Retrofitting Suburbia (a sustainable event invitation)

Our friends at Georgia Tech have been promoting sustainable design and construction for many years now.  They have bragging rights to the largest Solar Power Array in the SouthEast (installed on the 1996 Olympic swimming pool)  and they did very well in the Solar Decathlon just recently.  Through their architecture and building construction departments they continue to host sustainable learning events.  Here are a few that are open to the public.  One is this week, and there are a couple others planned for the next few months.  Here the invitation that they asked for me to pass along:

I’m contacting you from Georgia Tech. We have a series of four free environmental/sustainability events coming up this winter/spring. I think it may be of interest to everyone involved in Atlanta and the “green changes” that are happening in our community.

The Innovations in Economic Development Forum brings together researchers, students, economic developers and policy-makers to discuss leading-edge ideas and practices in economic development and innovation policy.

Our upcoming series is focused on sustainability and developing policies and practices for sustainable growth. Each event is free, and will be on or near the Georgia Tech campus.

I’ve provided dates and times for all four events below – and additional information on the first event, February 4. We hope you will mention this event on your website – and invite you to attend, too.

Thank you,

To Survive and Thrive: Policies and Practices for Sustainable Growth
Innovations in Economic Development Forum www.stip.gatech.edu/forum

Retrofitting Suburbia
Ellen Dunham-Jones, Director, Architecture Program, College of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology
February 4, 2009 Free and open to the public
Meet the speaker; Brown Bag Lunch at 12:00 noon
Program: 12:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Centergy Building @ Technology Square, 75 5th Street, NW, Atlanta
Hodges Conference Room, Third Floor
For more information, contact cprsevents@innovate.gatech.edu

Our spring semester 2009 innovations in economic development forum kicks off on February 4 with a presentation called Retrofitting Suburbia. Hear about innovative solutions to a problem plaguing cities of all sizes in Georgia.
The biggest development effort of the past 50 years has been the reproduction of a popular, but no longer sustainable, sprawling suburban landscape whose motor vehicle-dependency and consumer lifestyle have contributed to Americans’ disproportionate carbon footprint. The major project for the next 50 years will entail retrofitting this landscape into more urban, more sustainable places. Drawing on her recently published book, Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs (co-authored with June Williamson), Ellen Dunham-Jones will discuss infrastructure innovations and demographic drivers already evident in scores of redeveloped shopping malls, office parks, commercial strips, and other suburban properties.

Dr. Ellen Dunham-Jones is the director of the Architecture Program at Georgia Tech’s College of Architecture.

Encouraging Communities to Go
Maia Davis, Principal Environmental Planner, Atlanta Regional Commission
March 4, 2009 Free and open to the public
Meet the speaker; Brown Bag Lunch at 12:00 noon
Program: 12:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Centergy Building @ Technology Square, 75 5th Street, NW, Atlanta
Hodges Conference Room, Third Floor
For more information, contact cprsevents@innovate.gatech.edu

TBA
April 1, 2009 Free and open to the public
Meet the speaker; Brown Bag Lunch at 12:00 noon
Program: 12:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Centergy Building @ Technology Square, 75 5th Street, NW, Atlanta
Hodges Conference Room, Third Floor
For more information, contact cprsevents@innovate.gatech.edu

TBA
April 15, 2009 Free and open to the public
Meet the speaker; Brown Bag Lunch at 12:00 noon
Program: 12:30 – 2:00 p.m.
Centergy Building @ Technology Square, 75 5th Street, NW, Atlanta
Hodges Conference Room, Third Floor
For more information, contact cprsevents@innovate.gatech.edu

Presented by the Program in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP), a joint initiative of Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute and the School of Public Policy. Co-sponsored by the Georgia Economic Developers Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. www.stip.gatech.edu/forum

Thank you,

Hazel Taylor
Community Policy and Research Services
Georgia Tech – Enterprise Innovation Institute
760 Spring Street, NW
Atlanta, GA 30332-0640
404-894-0730 (P)
404-894-1447 (F)
hazel.taylor@innovate.gatech.edu
www.innovate.gatech.edu

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