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Urban Sustainability Forum Archive

A listing of Urban Sustainability Forum speakers is provided below. Links to video footage and Powerpoint presentations are included whenever possible.

PAST 2007 SPEAKERS A dynamic presentation on One Planet Communities closed the third year of our ever-popular Urban Sustainability Forum featuring nationally and internationally recognized leaders that discussing ways we can transform Seattle into a 21st century city that is climate-neutral, pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented, community-focused, and sustainably designed. Where possible, powerpoint presentations are available to download. Additionally, video footage of many of the presentations are freely available to download and view via the Seattle Channel.

		Monday December 10 One Planet Communities: Creating the Greenest neighborhoods in North America 5.00-5.30pm Presenter & Artist Reception 5.30-7.00pm Main Presentation Seattle City Hall 600 Fourth Ave, Seattle, WA View Event Flyer View Presentation FEATURING: Greg Searle, One Planet Communities MEET THE ARTIST:Perri Lynch, Velocity Made Good Perri joins us thanks to sponsorship by the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs.

		Monday November 19 Healthy Parks, Schools, and Communities: the Urban Green Movement FEATURING: Robert Garcia, The City Project View presentation View Event Flyer Download map showing "Park Access and Schools for Children of Color Living in Poverty with No Access to a Car" in Los Angeles County Download map showing "Child Obesity, Poverty, People of Color, and Green Space by County" in California View SeaGreen Project Awards presentation

		BETTERBRICKS AWARDS! Thursday October 25 Investing in Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy FEATURING: Nancy Floyd, Nth Power Please visit www.betterbricksawards.com

		Thursday, October 4 To Zero & Beyond FEATURING: Steven Strong, Solar Design Associates View Event Flyer

		Wednesday October 3 What a false sense of security, I'm afraid at every crosswalk! FEATURING: John Moffat, Pedestrian Safety Expert View the event or download the video from Seattle Channel View Event Flyer During John Moffat's engaging & informative presentation, John suggested the following: 1. Build needed sidewalks and improved crosswalks in Seattle 2. Continue the terrific program of traffic calming of neighborhood streets 3. Use "Road Diets' as appropriate to make arterial streets "self policing" 4. Hold motorists responsible when a) they fail to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks b) they drive too fast for conditions 5. Supprt police enforcement of pedestrian protection laws a) community needs to ask for help b) Council needs to support Chief of Police and cops c) Activists need to support activity. Learn more about Road Diets Learn more about Traffic Calming Learn more about Targeted Crosswalk Enforcement - Evaluation of the effectiveness of the tactic in a case/control study - Washington traffic safety Commission support for Enforcement - Powerpoint presentation by George Branyan, State of Maryland - Perils for Pedestrians TV Show Episode

		Wednesday, September 12 Cascadia Scorecard 2007: How Green Is OUR City? FEATURING: Steve Nicholas, Director, Office of Sustainability & Environment moderated a discussion between panelists Alan Thein Durning, Executive Director, Sightline Instituteand Warren Karlenzig, Chief Strategy Officer, Sustainlane View the event or download the video from Seattle Channel View Event Flyer Launched in 2004, the Cascadia Scorecard is Sightline Institute's index of sustainability for the Northwest. Developed by Sighltine's research team, the Scorecard tracks the region's performance on trends crtitical to the region's future--and estimates how many years the region is from reaching a real-world model for each indicator. The 2007 Scorecard has just been released - join us to find out about Seattle's progress. How Green is Your City? is the outcome of a sustainability study involving the largest 50 cities in the US, compiled by SustainLane in 2006. This study, also known as the SustainLane US City Rankings, measures each city's performance in 15 areas of urban sustainability. The resulting comparisons provide a snapshot of urban sustainability in the US today. Join us to find out where Seattle ranks: which is somewhere between Portland, Oregon, who leads the pack with its high quality of life and commitment to green building, local food, alternative fuels and renewable energy, and Columbus, Ohio, with its dependence on the automobile and poor public transit, ranks at the bottom.

