The ABCs of EPR and OCRRA - Recycling Efforts Unique to Municipalities

Join us Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 11am ET for a complimentary webinar!

In the first installment of our "Lessons from the Experts" webinar series, Call2Recycle^® and guests will discuss the shared responsibility for end-of-life product management and how that falls on the producer, but also on local governments and municipalities. In addition to discussing extended product responsibility (EPR) and recycling efforts unique to municipalities across the country, the webinar will spotlight the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency, commonly referred to as OCRRA, and their recycling program for rechargeable batteries. OCRRA is a non-profit public benefit corporation that manages the solid waste for 33 of the 35 municipalities in Onondaga County, New York.

OCRRA manages the County's solid waste through a broad spectrum of waste reduction and recycling efforts. Onondaga County's households and commercial outlets are currently recycling better than 60% of the waste that once was buried in landfills, and that includes rechargeable batteries recycled through Call2Recycle.

Register for this webinar spotlighting the OCRRA rechargeable battery recycling program and learn more about EPR and how a municipality program has made battery recycling convenient for participants as well as saved time and money.

In this webinar, you will learn:

• More about EPR and recycling efforts specific to municipalities
• How OCRRA utitilizes partnerships to make battery recycling easy
• How the Call2Recycle program helps OCRRA save time and money

Join OCRRA and Call2Recycle for this webinar, Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 11am ET.

Register today.

WorldFuture 2012: Dream. Design. Develop. Deliver - July 27-29, Toronto - World Future Society - Call for papers for conference volume

Submission deadline February 20, 2012


The 2012 program will follow up on the work we began in Vancouver at the 2011 conference, "Moving from Vision to Action." Our goal will be to help break down that complex process: Each step in generating implementable solutions is necessary and important, but people may only specialize in one area—dreaming, designing, developing, or delivering.


This year, we will be incorporating these papers into one or two special issues of World Future Review, which will be available both electronically and in a print version for conference attendees.


The paper should be no more than about 7,000 words, double-spaced in a Word document (not PDF), and submitted to Timothy Mack by e-mail, tmack@wfs.org. The deadline is February 20, 2012, but we are strongly encouraging early submissions.


Note: The review processes for the essay collection and for the conference program are independent of each other. Attendance or participation on the conference program is neither a guarantee nor a requirement for inclusion in the conference essay collection, and vice versa.


Please refer to our Web site for further details on submitting a paper: www.wfs.org/content/essay-guidelines-worldfuture-2012.
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Stories about those working across boundaries at various scales of regional community following the "community motive" for security, stability and sustainability of humanity.


For daily top stories http://twitter.com/#!/tomchristoffel

Call for papers - Networked regions and cities in times of fragmentation: Developing smart, sustainable and inclusive places

Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands - Sunday 13th - Wednesday 16th May 2012 (Field trip on Sunday 13th May) Deadline for Abstract submission: 31st January 2012 - Regional Studies Association European Conference 2012


Regions and cities are increasingly interdependent; economically, socially and environmentally. They are, for example, becoming more reliant on interregional flows of trade, labour and resources. Patterns of interactions between regions are experiencing rapid changes as a result of dramatic shifts in production and consumption patterns, advances in communication technologies and the development of transport infrastructure. These changes pose many challenges for the analysis and management of regions. They are also leading to new patterns of activities and relationships and new forms of clustering and networking between regions.


At the same time, regions are becoming increasingly fragmented in many ways; economically, socially, environmentally and also politically. Classic forms of government based on clear cut arrangements between administrative levels, policy sectors and the public and private domain are no longer sufficient. The governance of regions faces multi-level, multi-actor and multi-sectoral challenges. New spatial interactions at new scales demand new approaches for consultation and coordination. More flexible (`softer') forms of governance are beginning to emerge which seek to work around traditional governmental arrangements. The result is a complex pattern of overlapping governance and fuzzy boundaries, not just in a territorial sense but also in terms of the role of both public and private actors. These new arrangements pose many as yet unresolved dilemmas concerning the transparency, accountability and legitimacy of decision-making. The 2012 RSA conference in Delft provides a timely opportunity for participants to come together and reflect on the various strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities of networked cities and regions within these different contexts of fragmentation.


Papers that consider these issues in relation to the development of smart, sustainable and inclusive places (the three dimensions of the Europe 2020 Strategy) are particularly encouraged.


Gateway Themes
A. EU Regional policy and practice
B. Climate change, energy and sustainability
C. Migration, housing and labour markets
D. Social and environmental justice and inclusive places
E. Rural and peripheral challenges
F. Territorial cohesion and cooperation
G. City-regions, networks and urban systems
H. Spatial analysis and regional economies
I. Borders, border regions and cross-border learning
J. Industries, entrepreneurship, and regional competitiveness
K. Innovation and knowledge economies
L. Creativity, identities and branding
M. Territorial governance: planning policy and practice
N. Infrastructure and development
O. Local and regional economic development


Organisers welcome proposals for special sessions, themed workshops and innovative forms of networking and collaboration. If you would like to organise or offer a session to the conference please contact: Elizabeth Mitchell at events@regionalstudies.org and we will assist you.


