artist, and MacArthur Fellow. He is the co-founder and Executive Director of Sweet Water Foundation. Emmanuel’s praxis is rooted in decades of work that interrogates the cross-sectionality of architecture, urban planning, agroecology, and human development. His work builds upon and moves beyond the theory of Communicative Action towards the creation of a new paradigm of Regenerative Neighborhood Development (RND). Emmanuel was a Harvard GSD Loeb Fellow in 2017, a 2019 Joyce Award recipient, and a 2019 MacArthur Fellow.

The Douglas S. Kelbaugh Lecture is generously funded through an endowed fund given by Douglas Kelbaugh and Kathleen Nolan to support an annual public lecture on the topic of urban design. The contributions of Douglas Kelbaugh, FAIA, FCNU, professor emeritus of architecture and urban and regional planning and dean emeritus of Taubman College, to the field of sustainable architecture and urban planning, the Taubman College community, cities, and the education of students will continue to create a positive impact in the world for years to come, including through the annual Kelbaugh Lecture.