Contacts:
Cori Burbach, Sustainable Community Coordinator, City of Dubuque; 563-690-6038, cburbach@cityofdubuque.org
or Randy Rodgers, Executive Editor, Sustainable City Network, Inc., 563-513-1244, randy@scitynetwork.com
Sept. 11, 2012 - For Immediate Release
Dubuque Sustainability Conference Offers Local Answers to Global Questions
Conference Slated Oct. 2-3 at the Grand River Center
DUBUQUE, Iowa – The sustainability of modern culture has its roots in local communities, but plays out across the nation and around the world. Dubuque’s Fifth Annual Growing Sustainable Communities Conference will bring national and international speakers to the Grand River Center on Oct. 2 and 3.
More than 300 municipal leaders and business people from 68 communities in 16 states have already registered for the conference, which will feature more than 20 educational workshops related to sustainability in water, energy, transportation and community knowledge & engagement.
Registration is available online at http://gscdubuque.com. Discounted pricing ends Sept. 12.
After a day of pre-conference workshops and mobile tours, accomplished actor and national arts advocate Bill O’Brien will address conference attendees at a networking reception on Oct. 2.
Currently the senior advisor for program innovation at the National Endowment for the Arts, O'Brien has performed on professional stages in 48 states and has appeared in numerous television productions, including Law and Order: Criminal Intent and in an ensemble role on all seven seasons of The West Wing.
O'Brien will discuss strategies being carried out in Dubuque and in towns and cities across the nation that leverage local arts, culture and character to promote healthy, sustainable neighborhoods. As one of the NEA's first Our Town grant recipients, Dubuque has become a national model for "creative placemaking" by capitalizing on its architectural and cultural heritage via the Historic Millwork District development project. This conversation will examine how efforts like these can help promote vibrant, culturally rich neighborhoods and robust economies through leveraging assets that help define what makes a community distinct and worth celebrating.
At the general conference on Oct. 3, the luncheon keynote address will be delivered by Tracey Grose, research director at the Institute for the Future.
Established in 1968 in Palo Alto, Calif., this non-profit research center specializes in long-term forecasting and quantitative futures research methods. Grose’s presentation entitled Making the Future: Signs of Resilience and Growth in the Clean Energy Economy, will examine how pioneering public policies including energy efficiency standards, renewables portfolio standards, caps on greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle emissions standards are reshaping our nation in positive ways. The institute’s research shows these policies are supporting the growth of new markets for products and services that help us achieve our environmental goals while also growing new economic opportunities. Recent original research results suggest the clean energy economy is showing signs of resilience, and even growing, coming out of the recent economic downturn.
The morning keynote address will be delivered by Scot Wrighton, city manager of Lavasa, India, the first and largest post-independence planned city in India. Lavasa was created in part to develop and implement a replicable model for an “operationally integrated, sustainably managed” city. It is a laboratory for putting sustainability into the daily practices, governance and life of a city.
Lavasa has learned that even though operational sustainability must be customized to a city’s unique environment, many standards and measurement tools for quantifying success can be generalized to cities everywhere. Wrighton managers this privately-funded urban development being planned for approximately 300,000 permanent residents, with facilities for about two million tourists per year and an employment base of 97,000.
The city is being developed following the principles of New Urbanism, an urban design concept that promotes walkable neighborhoods containing a range of housing and employment types.
The afternoon keynote address will be delivered by Brian Rauch, vice president of engineering for John Deere’s Construction & Forestry Division. Rauch's presentation will focus on the impacts of the growing global economy and population. The world population is growing in areas least able to support growth due to lack of infrastructure and the risk of pandemic disease. The developed economies are declining in population and rapidly aging. These dynamics, along with a global demand for more proteins in our diets, puts an incredible burden on agriculture and infrastructure to double the world's food supply by 2050 without substantially increasing the amount of farmed land. The burden is on efficiency, infrastructure and political stability.
