Forums

Upcoming Forums

July 16- Guidelines for the Use and Protection of Public Land

As the Fairmount Park Commission and Recreation Department are merged into
The Parks and Recreation Department a new Commission on Parks and
Recreation will also be named. This entity will be charged with creating guidelines
for future sale, lease, and acquisition of park lands. Speakers will include new
Department head Michael DeBerardinis and feature best practices from other
Cities.

Recent Forums

Philadelphia's Sustainability Framework:
Filling in the Picture

Thursday, June 18, 2009
Academy of Natural Sciences
19th St. and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
6:00-6:30: Reception
6:30-8:30: Forum presentation and discussion

After much anticipation, the Mayor's Office of Sustainability released in April Greenworks Philadelphia-- the city's first comprehensive sustainability plan. June's Urban Sustainability Forum will take an in depth look at the framework, made up of five goals, 15 targets and over 100 initiatives to achieve the goal of making Philadelphia the greenest city in the country. Local experts will delve into the initiatives, how they will be implemented, and what role the public can play in achieving common goals.

Dr. Mark Alan Hughes, the city's first Director of Sustainability, will be the keynote speaker on what will be his last day with the Nutter administration.

This event is free and open to the public.

 

 

How can we feed Philadelphia?
Growing the Grange

Thursday, May 21, 2009
Academy of Natural Sciences
19th St. and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway
6:00-6:30: Reception
6:30-8:30: Forum presentation and discussion

RSVP here: http://feedingphiladelphia.eventbrite.com/

May's Urban Sustainability Forum will take on the topic of growing urban agriculture opportunities in Philadelphia, and exploring new ways that growers, markets, and consumers can strengthen and improve Philadelphia's access to healthy, safe and affordable food. The forum will feature speakers from cities that Philadelphia can learn from - London and Milwaukee. Ben Reynolds (Sustain London) and Marcia Caton Campbell (Resilient Cities) will describe the growth of their successful programs and describe policies that have supported these efforts. As part of the program, Laurie Actman of the Mayor's office of Sustainability will report on Philadelphia's current farm and policy initiative and reflect upon these exemplary models. The event aims to provide information that will increase access to fresh food, promote sustainable agriculture, and promote policy-friendly initiatives for Philadelphia's future.

Featuring speakers:

Moderated by: Domenic Vitiello, Assistant Professor, City and Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania.

 

Up in the air:
Climate Change and Our Future

Thursday, April 16, 2009
 6:00-6:30: Reception
6:30-8:30: Forum presentation and discussion

Academy of Natural Sciences
19th St. and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway

The science and policy surrounding climate change in Pennsylvania is rapidly taking shape. April's Urban Sustainability Forum, moderated by Barry Seymour, Executive Director of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), provides an update on the latest research on the impacts of climate change in Pennsylvania, and the actions underway to face the closely-related challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and becoming a more energy-efficient region.

Featuring speakers:

The audience will also have the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers.

 

Growing Sustainable Philly Neighborhoods:
What to Do in Your Community

March 19, 2009
 On March 19, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. at the Academy of Natural Sciences at 19th St and the Ben Franklin Parkway, the Urban Sustainability Forum will present Growing Sustainable Philly Neighborhoods: What to Do in Your Community, a forum designed to help Philadelphia citizens and communities create more sustainable healthy neighborhoods.

  • Come and Be Heard: Give Feedback to the Mayor's Office of Sustainability
    Short surveys on sustainable neighborhoods will be collected, compiled, and given directly to the Mayor's Office of Sustainability, so come and be heard.