		Thursday August 9 Livable Communities: Solutions to Global Warming FEATURING: Rep. Earl Blumenauer, US Congress, Oregon's 3rd District View the event or download the video from Seattle Channel View event flyer ABOUT THE PRESENTER: Please click here to learn more about the nation’s foremost spokesperson for Livable Communities, Congressman Blumenauer, and many of his innovative accomplishments in transportation, planning, environmental programs and public participation. ABOUT THE RECEPTION: At 4.30pm we enjoyed a Jazz Reception featuring Michael Catts and Reshard Radford, co-hosted by the Mayor's Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, and sustainably catered by Herban Feast. ABOUT THE EVENT: The footprint and design of our communities play a critical role in our ability to meet our climate change goals and our ability to tackle global warming. Whether it’s public policies and investments in transportation, water, schools, public safety, waste facilities, and parks – or private investment in commercial buildings, shopping areas, industrial facilities and individual homes – these decisions have an immediate and long term impact on our energy, our lifestyles, and the legacy we leave behind. The Livable Communities movement - making places safe, healthy, and economically secure - is no longer just about stimulating the economy by attracting key businesses and educated workers; it’s about setting a new course for a future that is environmentally and economically sustainable.

		Monday July 30 Safe & Walkable Communities By Design FEATURING: Dr Anne Vernez Moudon, Professor of Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design and Planning; Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology and Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle View the event or download the video from Seattle Channel View presentation View event flyer ABOUT THE PRESENTER: Please click here to learn about Dr Moudon's distinguished career and publications. ABOUT THE EVENT: Walking, along with bicycling, should be considered the most promising means of travel: it is friendliest to the environment, healthiest for individuals, and cheapest for society. Seattle and King County are uniquely fortunate to have many neighborhoods where, for most people, walking is an alternative to driving. These neighborhoods have side- and cross-walks, and close-by places to go to for everyday needs. Bus service is good and transit patronage strong and growing. Yet many more neighborhoods could be made more walkable and safer, bringing the greater Seattle area closer to being the showcase sustainable metropolitan region it wants to be. Dr. Moudon will share research showing how much people walk, where they do so in Seattle and King County, and what characteristics of neighborhood design best support walking. She will introduce tools developed for transportation planning and for health promotion that help identify where investments in pedestrian infrastructure would enhance safety and be most judicious and effective in getting more people to walk.

Janet Ranganathan		Monday June 18 Restoring Nature’s Capital: An Action Agenda to Sustain Ecosystem Services FEATURING: Janet Ranganathan, World Resources Institute. Download Restoring Nature’s Capital: An Action Agenda to Sustain Ecosystem Service View event flyer ABOUT THE EVENT: The findings of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a four year effort involving over 1,300 scientists from 96 countries, shows that over the last 50 years human activity has altered nature’s systems at a faster rate and on a larger scale than at any time in human history. The capacity of nature’s systems, the wetlands, marine, coastal, forests, inland water to name just a few, to provide essential services such as food, water, fiber, carbon storage, flood, and disease and climate control has been degraded. Of the 24 services assessed, only four were increasing, while 15 were in decline and five were stable globally, although in trouble in some regions. In short, the Assessment results are tantamount to red lights flashing on nature’s control console - at a time when demand for nature’s services has never been higher and is set to grow further to meet the needs of an expanding population and growing economies. This talk will provide an overview of the Assessment findings and discuss their implications for development drawing on the recommendations of a recent WRI publication, Restoring Nature’s Capital: An Action Agenda to Sustain Ecosystem Service.

Andy Lipkis		Wednesday May 30 Helping Nature Heal Our Cities FEATURING: Andy Lipkis, President, TreePeople View event flyer Visit TreepeopleWebsite ABOUT THE PRESENTER: A guiding light internationally for the citizen forestry movement, across the country and around the world, Andy has addressed and assisted groups and agencies involved in the linked issues of environment, urban forestry, sustainability, water and energy use. These include: the United Nations, Canada’s Katimavik Youth Corps, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.K. National Urban Forestry Unit, the U.S. Forest Service, the Greenhouse Crisis Foundation, Greening Australia, American Society of Civil Engineers, and many others. Andy’s awards and honors come from groups as diverse as the Baha’I Faith, Daughters of the American Revolution, National Arbor Day Foundation, the California State Board of Forestry and the South Coast Air Quality Management District. In 1991, President Bush named TreePeople the 44Oth Point of Light. In 1998, Andy was honored as Founder of the Year at National Philanthropy Day. Both Andy and his wife Kate Lipkis were named to the UN Environment Programme’s Global 500 Roll of Honour, and hold an American Forests’ Lifetime Achievement Award.

