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October 2011
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Welcome to the 9th Annual www.CitiesAlive.org Green Roof and Wall Conference
Restoring Urban Water: Philadelphia Takes the Lead
 

Water is a crucial aspect of the urban ecosystem and one that is gaining attention in cities around the world.  CitiesAlive: 9th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference in Philadelphia, PA is the only physical conference in North America dedicated to the green roof and wall industry and this year, it will focus on using green infrastructure to preserve and revitalize urban water.  Green roofs and walls are key components in restoring vital water resources in the urban environment, and improving the health and well-being of communities.

CitiesAlive is an annual multi-disciplinary conference dedicated to growing new business opportunities for green roofs and walls through the latest scientific research, innovative design practices and products, and novel public policy development.

Municipal governments across North America are realizing the value of improving urban water through green infrastructure.  CitiesAlive co-hosts, the City of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, have developed a multi-billion dollar plan to develop an integrated water management system that will include green roofs and walls, and other forms of green infrastructure.  They plan to invest more than $2 billion over the next 25 years to produce over 9,000 “green acres” to manage their stormwater.

“Here in Philadelphia, we have made a serious commitment to sustainability.  Green roofs and green infrastructure are an important part of that commitment, and we are excited to share our work as we welcome you to Philadelphia for CitiesAlive,” said City of Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. (See www.citiesalive.org – “Why Philadelphia” to learn more about the City’s plans.)

PECO Main Office Building, one of Philadelphia’s most prominent green roofs. Photo courtesy of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency is also connecting citizens across the country through its Urban Waters Movement, by empowering communities to learn about their local waterways, share ideas and solutions, and act to clean up and improve access to those waters with tools like green roofs and walls.  In April, the EPA launched an initiative to promote green infrastructure, partnering with 10 cities across the country.

CitiesAlive will feature the launch of its second installment of the Integrated Water Management Course for Buildings and Sites Series, which focuses on case studies that strive to reach the “Net Zero Water” performance goal.  The Net Zero Water performance goal is tough to meet, but it is a central requirement to achieving Cascadia’s Living Building Challenge and critically important in water stressed regions.

Sponsored by EWING, through the effective implementation of green roofs and walls, this course approaches strategies to significantly reduce the consumption of potable water on buildings in order to deliver sustainable living systems to the urban environment.

“With the growing demand and initiatives dedicated to restoring urban water, the need for specialized, professionally developed education in this field is becoming increasingly vital,” said Jeffrey Bruce, Chair of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.

This new Integrated Water course is one of many education sessions being offered at CitiesAlive, as well as a Green Roof Professional (GRP) accreditation exam, and Advanced Maintenance and Urban Rooftop Agriculture. Some of these courses are now, for the first time, also available online at GRHC’s Living Architecture Academy, our 24/7, 365 online training center – www.livingarchitectureacademy.com.

CitiesAlive delegates will also explore the full potential of living green infrastructure through expert panel discussions and meetings with green roof and wall industry experts highlighting the latest science on green roof and wall performance research. It will also feature tours of extraordinary green roof and wall projects, an industry trade Show, and award winning green roof designs. Highlight of additional new features for CitiesAlive this year include:

• Keynote Address by Kevin Kampschroer, Director, High Performance Buildings, GSA on Wed. Nov. 30

• Integrated Design Workshop with award winning designer Paul Kephart, Rana Creek on Wed. Nov. 30

• Revised Green Roof Policy Workshop with Peter Lowitt, Devens Enterprise Commission and Hamid Karimi, Department of Environment, Washington DC, on Wed. Nov. 30

• Local Host Committee Dinner and Reception for all delegates at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Museum and School on Thurs. Dec. 1 – organized by our co-hosts City of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

• Awards of Excellence Luncheon on Friday Dec. 2. See www.greenroofs.org for Award Winning Projects.

• World Green Infrastructure Network Board meeting and more international participation.

• Sponsored panel discussion Thurs and Fri. on Indoor Greening Research, Integrated Design Practices, Growing Media Standards, Green Roof Rating System

• Student design charrette and final closing plenary…

• Downtown Sheraton Hotel – Conference rate of only $159 until Nov. 15 – at the center of everything.

For more information about CitiesAlive: 9th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference in Philadelphia November 30 – December 3, 2011, please visit www.citiesalive.org.  Book before Nov. 1 and save $50!

Let’s work together to restore urban waters with Living Architecture!
 
 

Steven Peck
Founder and president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities

Steven Peck is the founder and president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), a membership-based industry association developing the green (vegetative) roof and wall industry in North America.  GRHC’s mission is to increase the awareness of the economic, social and environmental benefits of green roofs and green walls, and other forms of living architecture through education, advocacy, professional development and celebrations of excellence.  Visit www.greenroofs.org  for more information

Contact Steven at: speck@greenroofs.org.

The opinions expressed by our Guest Feature writers and editors may not necessarily reflect the beliefs of Greenroofs.com, and are offered to our readers to simply present individual views and experiences and open a dialogue of further discussion, debate and research.  Enjoy, and if you have a particular comment, please contact the author or send us an email to:  comments@greenroofs.com.

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