  • Participate in the Discussion About Community-Led Sustainability
    Participants will hear from a panel of national and local community leaders who will present some inspiring ideas and projects that they are leading in communities across Philadelphia:
    • United States Green Building Council
    • New Kensington Community Development Corporation
    • Friends of Carroll Park
    • Village of the Arts and Humanities
    • Northern Liberties Clean and Green

  • Visit the Community Resource Fair
    As a special bonus the program will also invite organizations that provide resources to communities to participate in a Green Neighborhood Resource Fair. Organizations will be present to offer tools for building sustainable neighborhoods such as: assistance with tree plantings, community gardens, and composting; offering new tools to manage neighborhood flooding; contributing funds and performance ideas to help organize communities; and many more.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Taking Back Our Streets--Cars, People, and Pavement

6:00-6:30-reception
6:30-8:30- forum

The September forum took place the evening before National PARK(ing) Day and explored how we can make better use of the large amounts of urban land dedicated to parking and moving automobiles. September 19, 2008 marked the first time that PARK(ing) Day will occur in Philadelphia.

Featuring speakers:

Pamela H. Zimmerman, AIA, LEED-AP- Brawer & Hauptman, Architects and organizer of Park(ing) Day Philadelphia
Robert Allen- Philadelphia City Planning Commission

Gary Toth- Senior Director, Transportation Initiatives with the Project for Public Spaces (PPS).

Hear the PennFuture podcast.

October 23, 2008
 (please note this event is being held on the 4th Thursday due to scheduling conflicts)

Lights, Carbon, Action: An Energy Action Agenda for Buildings in Pennsylvania
6:00- Reception
6:30- Program

Speakers:

Liz Robinson,Executive Director, Energy Coordinating Agency
Steve Nadel, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy
Dan Griffiths, Deputy Secretary for Energy and Technology Deployment, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Blondell Reynolds Brown, Councilwoman, City of Philadelphia
Mark Alan Hughes, Director, Mayor's Office of Sustainability, City of Philadelphia

November 20

Waste Not, Want Not- The Economic Argument for Recycling

6:00-6:30-Reception
6:30-8:30- Program

Speakers:

Christine Knapp, Director of Outreach for PennFuture
Neil Seldman, President of Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Robert Anderson, Director Business Development and Marketing for Blue Mountain Recycling

Everyone knows recycling is good for the environment. It saves energy, decreases natural resource consumption and reduces pollution caused by incinerating or landfilling trash. However, in recent years, recycling has also become good for the economy. A 2004 audit by the City Controller showed that due to the money earned and costs avoided through recycling, Philadelphia could save $17 million a year by improving its recycling rates.

Taking place during America Recycles Week, speakers at this event will explore the impact recycling has on our local economy and how recycling in Philadelphia actually works.

RSVP requested to rwall@ansp.org.

 

January 15

The Green Economy: Economy and Environment Working Hand in Hand

Speakers:

Leanne Krueger-Braneky- Executive Director, Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia
David Foster, President, The Blue-Green Alliance
Karen Hobbs, Department of Environment, City of Chicago

Stay tuned for more forum announcements!

 

Please check back for details, and full schedule.

Information on past forums can be found below:

Thursday, June 19, 2008
Greening Philadelphia's Infrastructure
Reception 6:00-6:30 PM and Program 6:30 - 8:00 PM

Featuring:

Mark Alan Hughes
Director of Sustainability
City of Philadelphia

Melissa Wright
Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability
New York City

Panel Discussion (Panelists TBA) reporting on the results of the daytime technical workshop “Greening the City’s Infrastructure.”

Location:
Main Auditorium, Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Ben Franklin Parkway (at Logan Circle), Philadelphia

Urban sustainability must begin at a city’s basic infrastructure. For Philadelphia, infrastructure means the systems of land use planning, energy, water management and transportation on which the city depends. This months Urban Sustainability Forum will consider the implications of applying “green” principles to these basic elements of city life.

We are honored to have, as our keynote speaker, Philadelphia’s new Director of Sustainability, Mark Alan Hughes. Making one of his first public appearances since being appointed to the position, Dr. Hughes will discuss his goal for Philadelphia to “move the sustainability agenda further and faster than any city in the U.S.”

In addition, we are pleased to welcome Melissa Wright, from the New York City Mayor’s Office, as well as a panel of distinguished experts who will be reviewing the results of the technical workshop “Greening the City’s Infrastructure.” The workshop, to be held earlier in the day, will bring experts together to develop ways of measuring the city’s movement toward sustainability.

