Tim Tompkins is a Fellow at the NYU Marron Institute. He works to understand and improve cities through SharedCitySharedSpace, which explores how the interaction of ideas, institutions, individuals and culture can contribute to prosperous and vibrant cities. Serving as the head of the Times Square Alliance from 2002 to 2020, he spearheaded the revitalization of Times Square’s public spaces and established Times Square Arts. He chaired the International Downtown Association and founded Partnerships for Parks, after working for NYC’s Economic Development Corporation and serving briefly as the Nationals Editor of the Mexico City News.

He is an Adjunct Professor of Urban Planning at NYU Wagner, where he teaches “Transforming Cities Equitably: Public Space, Partnerships, Politics & the Press” and “Arts, the Artist and Urban Transformation.” Tim’s expertise has led him to deliver keynote speeches on urban transformation in prominent cities worldwide, including Stockholm, London, Bilbao, Halifax, Mexico City, São Paolo, New Delhi, Barcelona, Tokyo, and Toronto. He has degrees from Yale and Wharton and has lived in New York, Paris, and Mexico City.