Jennifer Bradley is the founding director of the Center for Urban Innovation at the Aspen Institute. The Center was created in 2015 to identify, connect, and support urban innovators – especially those working in or coming from underserved neighborhoods.
Prior to joining the Aspen Institute, Jennifer spent seven years as a fellow at the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. While at Brookings, she co-authored The Metropolitan Revolution (Brookings Press, 2013) with Bruce Katz. The book, which was widely praised and cited, explains the critical role of metropolitan areas in the country’s economy, society, and politics.
Jennifer has worked extensively on the challenges and opportunities of older industrial cities and has co-authored major economic turnaround strategies for Ohio and Michigan. She has also written for Newsweek, The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly, and Next American City.
A former attorney, Jennifer co-authored Supreme Court amicus briefs in cases that affirmed the constitutional powers of local governments and secured greater environmental protections, including the landmark case, Massachusetts v. EPA.
Jennifer has a J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, an MPhil from Oxford University, which she attended on a Rhodes Scholarship, and a B.A. from the University of Texas. She lives with her family in Washington, D.C.
Brookings Institution
Bankrolling the Metropolitan Revolution
Some of our largest cities are caught in a paradox. As the federal government is paralyzed by partisanship and limited by budgetary realities, cities and metropolitan areas are taking more responsibility for policy innovation and economic revitalization. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has said he “will not tie this city’s future to the dysfunction in Washington and Springfield.” Bruce Katz and I have called this shift in mindset and action The Metropolitan Revolution.
The Responsive City: Engaging Communities Through Data-Smart Governance
Policy experts Susan Crawford of Harvard University and Jennifer Bradley of the Brookings Institution discuss themes from Crawford’s new book about civic engagement, innovation and the role of tech and the Internet for Detroit and other major cities.
Detroit Panel: The Economics of the Sharing Economy
Airbnb, DogVacay, Uber, Lyft and TaskRabbit. A host of new platforms are transforming the economics of sharing. But what does their rapid spread mean for a city and its citizens? Is the sharing economy the future of employment, compensation, and exchange of value? As the trend reorients business, social and cultural norms, how can we ensure that cities and citizens become beneficiaries? TaskRabbit's Stacy Brown-Philpot, April Rinne of the World Economic Forum, NYU's Arun Sundararajan discuss the future of the sharing economy in this session from Techonomy Detroit 2014, moderated by Jennifer Bradley of the Brookings Institution.
Urban Evolution or Intelligent Design?
Traditionally, urban centers have grown around specific need: sustenance, trade and commerce, manufacturing, governance. Today, cities evolve around centers of critical information. How do you build a city for the 21st century? Should conventional urban specialization continue? Or do we need to start examining the opportunities posed by letting the urban garden run wild? Jennifer Bradley of the Brookings Institution, Justin Fox of the Harvard Business Review, Gabriella Gómez-Mont of the City Laboratory of Mexico City, the World Bank's Pedro Ortiz, and Columbia University's Saskia Sassen discuss. Watch video and read the complete transcript here.
Conferences
Policy 15
Techonomy Policy aims to bring a higher level of dialogue to the confluence of technology innovation and government. The need for the tech industry and Washington to better understand, engage and productively work together is crucial to the future of economic progress and social cohesion in our tech-enhanced, digitally-enabled times.
Conferences
Detroit 14
On September 16th, Techonomy returns to Detroit for our third annual Techonomy Detroit conference. We will continue the series of conversations we began at our first Techonomy Detroit in 2012 on how technology can boost U.S. economic growth, job creation and urban revival.
Conferences
Techonomy 13
A new society is coming into being. People around the world are building it using the rapidly-evolving tools of technology.
