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    "Excellent. I never expected to walk away with so much – both content (from the project day) & contacts & ideas from the prior 3 days."

    - Non-Profit Executive Director

Previous Program - Summer '08 Sustainability in the Urban Built Environment

Below is a look back at our 2008 program.  The 2009 program on Sustainability in the Urban Built Environment will be very similar in structure and focus, while it has been extended to 5 days.

The 2008 program offered four intensive days on Sustainability in the Urban Built Environment, designed for a mix of professionals and top graduate students, and was set in Portland, Oregon. The curriculum integrated a variety of interaction and learning opportunities each day:

  • Site visits, such as green buildings, new development projects, urban natural resources, energy and infrastructure facilities, the urban growth boundary, and organizations involved in related programs. The program included outings every day, to multiple destinations, with over 75% of the time spent in the field.
  • Guest speakers included experts from leading companies, policy leaders, sustainability experts, and leaders of successful sustainability projects.
  • Classroom time covered new methods in sustainability, and enabled a dynamic exchange between the participants and leaders.
  • Workshops and projects provided an opportunity for participants to work with program leaders and each other to get hands-on experience working with real-world challenges.

This 4-day Program was Unique:

  • Multiple Sectors. The program called on experts from four different sectors: universities, business, government, and not-for-profit.
  • Elite Group. Attendance was limited to a very small number of participants: 20 professionals and 20 top graduate students.
  • Real Curriculum. The program delivered a carefully planned curriculum, not a loosely connected set of talks and panels.  The result: participants left better able to address sustainability challenges in their own work.
  • Multiple Channels. The content was delivered through a mix of field experiences – site visits and interaction with the experts from those sites – plus discussions, guest speakers, and hands-on work, all designed to provide a compelling and interactive experience.

Highlights:

  • Green Development. Talks with leading green developers at their finished sites. Participants witnessed their innovations, challenges and their definition of success.
  • Sustainable Construction. The program visited construction sites and reviewed plans based on the latest sustainable design techniques. 
  • Policy Development. We joined policy leaders while following the urban growth boundary and saw first-hand its impact on planning and development.
  • Sustainable Infrastructure. The group talked with infrastructure leaders, then reviewed water projects and used the transit systems.
  • Interactive Curriculum. Participants worked shoulder-to-shoulder with other leaders, putting new thinking to work in problem-solving exercises.

Featured Sites:

  • The Urban Growth Boundary – Shaping the Plan
  • South Waterfront – A City Expanding
  • The Brewery Blocks – A Multi-Building Vision
  • The Gerding Theater – Historic Preservation with Efficiency Innovation
  • Orenco Station – Transit to a New Town Center
  • New Columbia – Revitalization and Affordability
  • And More…

University Credit:

Attendees also had the option to earn college credits through the University of Oregon at the undergraduate or graduate level with options for 1 or 2 credits. Additional registration fees to the U of O apply depending on the number of credits. Basic tuition was covered in the course registration at Summer Sustainability Series' website. A syllabus is available on request describing additional learning activities for college credits.