How has Brooklyn become what it is—a place of nostalgia, imagination, or fantasy as much as a territorial space, an “outer borough” of New York City?  Isn’t it time to assess critically the rapid changes in the borough over the last decade?  With tremendous growth come certain costs, but how do we evaluate the present moment, poised between Brooklyn past and Brooklyn future?  How is “development” defined differently by different groups in different contexts?  Finally, how do Brooklyn’s diverse localities and populations reflect or even shape the future of New York, a global metropolis? 

This conference aims to be a space within which these and other questions will be addressed, discussed, even answered. The two-day gathering brings together more than fifty city planners, academics, journalists, activists, and creative artists from New York City and beyond to discuss the meaning of development in Brooklyn. Speakers will be addressing such topics as major development projects (for example, Coney Island and Atlantic Yards), politics, gentrification, the representation of Brooklyn in literature, and community activism.   In addition to twenty panels of presentations, the event will also feature guided visits to local sites, creative performances, and an art and design exhibition.