[Scpg] Ecocity World Summit April 22-26, 2008 San Francisco CA

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

Ecocity World Summit April 22-26, 2008 San Francisco CA



www.ecocityworldsummit.org/

Conference Program

You’ll be learning from some of the greenest 
urban pioneers alive, including “can do” 
politicians, genius innovators, design 
visionaries, urban eco radicals, stellar 
activists and other creative problem solvers.

Ecocity World Summit Main Conference Summary Schedule

Please note that this is a tentative summary 
schedule and subject to changes and revisions at 
this time. A more detailed schedule for both the 
Main Conference and Academic and Talent Scouting 
Sessions will be posted as soon as it is ready. 
The order of presentations and breakout/panels 
have not been finalized. Speakers and moderators 
for Main Hall Topics will be added soon.



Main Hall Topics





The Future of Cities, Towns and Villages

[]





"What do cities do for humanity and to nature?"

"What do cities, towns and villages have to do 
with the triple crisis of climate change, species 
extinctions and coming peak oil and energy scarcity?"
"Can we run whole cities on renewable energy and 
maintain a good quality of life for everyone? (In 
the long run is there anything else to run them on?)"

"Can we transform cities in time to solve these 
serious problems of the environment?"

"How can we prioritize and plan for the shift 
from unhealthy to ecologically healthy cities, 
towns and villages, and how should these models 
be crafted so that they can be adopted by both 
developing and developed countries?"



The Future of Land Use and Cities, Towns and Villages

[]





"How do basic land use arrangements work for or 
against social and economic vitality, energy 
conservation, open space and nature, and for or 
against natural restoration and health, from the local to the global?"

"How can cities be reshaped to cover far less 
land area while increasing livability and energy efficiency?"

"What can governments do to regulate and govern 
the use of land without encroaching on individual rights?"

"How can nature be restored and celebrated inside cities as well as outside?"

"What is the relationship between population, wealth, and land use?"



The Future of Architecture/Design and Cities, Towns and Villages

[]





"What is the difference between “green building” 
and arrangements of buildings that create healthy 
built environments for entire communities, including low-income residents?"

"What are examples of architectural and design 
features that larger buildings can adopt for 
different climate zones and building styles? "

"In an ecological city, how can architecture and 
design reflect the human scale within the taller 
and more compact built environment? "

"How do architects design with an understanding 
and relationship to their immediate surroundings, 
the natural environment, and the whole city structure? "

"Now that nearly everyone is claiming "green" 
credintials,how can we quickly sort out the 
viable soutions from all the green hype?"



The Future of Transportation and Cities, Towns and Villages

[]





"What are the main modes of transportation 
worldwide, and then broken down into regions of the world?"

"How does the automobile impact the overall form and function of the city?"

 >"What forms of transportation best support the ecocity model?"

"What relationship does land use have to transportation?"

"How can cities start shifting subsidies over 
towards forms of transportation that fit the ecocity model?"



The Future of Energy and Cities, Towns and Villages

[]





"What do we primarily use energy for and where does it come from at present?"

"What is “peak oil” and how will it impact us in the future?"

"What energy sources and technologies are going 
to be able to address the needs of the future 
without further damage to the environment and atmosphere?"

"How does the form and efficiency of the built 
environment correlate to energy and natural resource supply and demand?"

"What are the consequences of trying to maintain 
a fossil fuel based form of transportation and 
land use (private automobiles/sprawl) on another 
transport energy source, like biofuels? "



The Future of Nature and the Built Human Environment

[]





"What is the state of the world’s environment, on 
land and in the oceans and atmosphere?"

"How have humans impacted the health of the planet?"

"How have cities, towns, and villages 
specifically contributed to environmental degradation?"

"How can the built environment be changed to help 
save the natural environment?"

"How can we stop climate change and save species from extinction?"



The Future of Food and Cities, Towns and Villages

[]





"How did populations feed themselves in the past, 
and how did that change after the discovery of oil?"

"Can the big agribusiness model be sustainable?"

"Can local and regional farms and organic farming 
be economically and ecologically sustainable and 
can they adequately supply the needs of the 
world’s cities, towns and villages?"

