Imagine 2050: Twin Cities Regional Planning in a New Social, Environmental, and Political Era

Connect with Metropolitan Council experts for an insightful and interactive exploration of the new regional development guide, and its implications. This program will highlight how the Met Council’s work, and how local compliance plans, will be developed and implemented in a substantially different environment than in the past. Our world has undergone significant changes over the past decade. Issues such as the housing crisis, racial disparities, climate change, federal politics, and economic challenges increasingly influence local planning decisions.

We look forward to you joining us as we dive into how Imagine 2050 addresses these contemporary issues, guides local communities in planning for their future, and what new regional projections foresee growth and transformation in the Twin Cities.

After the program, please join us for a for a satisfying happy hour at Noa.

3:45 PM – 4:15 PM – Registration at Stantec offices, 733 Marquette Avenue, Suite 1000
4:15 PM – 5:15 PM – Program
5:15 PM – Happy hour at Noa, IDS Center, 77 South 7th Street

Featured Guest Speakers

Eric Wojchik is a Planning Analyst at the Met Council, where he provides planning and technical assistance to metro communities to achieve local and regional goals, especially focused on sustainability and planning for resilience. Prior to working at the Council, Eric performed environmental planning work in the Hebridean Islands in Scotland for almost a decade, where sustainability planning is embedded into practice because of the need for self-sufficiency and efficient use of local resources. Eric brings much of this thinking to his Minnesota work. Eric has a Masters in Sustainable Development and a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning.

Todd Graham is principal forecaster at Metropolitan Council of the Twin Cities, where he provides project leadership in demography, economics, land use analysis, and forecast modeling. Previously, Todd was regional analysis manager for Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. He is currently the board chair of TwinCitiesResearch.org, a professional network of researchers.