2025 marks 400 years since the Dutch confiscated land inhabited by the Lenape, and New York City was founded in what is known as the Financial District (FiDi). To mark the 400th, Invent City proposes to showcase the potential of FiDi as a carbon net zero city.

Evolving FiDi into a carbon net zero zone would attract the growth area of critical industries to NYC. It would create jobs and bring in tax revenues. It would would help NYC thrive in a climate changing world, and one with a higher quality of life.

CARBON NET ZERO, A $12 TRILLION ECONOMY.

Invent City's strategy starts with identifying key components of carbon net zero industrial building blocks. These building blocks, together, will achieve $12 trillion global sales annually by 2030. In comparison, the US economy currently is $25 trillion.

START IN FIDI, LAUNCH TO THE DEVELOPED WORLD.

NYC is arguably the best location for a carbon net zero city, but the opportunity to capture the carbon net zero crown is not permanent. The window of opportunity will close.

A LARGER URGENCY AND OPPORTUNITY MAY BE THE DEVELOPING WORLD.

By 2100 Lagos is projected to be over 4 times the size NYC is today.

CARBON NET ZERO IS AN ECONOMIC JUGGERNAUT.

Info on Economics

Info on Investment

RAMPING UP TO CARBON NET ZERO WITH A PORTFOLIO OF EVENTS.

Catalysts.- Frequent, topic focused, 50-75 person, action-oriented events designed to create projects that are the building blocks of a carbon net zero city. Catalyst #1 was at Tesla in 2012 and was sponsored by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce.

Summits. Larger and less frequent, Summits bring together catalyst based projects to create more comprehensive, investment grade solutions.

Micro, Urban World's Fair. Proposed for FIDI with a projected 5 million visitors (10% of NYC’s 1964/65 Fair) with millions more virtually, the Fair will bring together all aspects of a carbon net zero city.

JOIN THE BUILDING PROCESS WITH CATALYSTS.

Catalyst #12 Carbon Net Zero City, December 2022. Cities cover 3% of the earth’s land surface yet are responsible for more than 70% of all carbon emissions. Successfully addressing climate change requires cities going carbon net zero. This catalyst will develop a roadmap for a carbon net zero city.

Catalyst #13 Transportation Transformation, January 2023. EVs, Citibike, scooters, congestion pricing, rebidding of NYC Ferries, DOT's various RFEIs on micro cargo distribution are all part of an evolving NYC transportation ecosystem. This catalyst will use these activities and create a transportation strategy for carbon net zero

Catalyst #14 Neighborhood Energy Districts, February 2023. The growth of the EV will tax an already dodgy electrical grid. This catalyst will explore the potential of deploying solar, wind, water turbines and fuel cells in FiDi as part of a sustainable energy strategy for FiDi.

Catalyst #15 Urban Nervous System, March 2023. AI, 5G, IoT, blockchain and even the metaverse are components to an urban nervous system. This catalyst will develop an plan on how this nervous system can improve the local quality of life, grow the local economy and better ensure a strong energy paradigm.

A MICRO, URBAN WORLD'S FAIR IN 2025.

To mark NYC's 400th, and to put this effort to make NYC the urban tech capital of the world, Invent City proposes a special event, NYC's 4th World's Fair in FiDi in 2025. While this would be a much different fair, World's Fairs have a rich history of promoting innovation, including the elevator safety lock showcased at NYC fair #1 in Bryant Park in 1853. The safety lock made skyscrapers, and today's NYC possible. The extensive visibility will enable participating companies to cross the classic valley of death and into positive cash flow.

City and Year	Major Innovation(s)
London 1851	Metal, glass prefabrication
NYC 1853	Elevator safety lock.
Philadelphia 1876	Telephone, typwriter
Paris 1878	Outdoor electric lighting.
Paris 1889	Gas-powered automobile, Eifel Tower.
Chicago 1893	The zipper, Ferris wheel, dishwasher.
St. Louis 1904	X-rays, wireless telegraph, electricity.
San Francisco 1915	Kodachrome photos.
NYC 1939	Broadcast television, air conditioner.
NYC 1964	Color television, computers, videophones.
Osaka 1970	Mobile phone, first IMAX.
Hannover 2001	Hydrogen car.
Shanghai 2010	Pod car.

PROMOTE YOUR INNOVATION?

For information on sponsorhing a Catalyst, Summit or World's Fair, please contact Invent City.

Sponsorships

INVENT CITY IS ABOUT CREATING SOLUTIONS.

Past participants in the INVENTropolis pilot series: 11th Hour Racing, AutoShare, BCycle, Bird, Blue Phoenix, BMW, BMW I Ventures, Bronx River Alliance, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Cisco, Coda, Con Edison, the Durst Organization, EnerKnol, Plugless Power, Google, Governing Dynamics, Hub NYC, IBM, Lime, Lyft, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance, MTB Ayiti (Haiti), Nextbike, NYC Chief Fleet Officer, NYC Department of City Planning, NYC Mayor’s Office, NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission, NYCLHV Clean Cities, NYIT School of Management, Oonee Pod, Revolution X, Roadify, Sailors for the Sea, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Spin, Sam Schwartz Engineering, Sobi, Terreform One, Tesla, TransAlt, Trek Bicycles, Veolia, Worksman Cycles...