Please join us to learn about the ideas and actions that can make Philadelphia “the greenest, most livable city in America.”

 

Thursday, May 15, 2008
Forum on Faith and the Environment
Reception 6:00-6:30 PM and Program 6:30 - 8:00 PM

At the May 15th USF Forum on Faith and the Environment many representatives from congregations and faith-based organizations had a chance to meet and exchange information with each other for the first time. And many old acquaintences were re-energized. To further the networking opportunities of that evening, and for anyone who did not get a copy of this list, you will find a primary contact, contact information, and brief description of the sustainable programs and activities representing many groups around town. If your group is NOT listed here, and you would like to add information on the sustainable activities and programs of your organization please email urbansustainability@pennhort.org.
"Today, people of many faiths on six continents are searching their traditions and finding there what is needed to respond to the environmental crisis in ways that serve both ecology and justice."

-- Dr. Bob Edgar, 2003

Keynote Speakers on Faith and the Environment

Rabbi Lawrence Troster is Director of the Fellowship program and Rabbinic Scholar-in-Residence for GreenFaith, an interfaith environmental coalition in New Jersey and the Rabbinic Fellow of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL). He is also the Jewish Chaplain of Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson and an Associate of Bard's Institute of Advanced Theology. Rabbi Troster co-chairs the Interfaith Partnership for the Environment of UNEP (United Nations Environment Program). http://www.greenfaith.org/justice/principles.html

Aleciah Anthony is the Field Director at the Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition. Ms. Anthony is a single African American mother of two sons in the Bronx. She has worked with the NWBCCC for eight years, starting as a neighborhood organizer apprentice in the Training Institute for Careers in Organizing, a program that she currently directs. Ms. Anthony has also worked with a team of grassroots community leaders in the Bronx to create the Community Leadership Academy, a training center at NWBCCC that offers a full range of trainings in the art and science of community organizing. She has a B.A. in African Studies from New York University, with a specialization in Urban Studies. http://www.northwestbronx.org/ourorganization.html

Thursday, April 17, 2008
Forum on Sustainable Transportation (along with a Transportation Fair)

Featuring:

o Sam Schwartz – Transportation Consultant, former NYC Transportation Commissioner, media personality (“Gridlock Sam”)

o Steve Weber –Assistant Transportation Commissioner, NYC

o Walter Hook – Exec. Director, ITDP – global transportation expert

This months Urban Sustainability Forum will look at ways to make transportation greener and more sustainable.

Start with a visit to the Green Transportation Fair, open 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on April 17 at Amtrak’s 30th St Station – West End Canopy Area (just outside station on 30th Street). Then don’t miss the evening program at the Academy, as the panelists help us learn to “think green” about Philadelphia transportation.

Thursday, March 20, 2008
Forum on Green Energy

The rapidly emerging green energy sector has tremendous potential to create jobs and economic growth in Greater Philadelphia.

This forum presents expert speakers focusing on the business of producing clean energy and on approaches to energy conservation and efficiency. Tom Tuffey, Director PennFuture's Center for Energy, Enterprise and the Environment will moderate presentations by Sarah Hetznecker, Northeast Regional Business Manager of SunTechnics Energy Systems, a leading supplier of solar energy systems; Brent Alderfer, Executive Vice President, Iberdrola Renewable Energies USA, a global leader in wind energy; and Audrey Zibelman, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of PJM Interconnection, which operates the world's largest competitive wholesale electricity market and ensures the reliability of the largest centrally dispatched grid in the world.

 

Thursday, February 21, 2008
Building the Green Economy with Van Jones

Van Jones is an environmental leader, civil rights attorney and powerhouse public speaker. He is the founder and president of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, CA. The Center promotes integrated solutions to urban America's toughest problems: social inequality and environmental destruction. Working with the Apollo Alliance, Van is promoting a national "green-collar jobs" initiative. He hopes this approach will create "green pathways out of poverty," while greatly expanding the coalition fighting global warming. His most recent success is the passage of the Green Jobs Act of 2007, authorizing $125 million for green job training programs across the country. Van is a 1993 Yale Law graduate, husband and father.

