Volume 34 – Symposium

2025 Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy Symposium

The Journal hosts an annual symposium at the University of Kansas School of Law. Speakers present articles and discuss an important public policy issue determined in advance by the Editorial Board. Articles submitted by symposium participants are published together in issue three of the Journal.

Cities of Tomorrow: Legal Approaches to Urban Health and Sustainability

Friday, February 28, 2025 | 9am – 4pm | Forum CD of the Burge Union

(Check-in begins at 8:30am)

The Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy proudly presents its annual symposium, Cities of Tomorrow: Legal Approaches to Urban Health and Sustainability. This year’s event will feature keynote addresses from scholars and practitioners exploring innovative legal and policy strategies to create healthier, more sustainable cities.

Speakers will address a range of topics, including environmental challenges in urban areas, public transit and mobility, and structural issues of race, class, and geography that shape economic development and urban policy. Join us for an engaging exploration of the future of urban living and the pathways to resilience.

Scholarship associated with the symposium will be published in a summer 2025 issue of the Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy.

Schedule:

8:30 – 9:00 a.m. | Check-in and Breakfast

9:00 – 9:15 a.m. | Welcome and Opening Remarks

  • Stephen Mazza, Dean and Professor of Law, University of Kansas School of Law
  • Emma Mays, Editor-in-Chief, Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy
  • Leah Stein, Symposium Editor, Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy

9:15 – 10:00 a.m. | Rebecca Bratspies, Director of the Center for Urban Environmental Reform, CUNY School of Law

  • Cities as Laboratories for Climate Innovation—Lessons from NYC

10:00 – 10:45 a.m. | Audrey McFarlane, Dean Julius Isaacson Professor of Law and Associate Dean of Faculty Research & Development, University of Baltimore School of Law

  • The Challenges of Wealth Inequality for Equitable Urban Development

10:45 – 11:00 a.m. | Morning Break

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Quinton Lucas, Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri

  • Keynote Address

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch Provided at Burge Union

1:00 – 1:45 p.m. | Chris Allen, Director of Events and Partnerships, Strong Towns

  • Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity

1:45 – 2:30 p.m. | Joel Mendez, Assistant Professor, University of Kansas Urban Planning Program

  • Building Healthy and Sustainable Cities: The Role of Equitable and Accessible Transit in Kansas

2:30 – 2:45 p.m. | Afternoon Break

2:45 – 3:45 p.m. | John Nolon, Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus and Co-Counsel of Land Use Law Center, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University

  • The Mysterious Power of Land Use Law: Constructing a Framework Law for Climate Resilient Development

3:45 – 3:50 p.m. | Closing Remarks

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