Bob Berkebile Jonathan Westeinde Danny Godinez		Tuesday May 1 The Commission for Environmental Cooperation Green Building in 2030 and Beyond: A North American Perspective FEATURING: Bob Berkebile, Principal, BNIM Architects, Kansas City, Missouri Jonathan Westeinde, Managing Partner, Windmill Development Group, Vancouver, BC Jose Picciotto, Founder, Picciotto Architects, Mexico City View event flyer or log on to www.cec.org/greenbuilding/symposium for more information. The Urban Sustainability Forum is proud to partner with the CEC to host this evening's event as part of an international symposium on on green building on 1-2 May 2007 in Seattle. Join over three hundred architects, planners, policy makers and companies pioneering green building in North America to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing this emerging industry. The event is part of a public consultation process for an independent study launched by the CEC Secretariat with the aid of a 20-member, international advisory group. Four background papers will be presented on 1 May, with a public forum hosted by the CEC’s Joint Public Advisory Committee on the following day. Discussion from both days will help inform the report’s policy recommendations to the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States. Special Thanks to The Mayor's Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs for hosting Seattle based guitarist Danny Godinez as part of our opening reception. Godinez has a crafty lyrical sense that captivates listeners and has won critical praise. He received a Seattle Weekly Music Award for "Best Jam / Groove Category" and is currently working on his first solo release.


Ed Mazria		Wednesday April 25 Living Future 2007 Resuscitating a Dying World: the 2030 °Challenge FEATURING: Ed Mazria, AIA View event flyer or log on to www.cascadiagbc.org for more information. Ed Mazria, AIA is the founder of Architecture 2030, a non-traditional and flexible organization focused on protecting our global environment. Mr Mazria's architecture and planning projects span over a thirty-year period and each employs a cutting-edge environmental approach to its design. His published material includes technical papers, articles for professional magazines, and a number of published works including The Passive Solar Energy Book published by Rodale Press. He outlines his strategy for addressing today's most pressing global challenge, climate change, in his article "It's the Architecture Stupid!" (Solar Today) and in subsequent pieces "Turning Down the Global Thermostat" (Metropolis) and "Blueprint for Disaster" (On Earth). In Conjuntion with: 'Living Future 2007' this year's regional green building conference, hosted by an AIA Seattle and Cascadia Region Green Building Council collaboration, from April 25-27 at the Seattle Center Pavilion A. For more information see our Event Calendar, the AIA Seattle website, or the Cascadia website.

		Tuesday, February 20 The 2010 Imperative: Global Emergency Teach-In Architecture 2030 + America Speaks View event flyer or log on to www.2010imperative.org for archived information In the US, buildings are responsible for almost half (48%) of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually; globally the percentage is even greater. To address the Building Sector's role in climate change, Architecture 2030, in partnership with AmericaSpeaks, is hosting a Global Emergency Teach-in. Seattle's Urban Sustainability Forum, together with AIA Seattle is delighted to provide a forum for you to experience presentations by leaders at the forefront of design and climate change, and participate in an extensive question and answer session, where participants around the world can query the expert panelists in real time. There will also be an action-oriented discussion on implementing The 2030 Challenge and The 2010 Imperative. A highly interactive approach will allow participants to learn from and educate the panelists and each other. Panelists include. - Susan Szenasy, Editor in Chief of Metropolis Magazine; - Dr. James Hansen, Director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies - Edward Mazria, AIA, Founder of Architecture 2030, and - Dr. Chris Luebkeman, Director of Arup's Global Foresight and Innovation Initiative

		Thursday February 15 A New Paradigm: Sustainable Infrastructure FEATURING: Steve Allbee View event flyer Too often we take for granted the natural and built systems that keep our city alive and vibrant. Steve will share his thoughts on how we must adopt sustainability principles so that future generations can meet their needs and enjoy the beauty and services of our cities. Steve presents five strategies: asset management; knowledge transfer; systems approach; leadership and excellence; and, innovation that offer a pathway to sustainable infrastructure systems. Steve Allbee, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water Project Director of the Gap Analysis, is principal author of The Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis, a comprehensive national level assessment, published by USEPA in September 2002, often cited as a primary source document in articulating the challenges ahead for America’s water and wastewater systems. Of late, the central point of his work is on promoting advanced asset management approaches as a pathway toward sustainable water and wastewater services for the 21st Century.

