TRACK 2:
Communities and Sustainable Built Environment
We recognize whole-systems thinking is necessary on many scales. We collaborate to honor our ecology, regenerate what is damaged, and make stewardship everyone's responsibility.
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SESSIONS |
Implementing Sustainable Land Use
Wednesday 11:00 – 12:30
What are the sustainability options in New England's Northern Forest in terms of forestry? Interested in sustainable planning efforts in Maine and Rhode Island? Come listen to a designer and manager of large-scale timberland purchases discuss Lyme Timber Company's sustainable forestry and resource management practices and their work with regional and national land conservation organizations. Also learn two different states' approaches to sustainable land use and development.
Session Chair:
Stephanie Carter Goody
Ev Hyde, Shelter Building, LLC
Session Speakers:
Peter Stein, Lyme Timber Company
Beth Della Valle, Independent Consultant
Kip Bergstrom, Rhode Island Economic Policy Council
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Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Transit- Oriented Development
Wednesday 2:00-3:30
What is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts doing to curb automobile dependence and sprawl? Focusing new development around transit, for one. Come hear about how the Commonwealth and the MBTA are using surplus land and financial resources to help create vibrant, mixed use, walk able communities around transit stations. Are you also interested in biodiesel automobiles? Come learn about the process by which progress has been made with this effort in New Hampshire.
Session Chair:
Stephanie Carter, Goody Clancy
Session Speakers:
Becky Ohler, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
Tad Read, Office for Commonwealth Development and MBTA
Site Specific Design Strategies
Wednesday 4:00-5:30
Session Chair:
Greg Thomson, Wentworth Institute of Technology
Session Speakers:
Dan Arons, Architerra
Rick Ames, Next Phase Studios
Martin Werminghausen, Next Phase Studios
Anu Gupta, Wentworth Institute of Technology
Green Roofs: Ecological Performance in Urban Built Environments
Thursday 8:30-10:30
Learn the best circumstances to use green roofs, their cost and energy efficiency, the available products and maintenance issues in the Northeast from a green roof installer himself. Discover green roofs’ cooling potential and cost-benefit from a researcher who uses meteorological and satellite data to model summertime heat island effect in New York City.
Session Chair:
Stephanie Carter, Goody Clancy
Session Speakers:
Lily Parshall, Columbia Center for Climate Systems Research/Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Richard Heller, Greener by Design (Formerly New York Greenroof)
Sustainability in Communities of Color: Creating Inclusion
Thursday 10:30-12:00
What if apparent and potential disparities in sustainability diversity are not recognized but exist? Hispanics/Latinos, African-Americans and Asian-Americans constitute near 30% of the country's population, or 85 million people and command over $1.5 trillion in annual purchasing power. Boston is one of ten largest cities with minority majority. Themes for diversity initiatives in renewable energy fields such as community, education, business development, economics and legislation are discussed.
Session Chair:
John O'Sullivan Francis, Sr. MBA, Solar & Environmental Workshop Company
Session Speakers:
Mel King, South End Technology Center
David P. Cavallo, PhD, Future of Learning Group, MIT Media Laboratory
Dianne Wilkerson, Massachusetts State Senate
John O'Sullivan Francis, Sr. MBA, Solar and Environmental Workshop
Sustainability on Campus: Moving from Policy to Reality
Thursday 2:00-3:30
Many colleges and universities have now developed a "blueprint" for promoting sustainable design on their campuses, through guidelines or a sustainable master plan. However, translating this policy level commitment to actual implementation has produced mixed results. This session will explore both the successes and challenges encountered in furthering green initiatives on campus, using examples from Harvard, Brown and the University of Rhode Island, to illustrate common issues and themes.
Session Chair:
Arlen Li, AIA, LEED AP, Payette Associates, Inc.
Session Speakers:
William G Reed, AIA, LEED AP, Integrative Design Collaborative
Leith Sharp, Harvard University
Kurt E. Teichert, Brown University
Arlen Li, AIA, LEED AP, Payette Associates, Inc.
Water in our Urban Future: Supplying the Resource with Ecological Solutions
Thursday 4:00-5:30
Population growth, migration to urban areas, climate change, man-made risk, and extraordinary weather events are topical issues that require the use of ecological solutions to supply of critical natural resources, such as potable water. This session will provide a planning and technical overview of the projects installed to date and the future potential use of integrated water management to provide resource conservation, ecological restoration, sewage treatment and new business opportunities.
Session Chair:
Stephanie Carter, Goody Clancy
Session Speaker:
John Todd, PhD, John Todd Ecological Design