Admission to the one-day conference and luncheon on Oct. 3 is $95, which includes admission to the networking reception from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 2. Admission to the conference, luncheon, a pre-conference workshop and a mobile tour is $125. Seating is limited and one tour is already sold out, so early registration is encouraged. A few hotel rooms are still available at the Grand Harbor Resort & Water Park and the Holiday Inn for special conference rates starting at $89 per night, if booked prior to Sept. 12.
Hosted by the City of Dubuque and Sustainable City Network, Inc., the conference will educate leaders and staff on the latest sustainability ideas, plans and best practices in four distinct programming tracks:
WATER
1) Integrated Water Planning;
2) Flood Protection;
3) Waste Water Treatment Plant Energy Improvements & Generation;
4) Best Water Management Practices for Building Owners & Operators.
BUILDINGS/ENERGY
1) Optimizing the Sustainable Value of Roofs
2) Sustainable vs. Conventional: A Matrix for Decision Making;
3) Best Energy Practices for Building Owners & Operators;
4) Putting on a Zero-Waste Event;
5) Deconstruction and Local ReUse.
TRANSPORTATION
1) Wayfinding Systems: Finding Your Way by Car, Bike or Foot;
2) Pedestrian Access Routes & ADA Guidelines;
3) Sustainable Asphalt Pavements;
4) Alternative Fuel Comparisons for Municipal and Commercial Fleets.
COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE
1) Engagement with True Market Solutions Circles;
2) Developing Green Teams;
3) Community Engagement Technology;
4) Partnering to Build Resiliency.
5) Measuring Sustainability
6) Building Citizen & Employee Engagement
Complete session descriptions and updates can be found at http://gscdubuque.com/programming.htm.
The conference is sponsored by Alliant Energy, Anderson Weber, AY McDonald, Black Hills Energy, Cartegraph, Conlon Construction, Crescent Electric, Dittmer Recycling, Dubuque Bank & Trust, Eagle Point Solar, Energy Pioneer Solutions, The Finley Hospital, FOX Engineering, Gallagher Asphalt, Giese Lighting, Greater Dubuque Development Corp., Gronen Restoration, HDR Inc., Hoffman LLC, HR Green, Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities, IIW, P.C., InSinkErator, Jim Giese Roofing, Jeffrey Morton Architects, PC, John Deere, KJWW Engineering Consultants, Loras College, MSA Professional Services, Nahn & Associates, Natl. Mississippi River Museum, Northeast Iowa Community College, Premier Bank, Ruan Securities, Runde Auto Group, Solar Planet, True Market Solutions, True North, Unison Solutions, United Water, University of Dubuque, University of Iowa, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, USAgain, and Waste Management.
Last year’s event was attended by about 350 people. Here’s what attendees had to say about the conference:
"The Sustainable Communities conference was packed with useful, timely, relevant sessions on a variety of topics - from stormwater to recycling to energy efficiency. I found the sessions both engaging and full of good tips that I'll bring back to my city!"
"This was wastewater plant director crack. I couldn't get enough. Great stuff!"
"Dubuque's commitment to hosting this conference, and doing it so incredibly well, really reflects their commitment to sustainability. The city knows that their "green" impact can be multiplied by assisting other cities in implementing sustainability, and it's not about competition, but rather moving forward collectively and improving upon what others have learned."
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More Information:
City of Dubuque Sustainable Community Coordinator Cori Burbach, 563-589-4110 or cburbach@cityofdubuque.org.
Sustainable City Network Executive Editor Randy Rodgers, 563-513-1244 or randy@scitynetwork.com.
Sustainable Dubuque Logo: http://tinyurl.com/3jtxt8d.
SCN Logo: http://tinyurl.com/246mlam SCN Logo (horizontal): http://tinyurl.com/29n8t79
Bill O’Brien’s photo: http://gscdubuque.com/BillObrien.jpg
Tracey Grose photo: http://gscdubuque.com/TraceyGrose.jpg
Scot Wrighton photo: http://gscdubuque.com/scotwrighton.jpg
Brian Rauch photo: http://gscdubuque.com/BrianRauch.jpg
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A PDF version of this news release is available online at http://www.cityofdubuque.org/newsreleases
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