Ellen Pearlman visits The Festival of Ideas for the New City, which took place on May 4-8th, 2011. A major new collaborative initiative in New York involving scores of Downtown organizations, from universities to arts institutions and community groups, working together to effect change. Organized around three central programs: a Conference of Symposia, a StreetFest and over one hundred independent projects and public events. The Festival served as a platform for artists, writers, architects, engineers, designers, urban farmers, planners, and thought leaders to exchange ideas, propose solutions, with the public invited to participate.