2006 SPEAKERS

		Greening Hospital and Health Care Facilities - Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006 Virginia Mason, Lindeman Pavilion View event flyer This half-day seminar was designed to promote high-performance, green healthcare facilities in Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. The seminar featured healthcare executives that are proving how high-performance green buildings are a wise business investment and support strategic business goals. Ray Crerand with BetterBricks Scott Slotterback (pictured) with Kaiser Permanente. View presentation. Presentation notes Richard Beam with Providence Health & Services. View presentation. Presentation notes Adele Houghton with Green Guide for Health Care. View presentation. Presentation notes. The seminar included an overview of the Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC), a high-performance and healthy building initiative developed specifically for health care institutions and facilities, and two in-depth case studies of high-performance green healthcare facilities, presented by the project team represented by the owner, architect and engineer. View the OHSU Kohler Pavilion GGHC Case Study View the Washington State Veterans Home LEED Gold Case Study

		BetterBricks Leadership Awards Breakfast - Friday, Oct. 27, 2006 Bell Harbor, Pier 66, Seattle View event flyer In addition to honoring the people behind the best projects in the NorthWest for their support, use and design of sustainable, high performance, commercial buildings with a special emphasis on energy efficiency in the Northwest, the Betterbricks award program featured a nationally known leader in the commercial building arena. Scott Muldavin, president of The Muldavin Company, Inc., and consultant to many of the nation’s leading real estate companies for 25 years. Muldavin presented the latest findings from the Green Building Finance Consortium. This consortium was formed by private sector real estate companies and trade groups to develop value and risk assessment models and practices to evaluate green building investment from both a “fiduciary” and social perspective. Muldavin discussed the current decision-making practices of green building investors, as well as the obstacles and considerations of those who have yet to invest. He provided insights into how due diligence/underwriting and valuation practices must change to break down remaining “barriers to entry". Additional Award Sponsors: Seattle City Light, Puget Sound Energy, Snohomish Public Utility District, Tacoma Power


		Principal Based Planning, Development and Investment - Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006 Seattle City Hall View event flyer \| View Seattle Channel video Jonathan F.P. Rose, urban visionary and president of Jonathan Rose Companies LLC, a network of land-use planning and development firms. Rose designs and executes socially conscious real estate projects that promote community-based development and smart growth. A jazz reception followed Mr. Rose's remarks and featured the Victor Noriega Trio. Voted "Best Emerging Artist" by Earshot Jazz, Mr. Noriega is an original voice in jazz piano. Presented in partnership with the Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs. For information on upcoming concerts, please got to www.noriegamusic.com.


		Rising Gas Prices: Consumer Crisis or Wake-Up Call? - Monday, August 28, 2006 Seattle Central Library View event flyer \| View presentation Robert Dunphy, Senior Resident Fellow, Transportation and Infrastructure, Urban Land Institute. The rapid run-up of gas prices created sticker shock for motorists and called for action by government to do something about it. Dunphy shared his research on consumer willingness to change travel habits and housing choices in order to reduce the cost of travel. He explored options for real estate development that gives people more travel choices and is supported by market trends, as well as some of the practical impediments to their success. Dunphy offered ideas for actions that citizens can take to turn this crisis in family budgets into an opportunity to create a more pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented Seattle.


		Green Urbanism: Learning from European & N. American Cities - Monday, June 19, 2006 Seattle Central Library View event flyer \| View presentation Tim Beatley, Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities, Dept. of Urban and Environmental Planning, University of Virginia School of Architecture. A believer that cities hold much potential for addressing global environmental issues, reconnecting us to nature and each other, and dramatically reducing our ecological footprints, Beatley shared innovative ideas for creating highly livable urban environments. His presentation included insights from 30 leading European cities that are using green urbanism strategies. Beatley is author of Green Urbanism: Learning from European Cities (Island Press, 2000) and Native to Nowhere: Sustaining Home and Community in the Global Age (Island Press 2004).