LINK TO VIDEO OF VAN JONES AND MAYOR NUTTER AT FEBRUARY 21 FORUM

Thursday, January 17th, 2008
Bike Sharing

Reduce Automobile Traffic, Promote Healthier Living and Make A More Sustainable City

Public Use Bicycle Programs (bike sharing) are changing urban transportation in cities all over the world. Join us at this Forum to learn more about the benefits of successful bike sharing systems in Europe and the United States!

External Links:
PennFuture podcast
Interview with speakers on WHYY

Speakers
Gilles Vesco is the Vice-President of Grand Lyons, the regional government around the city of Lyons, France; a Municipal Councillor for the city of Cailure; –and is one of the people responsible for creating the first–and surprisingly successful–bike-sharing program in Lyon. This past Summer the program expanded to Paris, where it exploded into the scene (with over 1,000,000 bike rentals) and became a media sensation. He oversees for the municipal government the highly successful Vélo’V system implemented in Lyon and duplicated in Paris

Mitch Franzos works with the Dasani Blue Bike program in Pittsburgh, a recreational community bike sharing program for the river front trails.

Nate Kvamme is the Director of Humana’s Innovation Center. He helped to develop bike sharing program Freewheelin for Humana Hospitals in Louisville, Kentucky.

Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
Multi-family Innovations
This special presentation featured British team Simon Allford and Paul Monaghan (who are working on the master plan for London's 2012 Olympic Village) and local trendsetter Patrick McDonald (one of the McDonald brothers, who blazed the way for sustainable construction in Philadelphia with projects such as the Rag Flats and the upcoming Stable Flats).

November 15th, 2007
Sustainable Visions: Strategies for Philadelphia

October 15th, 2007
Mayoral Forum – The Next Mayor’s Vision of a Sustainable Philadelphia

September Forum – Thursday, Sept. 27
Climate Change and its Impact in the Philadelphia Region
Reception at 6:00 p.m, program at 6:30

  • Erika Spanger-Siegfried – Northeast Climate Project Manager, Union of Concerned Scientists
  • Brian Hill – President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council

July 19th, 2007 6:00-8:00 p.m.
PHILADELPHIA'S EMERGING LEADERS: How Young Professionals are Making an Impact and Showing Philly How to Live Sustainably!


June 20, 2007
Philadelphia: The State of the City, 18 months after the first Forum event, leaders of the Sustainability Forum will review the state of the City and region against sustainability criteria.

May 17, 2007
New Urbanism: How Everything Old is New (and Better) Again

April 19, 2007
Human Ecology and the Urban Environment

March 15, 2007
Philadelphia Revised: finally, a River City

Februrary 15, 2007
Philadelphia Mayoral Candidates' forum on Sustainability

January 18, 2007
Sustainable Food Access and Accountability - How to get our hands on Healthy Food and help develop a Sustainable Food Industry!

November 16, 2006
Sustainable Transportation

October 19, 2006
Energy

September 21, 2006
Sustainable Architecture

June 15, 2006
Goals & Actions for a Sustainable Philadelphia

May 18, 2006
Redeveloping Healthy Neighborhoods

Apr. 20, 2006
Greene Country Towne: The Future of Philadelphia Land Use Planning

Mar. 16, 2006
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Revisioning Waste Management in Philadelphia.

Feb. 16, 2006
Directing the Flow: Managing the City's Water

Feb. 6, 2006
SPECIAL GUEST: Mr. Jaime Lerner, former Mayor of Curitiba, Brazil and former President of the
International Union of Architects

Jan. 19, 2006
Life and Breath in the Big City: Philadelphia's Air in the 21st Century

All Forums take place at the Academy of Natural Sciences, right at Logan Circle in Center City Philadelphia