Sustainability Committee

                            “The best way to predict the future is to create it!

As William McDonough says, “Being less bad is NOT being good.”  That is the challenge of our time –moving from less bad (per unit impact reduction) to good (zero impact), or better yet, to great (restorative/regenerative impact), posthaste.

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Sustainability Workshop

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About & Bios

To that end, the Sustainability Committee serves Northern Section planners who are interested in deepening their capacity to respond effectively to the accelerating sustainability challenge (see About and Bios).

The Committee does the legwork to connect you with credible knowledge, powerful tools, and inspiring and instructive cases. It highlights examples of innovative sustainability planning. The Committee provides information, education, and training through this web site, the Plan-It Sustainably column in the Northern News, the Plan-It Sustainably Journal-Blog (comment, subscribe via RSS, and author a guest post), workshops, and events (see the Resources and Publishing pages).

 

The Committee emphasizes strategic sustainability planning because it is a powerful approach that is less familiar than others, but inclusive of them (see the Resources page, Quick Start section).  In addition, the Committee highlights leading edge sustainability planning–that is, the emerging integrative thread of designing, planning, and developing regenerative environments at site, district,   community, and regional scales (see Resources page, Regenerative Planning section).

News

In January 2013, Scott stepped down as co-director and the Board appointed Dave Javid as co-director with Katja (see About and Bios) and will continue contributing to the Committee’s work.

In December 2012, we formed a working group with the local ULI Sustainability Group and are formulating a workshop on applied sustainability for developers and planners slated for late Spring 2013.

In July 2012, we formed a partnership  with the APA Colorado State Chapter’s Sustainability Committee to support each other’s work and those of other states. That initiative led to development of one of the new Sustainable Community Division’s by-right sessions at the 2013 National APA Conference in Chicago, Mobilizing Sustainability Planning.

Invitation to Collaborate

Contribute and collaborate in ways that fit your time and interests (see the Invitation to Collaborate page for details). Your work in any of the following roles would advance sustainability in the Northern Section.

• Volunteers (writers, editors, researchers, web publishing wizards)
• Northern Member Sustainability Experts (share resources, projects, expertise)
• Research Partners (University Programs, Professors, Students)
• Expert Sustainability Advisors
• Organizational Alliances and Support

Subscribe to the Committee’s email list and E-Update to stay current on events, resources, news.

Send us your questions, comments, collaboration interests, and suggestions for resources you would find most valuable.

We look forward to working with you, Dave Javid and Katja Irvin, co-directors  (see bios)

Featured Resources

• NEW:  Strategic Neighborhood Sustainability Planning in Canada:  Amazing Neighbourhoods: Engagement and Sustainability Planning Guide (Alberta Version)
• New TNS Directions (Announcement)- Public Domain access to the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD). (091212)
• NEW National APA Sustainable Communities Division (081912)
• International Living Future Institute’s Living Cities Design Competition (p 16, Plan-it sustainably) - Explorations of a positive end game (net zero now)  (081012)

<<Past Featured Resources>>

Key Resources