		Topology/Typology: Different Urban Landscapes - Monday, June 5, 2006 Seattle Central Library Walter Hood, an internationally acclaimed landscape architect who serves as professor in the Landscape Architecture Department at UC Berkeley and is principal of Hood Design in Oakland, CA. Hood's work has spanned a variety of settings, including architecture, urban design, community planning, environmental art, and research. His firm designed the gardens and landscape for the New De Young Museum, San Francisco with Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron. And his work was recently featured in the “Open” New Designs For Public Spaces, Van Allen Institute, NY.


		Celebrating Water in Urban Design - Monday, May 8, 2006 Seattle Central Library View event flyer Dieter Grau, Landscape Architect, Principal, Atelier Dreiseitl, Oberlingen, Germany. Grau shared successful approaches to linking water, existing parks, private plazas, rights-of-way, and new open spaces in ways that create a more unified public realm and a wonderful walking experience. A key team member at Atelier Dreiseitl since 1994, Grau has flare and expertise in project management, open space planning and project implementation. His particular speciality is combining river restoration with artistic and recreational interventions. He has managed several key projects, including Backumer Tal, Lanferbach, Hannover-Münden, and the restoration and redevelopment of an urban section of the river Volme. Grau coedited the recently published book Waterscapes—Planning, Building and Designing with Water (Birkhäuser Press).


		"Too Hot Not to Handle," premiere Seattle screening of HBO documentary on global warming - Thursday, April 13, 2006: premiere screening, discussion and reception View flyer - Friday, April 14, 2006: three community screenings View flyer Presented by Mayor Greg Nickels and Executive Producer Laurie David, HBO's documentary illustrates the effects of global warming in the U.S. and some of the solutions already taking place.


		Building an Environmental Ethic - Monday, April 10, 2006 Seattle Central Library View event flyer Ray Cole, Professor, School of Architecture, University of British Columbia, Canada. Public awareness of climate change and environmental degradation is set amidst a host of other pressing concerns that include national security, volatile energy prices and over-taxed infrastructures. Ray Cole's presentation explored the matching of technological and cultural advance and subsequent user expectation and acceptance of innovative environmental systems, the role of buildings in nurturing an environmental ethic, and the ways that building environmental assessment methods are transforming the culture of building practice.


		The High Cost of Free Parking - Thursday, March 2, 2006 UW Architecture Hall View event flyer \| View map Article from Daily Journal of Commerce Donald Shoup, Professor of Urban Planning, UCLA. Shoup argues that the average parking space costs more than the average car and that when we shop, dine out, or see a movie, we pay indirectly for parking because its cost is included in the price of everything from hamburgers to housing. At this presentation Shoup demonstrated that free parking has other costs: it distorts transportation choices, warps urban form, and degrades the environment. Surprisingly, Shoup estimated that (1) if all U.S. parking spaces were combined into one surface lot, it would be the size of Connecticut; and (2) every year we spend as much to subsidize off-street parking as we spend for Medicare or national defense. Affiliations: This event was part of the UW PRAXIS Lecture Series. Additional Sponsors: Seattle Dept. of Transportation, Seattle City Planning

		The Future of Green Building - Monday, Jan. 30, 2006 Seattle City Hall View event flyer \| View presentation (4.5MB PDF) Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chairman, U.S. Green Building Council. Without a doubt, green building has entered the mainstream. In recent years the number of sustainably built structures has increased exponentially and every day media outlets around the world report knowledgeably on the benefits and opportunities they provide. But all this attention is just the foundation for the ripple effects that occur when a green building becomes part of a community. Rick Fedrizzi offered his perspective on how these ripples are fundamentally changing our community landscapes and what’s in store for the future.



