URBAN COLLOQUIUM I FALL 2025
This fall, the MS Design and Urban Ecologies’ Urban Colloquium I explores the urgent need to rethink our relationship to land. It examines how treating land solely as a commodity has failed most communities across the city, showing how concentrated control and rising housing costs have become root causes of the homelessness and housing crisis in New York City. This speaker series will bring together progressive policymakers, land defenders, and community members to share their stories of struggle and resilience. Through these conversations, guest and students will discuss strategies and tactics that challenge existing norms and build a shared vision for the just, inclusive city we all want to live in.
Laws and Policies Created Without Empathy for the Homeless.
Wednesday, October 8, 2025, 4:15 to 5:15 pm
Room 601, New School University Center
63 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
Leah Goodridge is a nationally renowned lawyer, keynote speaker, and writer with a focus on housing policy. Goodridge was once highlighted in a sample sentence in the Merriam-Webster dictionary under the word “litigator.” Spending twelve years as a tenants’ rights attorney, Goodridge defended low-income New Yorkers in various Housing Court cases. Former New York City mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Goodridge to the Rent Guidelines Board, where she successfully advocated for citywide rent freezes for two million rent-stabilized tenants. Goodridge has authored 10 op-eds in major publications, including the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today and Teen Vogue.