Academic organisers: Wil Zonneveld: W.A.M.Zonneveld@tudelft.nl, Evert Meijers:
E.J.Meijers@tudelft.nl , Dominic Stead: D.Stead@tudelft.nl RSA Organiser: Elizabeth Mitchell: elizabeth.mitchell@regionalstudies.org


For the most up-to-date version of this call for papers visit: http://www.regionalstudies.org/events/future.asp

Kris Wernstedt and Patrick Roberts awarded NSF grant to study use of climate science in rural America flood planning and management

"Kris Wernstedt, associate professor, Urban Affairs and Planning, and Patrick Roberts, assistant professor, Center for Public Administration and Policy, in the National Capital Region were recently awarded a grant in a National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Agriculture competition to fund a three-year project, Emergency Management in Rural America: Decision-Makers’ Use of Climate Science in Flood Planning and Management. The project will examine the obstacles to and opportunities for the use of seasonal climate forecasts in flood planning and management in rural areas of the United States"  Read more of this story by Barbara Micale

Nov 8 and 10 Faculty Candidate Lecture: Mitchell Rose

MITCHELL ROSE, PH.D.

Lecturer - Department of Geography

University of Hull, UK

Candidate for the GIA-NCR position

“Negative Governance”

Alexandria, Tuesday, Nov 8, 12:00p at Prince Street, Room 304

Blacksburg, Thursday, Nov 10, 12:30p in Major Williams 527

"I grew up outside Detroit, Michigan but have been living and working in the UK for the last 13 years. Currently I hold a lectureship in the Department of Geography at the University of Hull, where I teach courses in cultural geography, social theory and on the culture and politics of the Middle East. My fascination with the Middle East began while living in Israel in 1987, the year of the first Intifada. The experience encouraged me to learn Arabic and pursue a degree in Middle Eastern History at the University of Wisconsin the following year. After graduating in 1992, I moved to Washington DC to work for Search for Common Ground, an NGO that facilitates unofficial diplomatic meetings between Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, Jordanian, Lebanese and Syrian representatives. In 1994, I left to pursue an MA in International Relations at Syracuse University with the intention of working for the US Foreign Service. It was while conducting research on oral poetry in Yemen that I discovered cultural geography. Specifically, I was intrigued by how tribal poets summoned distinct geographical sites to elicit a sense of tribal belonging. Thus, mountains, oasis and wells became lyrical markers around which community identity could be affirmed and conflicts settled. The research drew me into the geographic literature on landscape and I began another MA in geography in 1996. Two years later, I left the US to pursue my doctorate at the University of Cambridge which explored the politics of governing heritage sites in Egypt. My work continues to be characterized by an enduring interest in the culture, history and politics of the Middle East as well as debates in cultural and political theory."

APA's Planning Communications Boot Camp

From APA:

"Introducing APA's Planning Communications Boot Camp

Do you want to be a smart, effective advocate for planning in your community? Enlist in basic training.

Planners encounter a variety of challenges that include ideological attacks on planning, constrained budgets, and inhospitable economic and political climates. APA is about to launch an intensive effort to help members build public support, counter critics, and reframe local perceptions of planning. Communications Boot Camp will empower and transform planner participants into highly effective messengers and planning advocates.

Communications Boot Camp will include free webinars, how-to guides, case studies, and other online training materials — everything you need to become a forceful champion of planning in your community. The program draws on the insights and expertise of communications specialist Robin Rather of Collective Strength, our Washington, D.C.-based partner Axiom Communications, and other experienced communications professionals who work locally.

Once a week — beginning November 4 and ending January 31 — APA will conduct a webinar or release a detailed how-to guide focused on a key communications topic.

APA will publish complete event and registration information on our website, in APA Interact, and in e-mails sent in advance of each activity. Communications Boot Camp webinars are free but registration is required.

E-mail questions about Communications Boot Camp to govtaffairs@planning.org

Communications Boot Camp Schedule

November 4, 2011
Webinar
First steps in responding to critics and reframing planning

November 11
How-to guide
Agenda 21 and planning: Myths and facts

November 18
Webinar
Successful public meetings and managing contentious situations

November 25
How-to guide
Glossary for the public

December 2
Webinar
Mastering the pivot: Message discipline and effective media response

December 9
How-to-guide
Making the economic case for planning

December 16
Webinar
Effective coalitions, outreach, and engagement

December 21
How-to guide
Working with the media

January 6, 2012
Webinar
Planning for the state legislative session

January 13
How-to guide
Working with elected officials

January 20
Webinar
Social media strategies: Using, organizing, monitoring, and responding

January 27
How-to-guide
Building relationships with partners and local leaders

January 31
How-to guide
Step-by-step guide to building communications into your planning process

________________________________
Communications Boot Camp does not offer CM credit."

UAP Faculty In the News: Derek Hyra

UAP Assistant Professor Derek Hyra was quoted in an AP article on redevelopment in Chicago that made it's way to several media outlets across the country, including The Chicago Tribune.

Dr. Hyra also was recently quoted in another article and blog on gentrification in DC.

Article: http://wp11.americanobserver.net/2011/10/dc-housing-values-rise-but-who-can-afford-it/

Blog: http://blog.inshaw.com/2011/10/damned-if-it-does-damned-if-it-doesnt--gentrification.html