CCNY President to lead dialogue on future of mass transit in US
Dr. Robert E. Paaswell, Interim President of The City College of New York (CCNY) and an internationally recognized transportation expert, will join award-winning executive producer Kathleen Hughes and Aaron Woolf, director of PBS’s “Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City,” for a panel discussion at the New York screening of the eye-opening documentary, Monday, June 14 at CCNY.
Hosted by CCNY’s Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies, both the film and subsequent discussion will be held in Shepard Hall, room 95, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. CCNY is located at 160 Convent Avenue, Manhattan.
“Beyond the Motor City” examines how Detroit, portrayed as a grim symbol of America’s diminishing status in the world, may come to represent the future of transportation and progress in America. Narrated by Miles O’Brien, the film explores Detroit's historic investments in infrastructure—from early 19th century canals to the urban freeways that earned it the nickname “The Motor City” and made America's transportation system the envy of the world.
But over the last 30 years, much of the world has left Detroit -- and America -- behind, choosing faster, cleaner, more modern transportation. In a journey that takes viewers into the neighborhoods of Detroit and then beyond to Spain, California, and Washington, D.C., the documentary urges Americans to ask how they can finally push the transportation system into the 21st century.
Part of the Blueprint America Screening Tour that has attracted city planners, urban growth experts, bike and transit advocates, and concerned citizens in heartland cities such as Memphis and St. Louis, the documentary and panel discussion aim to provoke public attention and energize debate on:
• New hopes for accessible, clean, and modern mass transit in America
• The role of cities, and consumers, in shaping the next generation of transportation systems
• A roadmap for revitalizing the way we move through our cities and neighborhoods.
The screening is free and open to the public. For more information, email
whouston@ccny.cuny.edu
or visit /powell for directions and a preview of the film.
“Blueprint America: Beyond the Motor City” is part of Blueprint America, a national, multi-platform initiative examining the state of America's transportation infrastructure. Blueprint America was created and produced by Thirteen for WNET.ORG and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Surdna Foundation.
About the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies
The Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies at The City College of New York is a nonpartisan educational, training and research center named for one of CCNY’s most distinguished graduates. Established in 1997, the Center's mission is to prepare new generations of publicly engaged leaders from populations previously underrepresented in public service and policy circles. The Center also seeks to build a strong culture of civic engagement at City College and to mobilize campus resources to meet pressing community needs and serve the public good. The Center focuses its efforts in areas of community and economic development, education, health care, environmental concerns, international development, and global security issues.