Can we build a sustainable future in a time of distrust?
As an election year approaches, the U.S. is at an inflection point with regard to governance. This is especially true within the Ten Across geography, which includes the three largest states and distinctly different visions of the future, if not of democracy itself. Even within states, the divisions are pronounced as blue cities feel the weight of preemption laws brought on by red legislatures.
The major challenges of the 21st century will not be contained by political boundaries or jurisdictions; they demand coordinated solutions at scale. This is especially true in the Ten Across region where examples of energy transmission, water distribution, and climate driven migration are among the most urgent in the country.
All of the above requires innovation and confidence in institutions. At a time of growing polarization, is fact-driven analysis and consensus-building still possible? Will the common denominator of climate change pull us together or further segment the country?
Ronald Brownstein
Senior Editor, Atlantic, Senior Political Analyst, CNN
Ronald Brownstein is a senior editor at the Atlantic and senior political analyst at CNN. He is a two-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of presidential campaigns, and the author or editor of seven books, most recently Rock Me on The Water, a New York Times best-seller. Formerly the chief political correspondent and national affairs columnist for the Los Angeles Times, he is a winner of the Carey McWilliams award for lifetime journalistic achievement from the American Political Science Association.
Wellington Reiter [MODERATOR]
Founder, Ten Across (10X), Sr. Advisor to the President, Arizona State University
Duke Reiter is the Senior Advisor to the President of Arizona State University and the Executive Director of the University City Exchange at ASU. His portfolio features complex, multi-stakeholder projects involving university/city collaboration, sustainable urbanism, higher education and healthcare. Reiter was a key player in the conceptualization and creation of the award-winning Downtown Phoenix Campus for ASU. His current interests are captured in the Ten Across (10X) media project, a vision of the U.S. as revealed by the I-10 corridor stretching from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, a transect featuring the major challenges of the 21st century in the highest relief. Reiter is the Past President of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the former Dean of the College of Design at Arizona State University, and a long-time faculty member at MIT in the Department of Architecture.
The Pulse of Washington D.C.