"How does government subsidy and policy determine 
what kind of food is produced and how it is 
distributed, and how could that change in order 
to support the transition to more locally based food systems?"

"What are the impacts on hunger if crops are 
increasingly shifted over from food to fuel to maintain automobile fleets?"



The Future of Consumption and Population and Cities, Towns and Villages

[]





"On a global scale, who is over-consuming natural resources and by how much?"

"How can we address problems of over consumption and overpopulation?"

"Is there a level of consumption that everyone 
could aspire to that would afford a good quality 
of life without destroying the biosphere?"

"How does the structure of the city, town and 
village relate to consumption of resources per capita?"

"If we built cities to run on a fraction of the 
energy and resources they do now, approximately 
how many people could the earth support?"



The Future of Business and Cities, Towns and Villages

[]





"What is the main purpose of doing business?"

"Is the corporate business model helping or hurting overall?"

"Should businesses be more global or more local 
in order to benefit the most people and the environment?"

"What role does government play in making sure 
businesses are protecting and serving the 
citizens and the environment as well as their own interests?"

"What efforts and models are available that 
demonstrate a shift from big business to locally 
owned and operated businesses supporting a local economy?'



The Future of Government and Cities, Towns and Villages

[]





"How are governments currently addressing the 
problems of climate change and its impact on 
citizens, the economy, the environment and the future?"

"How can government lead us from the Age of Oil into a new Ecological Era?"

"What governments are taking a leadership role in 
addressing the needs of the present and a future 
facing climate change, peak oil and other 
environmental, social and economic problems?"

"How can governments work together to address 
problems of climate change, over-consumption, 
population, social justice, biodiversity collapse 
and other serious problems facing humanity?"

Full details on Presentations, Plenary Speakers, 
Breakout Sessions, Tours, Meals, Exhibit Hall 
Hours and Special Events will be posted as they become available.


The Ecocity World Summit is a conference in two parts:



Part 1: Academic and Talent Scouting Sessions

Preceding the Ecocity World Summit Main 
Conference will be two days of Academic and 
Talent Scouting Sessions. Select students and 
researchers from around the world will present 
their best ecocity innovations and solutions for 
review, critique and discussion. As part of the 
Academic and Talent Scouting Sessions you will find:
    * Dozens of presentations to choose from on 
everything from eco sanitation, building 
materials and design, transportation systems, 
alternative energy, city design and planning, 
environmental restoration, and economic, social 
and political and institutional strategies for ecocity development.
    * Opportunity to present your research, 
theories, examples, analysis and proposals to an international peer group.
    * Hundreds of delegates with similar 
intensity and passion for their topics.
    * Leading academic advisors and expert session leaders.
    * Forums for review, discussion and debate of new ideas and proposals.
    * A CD containing all Academic and Talent Scouting Sessions presented.



Part 2: Ecocity World Summit Main Conference

Next is the three-day Ecocity World Summit Main 
Conference, with top international keynoters, 
experts, authors, thinkers and doers, launched by 
a public event on Wednesday night after the close 
of the Academic and Talent Scouting Sessions. 
During the Ecocity World Summit Main Conference you'll experience:
    * Plenary sessions with some of the world’s 
most thoughtful and innovate city planners, 
architects, environmental preservationists, 
landscape architects, green economists, ecocity 
visionaries, social critics and experts in ecocity-related fields.
    * Breakout sessions focused on the wide range 
of ecocity-related topics, but organized around a 
central theme: The Organic City.
    * Opportunity to learn from an international 
group with diverse and useful insights and experiences.
    * Hundreds of delegates with similar 
intensity and passion for their topics.
    * Skillful and engaging breakout session leaders.
    * Opportunities for discussion, collaboration, networking and socializing.

Interspersed: Tours, cultural events, party.



Conference Speakers

The Ecocity World Summit will bring together many 
of the world’s best and brightest in the ecocity, 
town and village movement. Keep checking back as more speakers are confirmed.



