University of Pennsylvania Urban Law Forum

The Urban Law Forum would like to thank the over 100 people who attended our debate, "Urban Policy and the Presidency," on Thursday, April 17.  Also, thanks to our co-sponsors, the Penn Institute for Urban Research, Next American City magazine, and the law school.  You can learn more about the specifics of the event by reading the blog posts below.  Recently, NPR and Next American City reported on the event, and you can listen and read using the links below.

WNYC - Obama and Clinton on Urban Policies

Next American City - Urban Policy and the Presidency

Please check the website again closer to the end of the summer as the Urban Law Forum announces plans for the upcoming school year.

The Urban Law Forum will host a debate on urban policy between experts from the Clinton and Obama campaigns tomorrow, April 17, from 12:00 - 1:15 p.m. at the University of Pennsylvania Law School (3400 Chestnut St., Silverman Hall, Room 240B).  Please RSVP to urbanlawforum@law.upenn.edu if you are interested in attending.

The participants are (updated):

Robert Weissbourd, Chair of Obama Urban Policy Group, founder of RW Ventures, LLC, and former Executive Vice President of Shorebank Chicago Companies

Andrew Lamas, Obama campaign representative and Professor of Urban Studies, University of Pennsylvania

James Eisenhower, Clinton campaign representative, Partner and Chair of the Government and Regulatory Affairs Practice Group at Schnader, Harrison, Segal and Lewis, LLP

Gideon Parchomovsky, Moderator, Professor of Law, University of PennsylvaniaPlanned topics for discussion include: affordable housing, homeownership, the mortgage crisis, economic development, transportation, minimum wage, education, environmental justice, and municipal stances on gun control and eminent domain.

You may now view the event program and a relevant New York Times Op-Ed.

Urban Policy and the Presidency
Thursday, April 17, 12:00 - 1:15 p.m.
University of Pennsylvania Law School
Silverman Hall, Room 240B

Please join the Urban Law Forum for a panel debate between urban policy experts from the Clinton and Obama campaigns.  Lunch will be served at 12:00 p.m. and the debate will begin at 12:15 p.m.

Committed participants (biographies below) include:

Robert Weissbourd, Chair of Obama Urban Policy Group, founder of RW Ventures, LLC, and former Executive Vice President of Shorebank Chicago Companies

Laurie Actman, Member of Obama Urban Policy Group and Chief Policy Development Officer at Select Greater Philadelphia

James Eisenhower, Clinton campaign representative, Partner and Chair of the Government and Regulatory Affairs Practice Group at Schnader, Harrison, Segal and Lewis, LLP

Gideon Parchomovsky, Moderator, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania

 

The debate will focus on the federal government's role in urban policy and development in the context of the upcoming Democratic primary in Pennsylvania.  Topics for discussion include community and economic development (and federal programs including the Community Development Block Grant), housing (including Section 8, HOPE VI, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, and mixed-income housing), and environmental justice, as well as the impact of urban policies on minorities and the poor.

 

For more information, please contact David Gest at gest at law.upenn.edu.  Please RSVP to urbanlawforum at law.upenn.edu.

 

Co-Sponsored by the Penn Institute for Urban Research (http://www.upenn.edu/penniur) and Next American City magazine (http://americancity.org)

Participant biographies:

Robert Weissbourd (chair of Obama Urban Policy Group) founded RW Ventures, LLC in 2000.  Mr. Weissbourd had previously served for ten years in executive positions at Shorebank Corporation, including most recently as Executive Vice President of Shorebank Chicago Companies.  Mr. Weissbourd has been a frequent public speaker and guest lecturer, as well as author, on a broad range of urban markets, poverty, race, education, housing, and economic development issues.  He has also testified on these issues before federal, state and local legislatures.  Mr. Weissbourd has been active for over twenty five years in community and civic organizations, including service as President or Vice-President of the Boards of City Colleges of Chicago, Crossroads Fund, Businesspeople in the Public Interest, the Center for Neighborhood Technology and PROCAN, as well as on the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago Law School, and the Advisory Committees for the (Chicago) Mayor's Technology Advisory Committee, Brookings Metropolitan Economy Project and Brookings Urban Markets Initiative.  Before joining Shorebank, Mr. Weissbourd was a partner at Hartunian, Futterman & Howard, specializing in federal constitutional and class action litigation, school desegregation and representation of government and non-profit agencies.  Mr. Weissbourd clerked for federal Judge George Leighton, after receiving a J.D. from University of Chicago Law School and a B.A. from Yale University.

Laurie Actman (member of Obama Urban Policy Group) is the Chief Policy Development Officer at Select Greater Philadelphia.  Ms. Actman is responsible for developing and implementing the economy-building agenda of the CEO Council for Growth, an elite group of business and nonprofit executives committed to tri-state economic development.  Ms. Actman brings over ten years experience with organizations focused on economic development, transportation, advocacy and public policy and communications.  Since moving to Philadelphia she has developed and lead efforts to improve the region's climate for economic development by working with the private sector and elected officials at the federal, state and local levels.  Ms. Actman, who worked at the Brookings Institution and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Washington, D.C. for five years, graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in political science and holds a Masters Degree in Regional Planning and Economic Development from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

James Eisenhower (Clinton campaign representative), a Partner at Schnader, Harrison, Segal and Lewis, LLP, chairs the firm's Government and Regulatory Affairs Practice Group, co-chairs the Government Investigations, Corporate Compliance and Criminal Defense Group, and serves on the firm's political action committee.  He was the 2004 Democratic candidate for attorney general of Pennsylvania.  His practice emphasis is on government relations, criminal law, investigative services, ethics and election law and complex civil litigation.  His clients have included the housing authorities of several large cities, a number of current and former public officials, and national corporations.  Mr. Eisenhower graduated from Temple University with a degree in political science and received a J.D. from Antioch University School of Law.

Gideon Parchomovsky (moderator) specializes in intellectual property, property law, and cyber law. Parchomovsky has already made significant contributions to the field through his wide-ranging scholarship, having written numerous articles for major law reviews on liability rules, insider trading, trademarks, domain names, internal auctions and the integration game.  Most recently, he has been advocating the need for a comprehensive property theory and the need to introduce a value-oriented theory.

We had a great turnout on Saturday, March 29, for our inaugural Philadelphia Reality Tour.  After a visit to Mill Creek Urban Farm in West Philadelphia, we traveled to North Philly and toured Kensington with the Kensington Welfare Rights Union.  We then concluded with a lunch presentation at Project H.O.M.E.

You can learn more about the tour by viewing our tour packet, tour map, and tour photos.

Join the Urban Law Forum as we visit neighborhoods outside the Center City/University City area. The tour will take place on Saturday, March 29th from 11am - 3pm.

The tour will start with a first-hand view of the effect of de-industrialization in North Philadelphia. Along the way, we'll pass through neighborhoods that highlight certain aspects of daily life in lower-income areas (including vibrant churches, rehabilitation centers and assistance offices). While the specific participant agenda is still being finalized, we hope to be joined by experts with academic, non-profit and volunteer perspectives. The tour will also include a stop for lunch at a dynamic and progressive homeless advocacy and community economic development agency, where all the proceeds will directly benefit the organization's homeless residents.

Please RSVP ASAP, as space is limited. A contribution of $5-$10 may be required. To sign-up for the tour, or for more specific questions regarding the tour and the developing agenda, please contact Joanna Visser at jvisser at law.upenn.edu.