​Welcome to Binge Thinking. We invite professors and experts to give lectures in bars around Boston, NYC, and DC!

​In a world of AI slop, doomscrolling and brainrot, Binge Thinking brings real experts into real places for nights of learning, conversation, and community.

​Think Responsibly.

​Join us and grab a drink as we rethink the train station. What if your commute ended in a neighborhood you actually wanted to live in?

​🎁 BONUS: Get a chance to win a Metro Board!

​Every ticket holder is automatically entered to win a Metroboard from our friends at the Design Rules Company!

​TOPIC:
Missed Connections: How to Turn Transit Hubs into Complete Communities

​SPEAKER:
David Kooris, FAICP, Executive Director, Connecticut Municipal Development Authority (CMDA)

​Think about the last time you got off a train. Was there a coffee shop, a park, a place to live? Or just a giant parking lot and a sad vending machine? Across America, some of our most valuable land sits right next to train stations doing basically nothing.

​Connecticut is betting it can do better. Through the Connecticut Municipal Development Authority, towns across the state are turning station areas into places with homes, local businesses, and actual life on the sidewalks.

​In this talk, urban planner David Kooris, the leader behind that effort, takes us inside how it really happens: the vision, the money, the zoning fights, and the compromises. And he’ll show why the same playbook could work far beyond Connecticut.

​Topics include:

​Why transit-oriented development is a power move for housing, local businesses, and downtowns

​How communities around the world, and especially in the NY-NJ-CT tri-state area, are turning forgotten station land into walkable neighborhoods

​The real recipe for getting projects built: local vision, zoning reform, public infrastructure, private investment, and community buy-in

​The messy parts of growth, from affordability and parking to “neighborhood character”

​How to build more homes while keeping places great for the people already there and the ones on the way

​At its heart, this is a talk about getting people who usually disagree to build something together. Come find out how we stop missing the connection and start building places worth arriving at.

​About the Speaker

​David Kooris is the first executive director of Connecticut’s Municipal Development Authority (CMDA), a statewide quasi-public authority helping towns add homes around their downtowns and transit stations. Under his leadership, 45 municipalities have opted in, 23 development districts have been established, and this year’s state budget added another $25 million, bringing total state investment to $115 million. The results are starting to show, and local leaders are increasingly embracing the vision.

​An urbanism expert and Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners (FAICP), the highest honor in urban planning, David has lectured regularly at the Yale School of Architecture and at universities around the world. He has spent his career turning planning theory into real places. He is known for bringing competing interests together, from affordable housing advocates to economic development boosters, to build consensus around more housing where it makes the most sense.

​Before CMDA, he served as President of Stamford Downtown, Board Chair of the Connecticut Port Authority, Deputy Commissioner at the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Director of Resilience at the Connecticut Department of Housing, Director of Planning and Economic Development for the City of Bridgeport, and Vice President and Connecticut Director at Regional Plan Association. He holds a bachelor’s degree in urban studies and anthropology from McGill University and a master’s in city and regional planning from the University of Pennsylvania.

​Agenda

​7:00 PM - Doors Open (Grab a seat and drinks!)
7:30 PM - Lecture Begins
8:10 PM - Audience Q&A
8:30 PM - Drinks & Conversation (Metro Board Giveaway Winner Announced!)
9:00 PM - Event Ends

​*Giveaway Rules
To be eligible to win the Metro Board:

​1. Purchase a ticket to this event.
2. Attend in person. The winner must be present at the time of the draw.
3. One (1) winner will be announced at the event during Drinks & Conversation (8:30 PM).
4. One entry per ticket holder. If the winner isn’t present, we’ll draw again.