Kent Portney's "Our Green Cities" Blog

Environmental Governance Scholars Network

I had a chance in May to attend the Wesley Conference of Environmental Politics and Governance on Bainbridge Island near Seattle.  This conference was organized by Peter May and Aseem Prakash of the University of Washington, and was held at Islandwood Resort and environmental education center, a truly gorgeous location.  In any event, there were about 40 or so outstanding scholars from around the world who presented their research on some aspect of environmental governance. Jeff Berry and I wrote, and I presented, a paper called "Fifty Shades of Green," based on analysis of data from 50 of the largest cities in the U.S.  Ok, the title is a little over the top, but it accurately captures the essence of the paper. Check out the conference web site.

There is a second environmental politics and governance conference planned for Gerzensee, Switzerland, June 16-19, 2016.  I am posting the "call for papers" here.  Download EPG_Call_2016_Conference

Tufts 2012 Energy Conference

The 2012 Energy Conference at Tufts will be held on April 20 and 21 in Medford.  I have agreed to be one of the judges for the "Energy Competition," where students can submit projects and ideas and win a $5,000 prize.  The deadline for entering the competition is March 1.  But the full conference promises to bring together a terrific array of experts about energy. Go to the conference web site for more information.

2012 Massachusetts Sustainable Communities and Campuses Conferences

For those of you who are in Eastern Massachusetts, you might be interested in attending this year's Sustainable Communities conference on April 20 and Sustainable Campuses conference on April 21. The conferences will be held at the campus of UMass Boston, and I will be serving on a panel the morning of the 20th.  Check out the full programs.

1st International Conference on Sustainable Cities

If you are looking for an opportunity to learn about or participate in an upcoming sustainable cities conference, the 1st International Conference on Sustainable Cities is going to take place in Mexico October 25 through 29, 2009.  To get a sense of the Conference, check out its web site. 

Sustainability Conference at the University of Michigan

I will be participating as an invited guest in a conference at the University of Michigan on May 12 and 13.  The conference, "Urban-Rural Connections: Sustainability in a Volatile World," is sponsored by the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute and the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.  I will be on a panel with some really distinguished people -- Gerrit Knapp, Director of the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education at the University of Maryland, John Logie, former Mayor of Grand Rapids, June Manning Thomas for Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan, Jay Williams, Mayor of Youngstown Ohio, and Matt Naud, the Environmental Coordinator for the City of Ann Arbor.  I'm also looking forward to hearing a talk by Michael Shuman, VP for Enterprise Development for the Training and Development Corporation of Bucksport ME.  He is the author of a recent book called "The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition."

If you happen to be in the area of Ann Arbor, please look into registering for this conference.  You can do that at http://www.graham.umich.edu . 

National League of Cities "Green Cities Conference and Expo"

In April 2009, the National League of Cities is sponsoring a "Green Cities Conference and Expo" in Portland, OR.  The conference looks like a terrific opportunity for municipal leaders to interact with those who have had experience developing sustainability plans, and to see the marvelous work in Portland.  Portland is a city that is deeply committed to sustainability, and at least in terms of the policies and programs it has adopted and implemented, has done about as much as any city in the US to try to become more sustainable.  By some estimates, Portland has reduced its carbon footprint more than any other US city. If you are going to attend, please post your comments on what you hope to accomplish. If you do attend, please post some comments on the experience.

Sustainable Innovation 2009 Conference in the UK

The Centre for Sustainable Design at the University for the Creative Arts in the UK is hosting its 2009 "Sustainable Innovation 09" Conference in late October 2009. The conference is being held at Farnham Castle in Farnham, UK, and they are looking for paper proposals.  Check out the conference web site for more details.  Although most of the conference's subject matter relates to business and industry (sustainable product design, sustainable supply chain management, new business models, etc.), the conference is open to a lot of local government and policy related issues. 

"Sustainability and Quality of Life" Conference

I recently returned from the Annual International Conference of the Royal Geographic Society in London where I presented some work on the connection between local nonprofit organizations and cities' sustainability policies. The conference's theme this year was "Sustainability and Quality of Life," and there was a terrific collection of people who have had a wealth of experience with sustainable cities efforts, mostly in Europe. In any case, here is the paper I wrote with former student Zach Cuttler that I delivered and the Powerpoint presentation I used.  Comments are always welcome.

The Paper: Download RGSLondonpaper.807.pdf

Powerpoint Presentation: Download local_nonprofit_organizations_and_the_pursuit_of_sustainability.ppt

Sustainable Cities and the Royal Geographic Society Conference

If you are interested in research on sustainable cities in the UK and around the world, the annual conference of the Royal Geographic Society, at the end of August 2007, has lots to offer.  There are numerous sessions or panels on various topics, including one three on the subject of Communities, Civil Society and Social Capital for Sustainability.  I am on one of these panels. Check out the paper topics and presenters at
http://www.rgs.org/WhatsOn/Annual+Conference+07/Programme/Programme+Wednesday.htm

My panel is URGR1(3) on Wednesday, but there are other very interesting panels.  Later this month, I will post some information about the paper I will be delivering.

One of the plenary speeches will be given by David Gibbs from the University of Hull on Neoliberalism, Ecological Modernisation and the Sustainable City. 

Let me know if you find this useful, or if you know about other conferences on sustainable cities. I'd be happy to post any information here.