Speaker Series

The Tomorrow Plan Speaker Series is an implementation strategy of The Tomorrow Plan, offered as a resource to community leaders to learn best practices from some of the country’s leading thinkers.

The Speaker Series touches on a wide range of topics related to creating a high quality of life in metropolitan areas, including the sharing economy, the effects of transportation and housing on public health, walkability, water quality, public transit and more. Speakers and details of their talks are outlined below and will be updated as they are scheduled.


Materials from past speaking events are published on the MPO website:

Speaker James Chung: “Next Frontiers for a Standout City?”

Speaker Jeff Goodell: “The Water Will Rise”

Speaker Andrew Zolli: “Learning to Bounce Back: Creating Resilient Communities”

Speaker Jason Roberts: “Better Blocks Start with Residents”

Speaker Don Shoup: “Parkability: The Price and Politics of Parking” 

Speaker Brandon Palanker: “A Developer’s Take on Form-Based Code”

Speaker Maya Brennan: “Housing Matters for Iowa’s Economy

Speaker Daniel Parolek: “A Case for Missing-Middle Housing”

Speaker David Fields: “Walkability: Beyond Downtown”

Speakers John Norquist and RT Rybak: Walkability: The Politics and Payoff of Putting Walkability into Action

Speakers Carol Payne and Amy Slonim: Housing Matters Symposium

Speaker Maureen Collins: The Sharing Economy and Greater Des Moines

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