Confirmed Speakers

Lois Arkin, Founder, <http://www.laecovillage.org>Los Angeles Ecovillage

Dr. Sahar Attia, Professor of Planning and Urban 
Design, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

David Beach, Founder and Executive Director, 
<http://www.ecocitycleveland.org>EcoCity Cleveland

Tim Beatley, Teresa Heinz Professor of 
Sustainable Communities, Department of Urban and 
Environmental Planning, School of Architecture, 
<http://www.arch.virginia.edu/faculty/TimothyBeatley>University of Virginia

Dan Beard, Chief Administrative Officer, US House 
of Representatives, Washington DC, 
<http://cao.house.gov/green-capitol.shtml>Green the Capitol Initiative

Peter Berg, Founder, <http://www.planetdrum.org>Planet Drum Foundation

Lalit Bhati, architect, urban planner, 
spokesperson for <http://www.auroville.org>Auroville, India

Rajiv Bhatia, MD, MPH. Director, Occupational & 
Environmental Health, 
<http://www.dph.sf.ca.us>San Francisco Department of Public Health

Joan Bokaer, eco-visionary, co-founder, 
<http://www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us>Ecovillage at Ithaca, NY

Jared Blumenfeld, director of the 
<http://www.sfenvironment.org>San Francisco Department of the Environment

Gary Braasch, photographer and author of 
<http://www.earthunderfire.com>“Earth Under Fire, 
How Global Warming is Changing the World"

Peter Brastow, founding director, 
<http://www.natureinthecity.org/>Nature in the City, San Francisco

Wendy Brawer, ecological designer and networker, 
<http://www.greenmap.org/mwd/about/web.html>Green Map System founder

Gray Brechin, historical geographer and author, 
founder of the <http://newdealproject.org>Living New Deal Project

Ernest Callenbach, author of visionary novel Ecotopia

Stuart Cohen, co-founder and Executive Director 
of the 
<http://www.transcoalition.org>Transportation and Land Use Coalition (TALC)

Betsy Damon, Executive Director, 
<http://www.keepersofthewaters.org>Keeper of the Waters

Jonathan Dawson, Executive Secretary of 
<http://www.gen-europe.org/>GEN-Europe and a 
sustainability educator at the <http://www.findhorn.org>Findhorn Foundation

Serigne Mbaye Dine, village leader, Yoff, 
Senegal, co-convenor, The Third International Ecocity Conference

Paul Downton, Principal Architect and Urban 
Ecologist, <http://www.ecopolis.com.au/main.html>Ecopolis Architects, Australia

Peter Droege, Senior Advisor, 
<http://www.bjghy.com.cn/English/Index.html>Beijing 
Municipal Institute for City Planning and Design, 
Steering Committee member, 
<http://www.uccrn.org/Site/Home.html>Urban 
Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN). Chair, 
<http://www.wcre.org>World Council for Renewable 
Energy (WCRE) Asia Pacific, author 
of<http://www.renewablecity.org> “The Renewable City”

Debra Efroymson, Regional Director, 
<http://www.healthbridge.ca/index_e.cfm>HealthBridge, Bangladesh

Reid Ewing, lead author of the 
<http://www.uli.org>Urban Land Institutes study 
“Growing Cooler, the Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change”

Paul Fenn, founder and director, 
<http://www.local.org>Local Power, Oakland, California

India Flint, 
<http://www.indiaflint.com>(eco)fashion designer, 
cloth colourist & costumiere, Australia

Gil Friend, systems ecologist and business 
strategist, founder, president and CEO of 
<http://www.natlogic.com/>Natural Logic, Inc.

Eric Holt-Giménez. Executive Director, 
<http://www.foodfirst.org>FoodFirst/Institute for 
Food and Development Policy, author of Campesino 
a Campesino: Voices from Latin America’s Farmer 
to Farmer Movement for Sustainable Agriculture

Maneka Gandhi, Member of Parliament, Pilibhi, 
India, Founder, People for Animals

Gao Guihua, Vice President and Director, Shanghai Industrial Investment Company

Parris Glendening, former Governor of Maryland 
and President, <http://www.sgli.org>Smart Growth 
Leadership Institute, a project of Smarth Growth America

Gwendolyn Hallsmith, Founder and Executive 
Director, <http://www.global-community.org>Global Community Initiatives

Phil Hawes, Project Director, 
<http://www.globalecovillage.com>Global EcoVillage Development Company

