2025 Urban Resilience Forum: Call for Submissions

AIA Philadelphia, Green Building United, Preservation Alliance and ULI Philadelphia present the third annual Urban Resilience Forum to be held on Thursday, September 25, 2025, at Center for DesignPhiladelphia. The Urban Resilience Forum will bring together over 100 practitioners from across the real estate industry, including development, architecture, design, nonprofit, and government sectors to share and learn best practices for a more resilient and sustainable Philadelphia. 

We want to hear from you!

New for this year – more ways to engage, contribute and participate in the 2025 Urban Resilience Forum! We are seeking submissions for a wide range of sessions, from keynote speakers to poster boards showcasing urban resilience projects and case studies. 

2025 Urban Resilience Forum Themes 

This year’s event will focus on local and regional solutions to urban climate challenges in times of financial and national program uncertainty. Specific topics of interest include:  

• Investment Strategies, Funding Pathways, and Equitable Development  
• Resilient Housing Policies and Design Guidelines  
• Mitigation and Adaption to Climate Disasters (flooding, extreme heat, e.g.)  
• Adaptive Reuse  
• Localized Distributed Energy Networks  
• Regulation and Oversight of Resilience Policies  
• Planning and Zoning for Resilient Cities (building codes, regulatory framework governing development, e.g.)  

Submissions are encouraged to promote best practices, tools, and actionable strategies that can be implemented in Philadelphia and throughout the region, including Central PA, Lehigh Valley, Southern New Jersey, and Delaware. Submissions are open to national, regional, and local perspectives. Formats that will be considered: panels (either submitted as complete offering or event organizers will assemble panels); case study presentation; poster presentations. Complete submission details can be found here. 

Submit your session proposal by May 30!

Key Dates

• Submission Deadline: Friday, May 30, 2025 
• 2025 Urban Resilience Forum: Thursday, September 25, 9am – 1pm
  Center for DesignPhiladelphia1218 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107 

If you have further questions, email Christina Chavez at [email protected]  

Interested in attending the Forum? 

Sign up here to receive information for the 2025 Urban Resilience Forum event, including speaker and session announcements and online registration.  

Read the event summary from the 2024 Urban Resilience Forum here. 

Sponsorship Opportunities  

To increase the visibility of your firm and support the delivery of this program, please consider sponsorship. Click here to learn more about sponsorship opportunities for this event.  Commit today for the most exposure for your firm.