Welcome to Sustainable Philadelphia

Next Forum

Parkland Use & Protection:
Striking the Right Balance

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://protectinglands.eventbrite.com/

An historic opportunity to protect and revitalize Philadelphia's parks and recreation was ushered in last November when citizens overwhelmingly voted in favor of amending the City Charter to create a new Department of Parks and Recreation and a new Commission. One of the main responsibilities of the new Commission on Parks and Recreation, as mandated by the Charter referendum, will be to, for the first time ever, adopt standards and guidelines for the conveyance and acquisition of park and recreation land and facilities.

The Philadelphia Parks Alliance, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and PennFuture, are facilitating July's Urban Sustainability Forum, Parkland Use & Protection: Striking the Right Balance, to advance the discussion and thinking about parkland use in Philadelphia. We have invited panelists, Zari Santner, Director of Portland Parks & Recreation, and Lucie Springmeyer, Executive Director of Forest Park Forever (St. Louis), to share how their cities have approached the issue of parkland use and protection and the lessons they have learned. Michael DiBerardinis, Commissioner of Philadelphia's new Department of Parks and Recreation, will join the panel. Together we will explore how Philadelphia's history and present situation can inform our future guidelines and possibilities.

Speakers:
Zari Santner, Director, Portland Parks & Recreation
Lucie Springmeyer, Executive Director, Forest Park Forever, St. Louis
Michael DiBerardinis, Commissioner, Department of Parks & Recreation, Philadelphia

Moderated by:
Graham Finney, Public Policy Chair of the Philadelphia Parks Alliance

This event is free and open to the public.
RSVP here: http://protectinglands.eventbrite.com/

The Urban Sustainability Forum

The Urban Sustainability Forum is more than just a monthly series of presentations featuring the best local, national and international experts in many different fields.

It is, beyond that, a place where people gather, exchange information, and network--all with the goal of making Philadelphia the greenest, most livable and most sustainable city in America.

The Forum has helped bring some of the most exciting speakers and events Philadelphia has seen in a long time, such as Van Jones, the leader of the green collar job movement in Oakland, California and the world's most sustainable mayor, Jaime Lerner from Brazil. The Forum also brought together all of the Democratic candidates for mayor at Philadelphia's first Mayoral forum of the primary season, as well as a post-primary forum to explore how the candidates would make Philadelphia a more sustainable city.

Join us as we work to develop a vision and a plan for a sustainable Philadelphia! Urban Sustainability Forum events are free and open to the public, and are generally held in the evening on the 3rd Thursday of every month at the Academy of Natural Sciences. To receive alerts about forums, email Roland Wall at rwall@ansp.org.

The Urban Sustainability Forum is a collaboration of many organizations, including:
Academy of Natural Sciences
Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia
Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture)
City Parks Association
City of Philadelphia
Delaware Valley Green Building Council
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
Drexel University
Energy Coordinating Agency
Environmental Protection Agency, Region III
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Pennsylvania Environmental Council
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
Philadelphia University
Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education
Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia
Temple University
University of Pennsylvania

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Last modified: July 9, 2008

PAST AND UPCOMING FORUMS

LINK TO VIDEO OF VAN JONES AND MAYOR NUTTER AT FEBRUARY 21, 2008 FORUM

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PODCASTS:
Short podcast interviews with our guests are also available! To hear these and for other podcasts prepared by one of our sponsors, PennFuture, please visit the PennFuture podcast site.