Special Guests, Mayor David Miller (ex-Toronto), Mayor Dawn Zimmer (ex-Hoboken), Charles Komanoff (Economist), Mark Gorton (Entrepreneur), David Rockefeller, Jr...

THE KEY TO A CARBON NET ZERO CITY IS INFRASTRUCTURE.

Before any proposals for pedestrianization or slow streets, the movement of people and package needs to be addressed. Invent City already has a detailed infrastructure plan that incorporates a network of neighborhood hubs and an urban nervous system. The network of neighborhood hubs follows intitiatives by the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT), the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), City Council and the Borough of Manhattan President's Office. For a recent RFEI response, please click the button below.

Neighborhood Hubs

TEAM OF URBAN EXPERTS

Invent City is an economic initiative led by an exploratory team of entrepreneurs, economists, architects, and other urbanists proposing to showcase how the Financial District could become carbon net zero.


		Seema Thomas has been working on community development challenges domestically and internationally for the past two decades. Princeton (MPA), Harvard (MUP), Penn (BSE Engineering).
		Jeff Olson co-founded Alta Bicycle Share, which launched CitiBike. He co-owns re:Charge-e, wireless charging for micromobility and authored The Third Mode - Towards a Green Society. SUNY - Empire State College (MA), RPI (BArch).
		Paul Mondesire leads community relations efforts for urban projects. He currently heads Policy and Community Engagement for Superpedestrian and is critical to its expansion into 50 markets. SUNY Binghamton.
		Star Childs founded Ginkgo, an intelligent geospatial data platform for neighborhood communities to centralize information about economic development, planning, people, and infrastructure. Yale (MEM), Cornell (BS).
		Alibe Hamacher (Innovative Global Advisement) is an expert on the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, produces the YouTube channel Alibe’s Sustainable World. John Jay (MPA, BASc), LaGuardia CC (AA).
		Ismael Betancourt, Jr. founded IF-MC-CA-DI, a 501c3 affiliated with the UN. IF-MA-CA-DI focuses on Puerto Rico and the South Bronx. Harvard (MBA), City University (MA), Columbia (BA).
		Michael King works with progressive cities, campuses, developers, and NGO's to advance a green mobility ethos. He explores and understandings clients’ history and potential, develops forward-thinking initiatives, and works together to implement. He envisions the city of tomorrow for those living and prospering in it, not driving through it. Columbia (MArch), Washington University (BA).
		Peter Meitzler is currently field operations manager for Joco. Formerly he was a co-manager for Battery Swap Operations, Battery Charging Management, at Citi Bike. He owns Manhattan Rickshaws. City University of New York (Masters, Sustainability), Michigan (BA).
		Anita Godecki is the COO, Central and Eastern Europe for SummitNuSolutions. Anita creates and promotes sustainability solutions on assignments in North America and the EU. She is responsible for customer demographics, marketing campaigns, establishing strategic alliances. Seton Hall (MA, Diplomacy and International Relations).
		Steven R. Maimon, President and CEO SummitNuSolutions. Previously, McDonald-Douglas Aerospace, Booz-Allen-Hamilton, USPS - Member of team that privatized it. Launched 3 Tech Transfer and Commercialization and 2 Trade Companies. Practical Innovator and Solutioneer in diverse industries. Has done business in 53 countries. MIT (MS SysMgmt), Drexel (BS ME, MS BioMed).
		David Faulkner has developed and deployed innovative retail concepts on four continents and created tens of millions of dollars of value for top brands including Gap, Nordstom, Bank of America, Capital One and Bose. Yale (MArch), Vasser (BA).
		Jim Cohen is the CEO of iEventsmedia.com and has been creating, launching, and selling successful events and sponsorships for over 20 years. Has recruited, managed, and led global conference and exhibitions teams from Russia, Europe and here in the US. Syracuse - The Maxwell School (BS, Public Policy and Economics).
		Steven Balinsky is the CEO and Co-Founder at The Hub Bicycles and Co-founder and Partner at Flatiron Project Management. E-bikes are only half of the micromobility and bike delivery equation, the less glamorous half is maintenance and repair. City College (MS), Sci-Arc, Pratt (Bachelors).
		Gregg Zumann is a leader in commercialization of high-performance Live-electric Vehicle (LV) logistics, installations, and infrastructure. He is founder and CEO at cyclecab services firm Revolution Rickshaws, L.L.C., and its commercial cycletruck solutions offshoot Revolution X. He has served as sales rep for U.K. LV maker Cycles Maximus since 2005 and co-founded the New York City Pedicab Owners’ Association. Vermont, Occidental (BA).
		Tom Glendening worked for NYC City Planning. Projects in private sector, repurposed disused retail center (London, UK), reclaimed land confiscated by Third Reich (Leipzig, Germany), on the team that optimized global facilities portfolio for OEM and developed initial facilities strategy to support fuel cell vehicles, and founded Hoboken's first bike share. Launched Inventropolis. Harvard (MBA), Yale (MArch), Virginia (BS).