2005 SPEAKERS


		Creating Livable Cities with Urban Green Space* - Monday, December 5, 2005 Seattle City Hall View event flyer View presentation (22MB PDF) Mike Houck, Director, Urban Greenspaces Institute, Portland State University. Houck described efforts to create a livable Portland-Vancouver metropolitan region through the enhanced protection and restoration of a vibrant green infrastructure. He illustrated on-the-ground examples and tools the region is using to simultaneously ensure equitable access to nature, parks, trails and greenspaces; to maintain biodiversity; and to create higher density, compact urban form. These approaches include the Metropolitan Greenspaces Initiative, regional growth management strategies, and innovative watershed planning and stormwater management. * Our Nov. 17 and Dec. 5 events were designed to help frame a community dialogue on our vision for open space that continued into 2006 with an initiative called Open Space Seattle 2100: Designing Seattle’s Green Network for the Next Century. This initiative is a design and planning process to formulate a 100-year vision for Seattle’s comprehensive open space network, sponsored by the University of Washington, Urban Land Institute, American Society of Landscape Architects, City of Seattle, and others.



		Designing Compelling Public Places* - Thursday, November 17, 2005 Benaroya Hall View event flyer \| Read DJC article Mark Childs, Professor, School of Architecture and Planning, University of New Mexico. Childs discussed how vital public places can be designed to serve as centers of joyful celebration, heartbroken communion, civic discussion, or for simply hanging out. In his book, Squares: A Public Place Design Guide for Urbanists, he helps designers, planners, public officials, students, developers and community leaders understand the history and theories of public commons, elicit community dialogue and desires, respond to the natural and built environment, and design compelling places.

		ULI Seattle Presents BetterBricks Awards Breakfast - Friday, October 28, 2005 Seattle City Hall View event flyer Joe Van Belleghem, President & Founder of BuildGreen Development, Inc. This inaugural Betterbricks Awards event recognized five champions of high-performance green buildings in each of the following categories: Developer, Architect, Engineer, Facility Manager, and Industry Advocate. Van Belleghem, a developer from Victoria, B.C. with over 17 years experience in real estate and finance, shared his experience in developing buildings that make money, enhance occupant comfort, and are better for the environment.

		LEED for Neighborhood Development - Monday, August 8, 2005 Seattle Central Library View event flyer \| Watch video of event Doug Farr, Principal, Farr Associates and Co-Chair of LEED for Neighborhoods. Farr provided an update on the LEED for Neighborhood Development standard being developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, Smart Growth Coalition, and Congress for New Urbanism. He discussed how the standard can be applied to the redevelopment of Seattle neighborhoods.

		Green Development = Economic Development - Monday, July 11, 2005 Seattle Central Library View event flyer \| Watch video of event View Bert Gregory presentation (18MB PDF) View Dennis Wilde presentation (1.4MB PPT) Bert Gregory, Mithun. A national leader in green building and sustainable communities, Gregory discussed a future vision for urban sustainability as developed in Portland’s Lloyd Crossing Sustainable Urban Design Plan and Catalyst Project for the Portland Development Commission. Dennis Wilde, Gerding/Edlen Development. Wilde has been active in construction and real estate development since 1967 and has over 20 years experience in urban planning and design. He discussed the Brewery Blocks project in Portland’s historic Pearl District, and showed how green building increased Gerding/Edlen's return on investment and strengthened economic development.

		Seattle's Ecological Footprint: Present and Future - Monday, June 20, 2005 Seattle Central Library View event flyer \| Watch video of event View Chazan presentation (922KB PDF) Dahlia Chazan, Codirector for the Sustainability Indicators Program, Redefining Progress. Chazan reported back to the City on our community’s Ecological Footprint—the land area required to support current local lifestyles. She discussed several scenarios for land use planning policies that would lower Seattle’s Ecological Footprint over the next 10 years.

		Integrating Green Roof & Rainwater Harvesting Strategies - June 16, 2005 Seattle City Hall View event flyer View Koenig presentation (4MB Powerpoint) View Schmidt presentation (4MB PDF) Klaus W. Koenig (above left), Architect & Consulting Engineer, and Marco Schmidt (below left), PhD, Institute of Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning, Technical University of Berlin. Both from Germany, Koenig and Schmidt are internationally recognized leaders in rainwater harvesting strategies and green roof technologies. They work with communities to identify these approaches as innovative elements in cities' comprehensive strategies for reducing the pressure on municipal water systems and attenuating stormwater impacts.