Peter Head, <http://www.arup.com>Arup, Director, Planning Plus

John Holtzclaw, Director of Sierra Club 
<http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl>Challenge to Sprawl Campaign, San Francisco

Walter Hood, Professor of Landscape Architecture 
B.L.A., University of California, Principal, 
<http://www.wjhooddesign.com>Hood Design

Huey Johnson, founder of 
<http://www.rri.org>Resource Renewal Institute 
and <http://www.tpl.org>Trust for Public Land

Nazreen Kadir, scholar in science and public 
policy at the 
<http://www.california.com/wisr>Western Institute for Social Research

Patrick Kennedy, urban infill developer, 
Berkeley, California, founder, 
<http://www.panoramicinterests.com>Panoramic Interests

Jeffrey Kenworthy, Professor in Sustainable 
Cities,<http://www.sustainability.murdoch.edu.au> 
Institute for Sustainability and Technology 
Policy at Murdoch University in Western Australia

Pierre Laconte, <http://www.ffue.org>Foundation 
for the Urban Environment, Belgium, President, 
<http://www.isocarp.org>International Society of City and Regional Planners

Jaime Lerner, Renowned architect and urban 
planner, former Mayor of Curitiba, Brazil, 
co-founder of<http://www.ippuc.org.br/> IPPUC 
(Institute of Urban Planning and Research of Curitiba)

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, 
<http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a12/default.aspx>CA 
State Assembly Majority Whip, Chair of the Legislative High-Speed Rail Caucus

Sylvia McLaughlin, Co-founder, Save the San Francisco Bay Association, Berkeley

Gabriel Metcalf, Executive 
Director,<http://www.spur.org/> San Francisco 
Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR)

Bernard Otoki Moirongo, Professor, National 
School of Architecture and Planning, Kenya

Dr. Tadeusz Patzek, Professor, Department of 
Civil and Environmental Engineering, UC Berkeley

Dr. Raquel Rivera Pinderhughes, 
Professor<http://bss.sfsu.edu/raquelr> of Urban 
Studies, San Francisco State University

Rick Pruetz, Specialist in 
<http://www.beyondtakingsandgivings.com/tdr.htm>transfer 
of development rights and related planning/preservation tools

Richard Register, President, 
<http://www.ecocitybuilders.org>Ecocity Builders, 
author of Ecocities, Rebuilding Cities in Balance with Nature (2006)

Maria Rosario, Senior Architect and Planner for 
the Latin America Region at 
<http://www.padco.aecom.com>PADCO/AECOM in Washington DC.

Stephen H. Schneider, Climatologist, Stanford 
University, scientist sharing the Nobel Peace 
Prize for the UN Intergovernmental Pannel on Climate Change with Al Gore

Christopher Swan, advocate for the further 
development and future of photovoltaic solar 
energy systems and for light rail (rail transport) systems

Geoff Syphers, Chief Sustainability Officer, 
<http://www.codding.com>Codding Enterprises

Prof. Sundarshan Tiwari, Architect and City Historian, Nepal

Brent Toderian, Director of Planning, Vancouver, BC

Mary Evelyn Tucker, Senior Lecturer in Religion 
and the Environment at Yale University, 
Co-Director, 
<http://www.environment.harvard.edu/religion/main.html>The 
Forum on Religion and Ecology, Harvard University

Dr. Mathis Wackernagle, Executive Director, 
<http://www.footprintnetwork.org>Global Footprint 
Network, co-founder of the Ecological Footprint Analysist

Isabel Wade, 
<http://www.sfneighborhoodparks.org>SF 
Neighborhood Parks Council Executive Director

Liz Walker, Co-founder of 
<http://www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us>Ecovillage at Ithaca, Ithaca, New York

Rusong Wang, President, Ecological Society of China

Curtis White, American essayist, author of The 
Spirit of Disobedience: Resisting the Charms of 
Fake Politics, Mindless Consumption, and the 
Culture of Total Work (PoliPointPress, 2006)

Ken Yeang, eco-architect, Malaysia, England

Gene Zellmer, architect, early pioneer in green building



Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
(805) 962-2571
P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
margie at sbpermaculture.org
www.sbpermaculture.org

"We are like trees, we must create new leaves, in 
new directions, in order to grow." - Anonymous


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