Akron Roundtable: Akron Innerbelt

Date and Time

• Thursday, Jun 26, 2025  12pm

Location

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Details

Siqi Zhu
Director of Planning & Urban Technology
Associate Principal
Planner

Siqi brings a unique blend of expertise in planning, urban technology, and urban innovation to assist cities, developers, and institutions in tackling their most critical and strategic urban development challenges. As an Associate Principal based in Sasaki’s New York City office, he leads the firm’s planning and urban design practice in the city, as well as its growing Urban Technology practice.

Siqi’s work in Urban Technology revolves around the design and implementation of purposeful, responsible, and value-aligned technology applications in cities, with a focus on promoting sustainability, resilience, engagement, and value creation. His current projects include technology master plans for urban districts, urban data science initiatives, and the development of urban technology prototypes and pilots. This new practice builds upon Sasaki’s established strengths in planning and design, creating a holistic and integrated problem-solving capacity for clients seeking to address their diverse needs across space, technology, user experience, and strategy.

Prior to joining Sasaki, Siqi served as a Director of Planning and Project Delivery at Google/Sidewalk Labs, where he played a leading role in Quayside, Sidewalk Labs’ flagship real estate and urban innovation project in Toronto. Additionally, he spearheaded a $1 million technology incubation program focused on “urban streets of the future,” resulting in the creation of a first-of-its-kind curb management system prototype. Siqi’s experience also encompasses digital product development at Google and Envelope.city, along with planning, urban design, and data analytics projects for municipal, non-profit, developer, and university clients.
Siqi earned a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto. He teaches at Harvard’s Masters of Design Engineering program, focusing on the design and prototyping of speculative future technologies. Siqi is also an active member of ULI’s Technology and Innovation Council and the Urban Design Forum.

Mordecai Cargill
Co-founder and Creative Director
ThirdSpace Action Lab

Mordecai Cargill is a co-founder and Creative Director of ThirdSpace Action Lab and Third Space Café. Prior to starting this exciting venture, Mordecai served as the Director of Strategy, Research & Impact at Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (CNP), a community development funding intermediary committed to fostering inclusive neighborhoods of choice and opportunity throughout the city of Cleveland. Mordecai provided oversight and analysis for the implementation of the Cleveland Neighborhood Progress 2017-2021 Strategic Plan, focused primarily on 3 key areas of activity: Program Design and Evaluation; Research and Thought Leadership; and Partnership and Resource Development. After joining the CNP team in 2014 as Manager of Fund Development, Mordecai’s responsibilities included project management for strategic initiatives such as an Organizational Assessment (2014), and the planning process for the 2017-2021 Cleveland Neighborhood Progress Strategic Plan (2016). He also contributed to CNP’s emerging Policy, Advocacy & Research body of work, and co-led the organization’s efforts to elevate racial equity and inclusion as a citywide community development priority. Mordecai earned his BA in African American Studies from Yale University, with a concentration on Black Culture in the 20th Century. He was awarded the William Pickens Prize for his Senior Thesis entitled, “The Black Arts Iconography of John Coltrane.”

Part of Celebrate Akron! A 4-Part Bicentennial Series in 2025.

A special 4-part series that celebrates the future of Akron during the City’s Bicentennial celebration in 2025. Luncheons included in the series are April 17, 2025 – Akron’s Tech Hub, June 26, 2025 – Akron Innerbelt, September 18, 2025 – Housing and November 20, 2025 – Lighter Than Air.