		Public Spaces, Public Life - Monday, June 6, 2005 Seattle Central Library Auditorium View event flyer \| Watch video of event View presentation (Note: 12MB PDF) Jan Gehl, Founding Partner, Gehl Architects: Urban Quality Consultants, Professor of Urban Design, School of Architecture, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Gehl presented his research on public spaces and public life in Copenhagen and cities in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. He integrates cutting-edge technologies with urban design strategies to enhance people’s experience of everyday life in the public realm. This event is part of the Mayor's Center City Seattle Strategy and cosponsored with International Sustainable Solutions, who also hosted a special outdoor dinner with Gehl on June 8 (view invitation) (view photo gallery).

		Civic Innovation & Sustainable Communities - Monday, May 9, 2005 Seattle Central Library Auditorium View event flyer Read event presentation (30KB PDF) William Shutkin, President & CEO, The Orton Family Foundation. Shutkin shareed his views on creating sustainable communities for the 21st century, proposing that it starts with civic innovators: people who can see across and beyond traditional constituencies and practices to define new realities and navigate the difficult pathways to get there.

		Inspiring Urban Revitalization - Monday, May 2, 2005 UW Architecture Hall View event flyer View event presentation (35MB PDF) Tom Bloxham, MBE, Hon FRIBA, Group Chairman and Co-Founder, Urban Splash, Manchester, UK. Bloxham is recognized as a pioneer of regeneration and advocate of modern design in city centers throughout the U.K. His firm specializes in retrofitting neglected historic buildings and industrial sites, working with architects and local governments to transform them into centerpieces of urban revitalization. Event cosponsored with UW College of Architecture and Urban Planning PRAXIS Lecture Series.

		Designing and Building Healthy Places - Tuesday, April 26, 2005 Seattle City Hall View event flyer \| Watch video of event View event presentation (3MB PDF) Richard Jackson, MD, MPH, State Public Health Officer, California Dept.of Health Services. Dr. Jackson will be discussing the critically important links between environmental health and the built environment. He will discuss how the built environment shapes behavior and promotes, or damages, our health in ways that are far more profound than most public health professionals realize. This event is part of the Mayor's Center City Seattle Strategy. Details on Jackson's work are available on the CDC's Designing and Building Healthy Places website.

		Local Politics of Sustainability - Monday, April 4, 2005 Seattle Central Library View event flyer \| Watch video of event View event presentation (5.7MB PDF) Robert Costanza, PhD, Director, Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, Univ. of Vermont. With advanced degrees in systems ecology, economics, architecture, and urban and regional planning, Dr. Costanza’s research in valuation of ecosystem services, biodiversity, and natural capital—when used to inform land use policies and incentives—promotes sustainable community development. Read "The Real Economy", Costanza's article on the politics of sustainability.

		Take Charge with Sustainable Energy - Friday, March 18, 2005 UW Meany Hall View event flyer \| Watch video of event Svend Auken, Former Danish Minister, Energy & Environment; Member, Danish Parliament. Auken is largely responsible for the policies that made Denmark the leader in renewable energy that it is today. He has been a persuasive advocate of sustainable energy throughout his tenure with parliament, and through his work in international venues such as the UN and the EU. Event cosponsored with International Sustainable Solutions.

		The Business Case for Sustainable Development - Monday, Feb. 28, 2005 Seattle Central Library View event flyer Ed McMahon, Author & Senior Resident Fellow for Sustainable Development, Urban Land Institute. Nationally known as an inspiring and thought-provoking speaker, McMahon is a leading authority on sustainable development, land conservation, urban design, and historic preservation.


UPCOMING FORUM EVENTS For a listing of upcoming forum events, view our Urban Sustainability Forum event calendar. If you have questions or would like additional information about the Urban Sustainability Forum, contact our Outreach & Evaluation Manager at (206) 615-1171. OTHER GREEN EVENTS Other green building and urban sustainability events in the Seattle area are listed on our Green Event Calendar.

Last Updated: July 27, 2007