June 6 MI & AED Special Event: Leadership Through Landscape, Exploring the Power of Place and Its Influence on Public Leadership and Sustainability Policy

Special Event: Leadership Through Landscape

Exploring the Power of Place and
Its Influence on Public Leadership and Sustainability Policy

June 6, 2013 ~ 6:00 PM

Artisphere ~ 1101 Wilson Boulevard ~ Arlington VA 22209

Join Virginia Tech’s Metropolitan Institute (MI) and the Arlington Economic Development (AED) in welcoming back Sir Robert Harvey to Arlington, VA. Introduction from the Right Honorable Michael Moore, New Zealand Ambassador to the United States.

For the past 25 years Bob Harvey (still known affectionately as Mayor Bob) has infused the diverse dimensions of sustainability throughout his work as an elected official, international peace envoy, President of the New Zealand Labour Party, businessman, and most recently Chairman of the Auckland waterfront authority. A charismatic speaker and visionary thinker, Harvey came to sustainability through his strong personal and professional bond with the amazing landscape of Auckland’s west region. As a young leader of a local surf club at Karekare Beach, Harvey’s respect and reverence for Waitakere’s rugged coastline and temperate rainforest set the foundation for one of his first political activities — advocating for national legislation that permanently protects the Waitakere Rainforest and Ranges from encroaching suburban development. For Mayor Bob, Leadership through Landscape does not end with acts of conservation and preservation, but becomes a starting point for a dialogue with nature, understanding the landscape, listening to the landscape, and learning from the landscape in ways that reflect the values of New Zealand’s indigenous Maori culture. Building on these themes, Mayor Bob will offer his insights and observations on how sustainability leaders in the US can leverage their own landscapes to support their work in making sustainable communities.

MI and AED welcomes the Right Honorable Michael Moore, New Zealand Ambassador to the US, for introducing Mayor Bob; and commentators, Jay Fisette, Vice Chair, Arlington County Board and Susannah Drake, ASLA, AIA, Principal, delandstudio, New York City.

The full flier is available here.  Please RSVP at http://sirrobertharveylecture.eventbrite.com/ by June 4th.

Focus Interview with UAP's Ralph Buehler Highlights Cycling Culture and Infrastructure

UAP Professor Ralph Buehler was a guest speaker today on Focus, an Illinois public radio program that "features a mix of newsmakers, authors and regular guests to talk about the ideas and issues that affect your life." (http://will.illinois.edu/focus)

This morning's program focused on "cycling, infrastructure and why some in the [Champaign, Illinois] area are working to empower a strong cycling and pedestrian community." Read more about Focus and listen to today's program at http://will.illinois.edu/focus/program/city-cycling.

2013 Ridenour Faculty Fellowship Conference News: “Governing Possibilities and the Possibilities of Governance”

Scholars from the Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) and across the university community are convening today and tomorrow, Friday, April 26, in Blacksburg, Va., for the 2013 Ridenour Faculty Fellowship Conference. This year’s theme is, “Governing Possibilities and the Possibilities of Governance,” and it builds on the successful 2012 Ridenour conference, which focused on Distressed Cities.

For 2013, the interdisciplinary conference coordinating team created a program that explores all levels of governance during this two-day conference. Sessions are structured as discussions and conversations featuring SPIA faculty, graduate students and distinguished guest speakers in various semi-structured formats that allow both information and reflection.

In particular, as the 2013 long-ish title suggests, SPIA invite scholars to think about the social construction of both the form of governance and of what is governed by referring to Pierre Bourdieu’s notion of the “space of possibles” (as a noun). Among the questions that are being explored during the two-day program include:
What is the space of possibles and what is at stake in the field of governance?
We can ask about the social possibilities of governance: what kind of governance are the current socio-economic power relations bringing forth?
And we can ask about the act of governing social possibilities: how are the powers that be organizing what is socially imaginable and thus possible?

Sessions examine questions such as:
How do we understand current debates about governance (or indeed government) in crisis?
How do our definitions of public and private space reflect current forms of governance?
How does the idea of participation and shared governance fit in?
How does governance legitimation change in the face of environmental crisis?
What are the tensions between attempts of democratization in developing countries and a context of neo-liberal international governance?
Finally, what are different theoretical perspectives of the concept of governance and what are its disciplinary and transformative potential?

SPIA scholars strive to integrate scholarship and practice to continuously inform, question, and advance knowledge in the public sphere. The Ridenour Faculty Fellowship Conference provides a forum to advance this core mission.

UAP Students Host Ryerson University Students for Planning Research Discussion

VT UAP and Ryerson students discuss research efforts 

UAP Master's and PhD students in Alexandria welcomed students from Toronto's Ryerson University on Friday April 19th for presentations and conversations about planning research. Virginia Tech PhD students Allison Heck, Arica Young, and Andrea Hamre presented on their ongoing research efforts. Hamre coordinated the gathering of approximately 25 students and community members. 

Participating Virginia Tech students included Jamie Genevie, Terrah Glenn, Andrea Hamre, Allison Heck, Priscila Izar, Arica Young, and Nick Kushner. A wide range of topics were discussed, from cultural preservation and sustainable communities to commuter benefits and comparisons of Canadian and American planning approaches.

May 15 Pre-Conference Roundtable: What Next? The Future of Brownfields Research in Policy and Practice

For individuals heading to the 2013 EPA National Brownfields Conference, a pre-conference roundtable has been organized by Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, St. Louis University and Ryerson University. This roundtable will explore the latest developments in Brownfields research as well as discuss opportunities for future collaborations among researchers, practitioners and policymakers.

Register at http://www.mi.vt.edu/archives/1363

SPIA Family Day at the EU Embassies' Open House

Saturday, May 11
10am-4pm


Join us at the European Union (EU) Embassies’ Open House, the single biggest celebration of the EU in the world.  This annual event demonstrates the EU’s motto of “unity through diversity” by showcasing the range and richness of European society (http://www.euopenhouse.org).  Students, alums, faculty staff, family members and friends are welcome.  This event is rain or shine.

You can also buy a SPIA t-shirt to wear that day to show your Hokie Pride and spread the word about our three programs in Alexandria.  See the registration link above to reserve yours!

RSVP at http://spiaeuopenhouse.eventbrite.com/#

Location: Washington, D.C.

Call for Hokie Volunteers for May 3 Alexandria Community Service Day

Friday, May 3
10am-4pm

Organized by Volunteer Alexandria, Alexandria’s Community Service Day is a City-wide event on Friday, May 3 during which hundreds of people volunteer to support numerous different nonprofit and City agencies, as well as our schools.  As a VT SPIA Team Volunteer, you’ll join other Hokie students, faculty, staff, alums, friends and family members on our team.  You must be 21 or older to participate.

A $25 registration fee to cover tools, T-shirt and food is recommended.  (You can also give more if you’d like to support other Volunteer Alexandria programs throughout the entire year.)   We’ll be one of more than three dozens volunteer teams that day that’ll spread out across the City to help non-profit agencies with a variety of tasks.  You’ll help these short-handed sites prepare for Spring with fresh paint, new flowers and shrubs as well as layers of mulch.

Following the work day, volunteers come together at Alexandria’s Market Square (301 King Street) for a celebration party with refreshments and prizes.  The Service Day is part of Spring for Alexandria – a three-day event with the focus of giving and involves hundreds of volunteers.
 
Sign up for the VT SPIA Team at this link

Location: At a nonprofit location in Alexandria