On the occasion of the AERIAL FUTURES: Newburgh Enclosures, we invite you to join us for an evening of reflections, refreshments and jazz as three speakers share their insights and summaries from a one-day intensive think tank.
Situated 60 miles north of Manhattan, the once-grand and historic city of Newburgh has suffered the effects of economic stagnation, intergenerational poverty and post-industrial decline. However, Newburgh is beginning to rise once again. One of the most promising drivers for Newburgh’s economic development is its airport. After opening a few international flights in 2017, the airport began attracting unprecedented attention, passengers and new business. In 2018, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey rebranded SWF as New York Stewart International Airport, positioning it as New York’s Budget Flight Hub.
AERIAL FUTURES: Newburgh Enclosures examines New York Stewart International Airport (SWF) as a catalyst for development in Newburgh and its neighboring region. This public event will reflect on the outcomes and insights gained from a think tank taking place earlier in the day. Bringing together experts and industry professionals, the think tank asks how the airport is likely to impact Newburgh’s economy, agriculture, mobility, and civic life. How can the airport boost local tourism and transportation? What kind of jobs will have a positive impact on the local economy? How can the airport become more than just a travel hub?
In conjunction with AERIAL FUTURES: Newburgh Enclosures, architecture graduate students from the University of Pennsylvania have contributed research and design propositions for a site close to the airport that is a current regional bus station - the Shortline Transportation Center. The student projects add various programming from co-working, to food justice headquarters, to farming making the transportation center a food and leisure hub. The projects are varied, but they all see the site as a connector between the rural and the urban (as well as the global); making a gateway to the New York’s Hudson Valley. These projects will be exhibited during the public event.
The Destination
Stewart International Airport is stimulating the region with hundreds of jobs and thousands of new, international visitors. Newburgh can benefit from passenger growth and economic activity at the airport. Through its identity, pride and heritage, Newburgh - a destination, can draw visitors to stay, enhancing tourism and entrepreneurship.
Productive Landscape
The ecosystems of the Hudson Valley can be intricately local as well as global in their networks. Agriculture, rural and urban, is a particular asset to the region - it can be fostered and contribute to sustainability, commerce and well-being. From forestry and food industries to bird paths and water infrastructure, productive landscapes may be complementary to Stewart International Airport, Newburgh and Orange County.
Disruptive Journeys
The way we commute, deliver goods, and even cook a home-cooked meal are changing at a rapid speed. Connectivity between the airport, the city and the region will be redefined by new types of automation, artificial intelligence, and modes of living. These technologies offer promising solutions to cut costs and emissions in transportation, retail and logistics.
AERIAL FUTURES is a non-profit organization committed to interdisciplinary discourse on aerial infrastructure and its interdependencies. As a cultural platform and expert network, we curate salons, think tanks and public programs that provoke timely considerations of our aerial age to imagine the future of a connected multimodal world.
The AERIAL FUTURES agenda fosters leadership and disruptive thinking in an industry that is overwhelmingly technical and transactional. Beyond aviation, our program explores the interfaces of design, technology, policy, social sciences and the extended urban ecosystem that airports are part of.
AERIAL FUTURES: Newburgh Enclosures is in partnership with Department of Small Interventions; PennDesign (The University of Pennsylvania School of Design); The Port Authority of NY & NJ; New York Stewart International Airport; and the Workforce Development Institute.