Graduate-level Study Abroad Courses from the Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability

Courtsy of CLiGS:

"The Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability (CLiGS) is a new program of the College of Natural Resources and Environment in the National Capital Region focused on building leadership for sustainability in a changing world.  CLiGS is developing a suite of integrated education, research, and engagement programs focused on innovative strategies for advancing sustainable development practice in rapidly developing regions of the world.  An integral part of each of these programs is a graduate-level study abroad course that is project-based, professionally-oriented, pragmatic, and interdisciplinary.  The goal of these GSI (Global Sustainability Initiative) Projects is to provide graduate students with valuable professional and international experience without having to take a full to do it. 

CLiGS is offering four GSI Projects over the next two years that we think you might be interested in. 

 This summer, CLiGS is offering two GSI Projects, each for 6-credits:

·      China Waters GSI Project (Summer I) will focus on balancing resource management (particularly water) with tremendous economic development activity on different landscapes in southeast China, including rice terraces

·      Greening of Russia’s Cities GSI Project (Summer II) will focus on the paradoxes presented by Russia’s urban expansion and opportunities and constraints for greening the cities.

 In 2014, CLiGS is offering two additional GSI Projects, each for 6-credits:

·      India’s Urban Ecosystems GSI Project (Spring – travel dates over winter break) will focus on strategies and challenges for managing socio-ecological systems in Mumbai.

·      South Africa’s Ecological Infrastructure GSI Project (Summer I) will focus on innovative partnerships and strategies for managing ecological infrastructure systems in the Durban and Johannesburg regions.

Visit http://gsi.cnre.vt.edu  to learn more about each of the projects, sign-up for updates, and submit an application to become part of a GSI Project Team. The deadline for the Summer 2013 courses is quickly approaching, so be sure to check it out now if you are interested."

UAP Professor Derek Hyra Appointed to Alexandria Planning Commission

Derek Hyra, Ph.D.

Congratulations to UAP's Derek Hyra! Last night he was appointed by the city council to Alexandria's Planning Commission for a 4-year term.  See the story in today's Old Town Patch.

On the planning commission, he plans to focus on promoting affordable housing opportunities as well as equitable and sustainable development.  (Courtesy of SPIA)

UAP Professor Yang Zhang Selected to Attend 2013 International Faculty Development Program

Yang Zhang. Ph.D.

Please join us in congratulating UAP Professor Yang Zhang on his selection to attend the 2013 Virginia Tech International Faculty Development Program (IFDP).  The focus of this year's program will be leadership development for managing an international program.  Held in late May, the IFDP will take place in Singapore and Johor Bahru, Malaysia, with hosting by the National University of Singapore and the University of Technology, Malaysia.  

In fall 2012, Dr. Zhang was appointed as the MURP Program Director in Blacksburg. His book, entitled “Sustainability, Hazard Mitigation, and Urban Land Use Planning,” was published by Science Press in China. He is currently working on a NSF funded project titled “Developing an Intergovernmental Management Framework for Sustainable Recovery Following Catastrophic Disasters.”

“Local Food and Local Food Hubs” Friday March 22 and Friday May 3

Courtesy of the NOVA Food Coalition:

"Two upcoming NOVA Food Coalition
Presentations and Dialogues
“Local Food and Local Food Hubs”
Friday March 22 and Friday May 3

All Welcome.  Both events are free.
Please do circulate on your networks

• Please RSVP so we have ideas of numbers at http://goo.gl/8qVxn

The registration form takes 2 minutes to complete.

Any questions: please contact  Maryvandyke4@gmail.com, 571 425 5278

1) Friday March 22, 10 AM - noon

“Highlighting Opportunities for Local Sustainable Food at Fairfax INOVA Hospital”

Seema Wadhwa, Director of Sustainability, INOVA Fairfax Hospital

and John Nichols, Director Food Services, INOVA Fairfax Hospital

At: Inova Fairfax Hospital:
Materials Management Department
Support Services Building
Conference Room, b and c
Map at http://goo.gl/96OMd
Directions at http://goo.gl/v8t7x

Hosted by:
Seema Wadhwa
Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
Inova Health System

and
2) Friday May 3, 10 AM  - noon

“Local Food Supply and Distribution Solutions

for Individuals and Larger Institutional Consumers”

Brian LeCouteur, Planner, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, MWCOG

“DC Metro Area: Local Food Supply and Demand”

James Barham, USDA Marketing Specialist

“Overview of Food Hubs: Challenges and Solutions, Local and National”

At: George Mason University, Arlington
Founders Hall,
Arlington Campus - room # 125
Directions and Map http://arlington.gmu.edu/
3301 Fairfax Drive
Arlington
VA 22201

Hosted by:
Danielle Wyman
Sustainability Projects Coordinator
George Mason University

All Welcome.  Both events are free.
Please do circulate on your networks

• Please RSVP so we have ideas of numbers at http://goo.gl/8qVxn

The registration form takes 2 minutes to complete.

Any questions: please contact  Maryvandyke4@gmail.com, 571 425 5278"

Tues March 12: Urban Foods - From Fast to Healthy and Sustainable

Courtesy of ACE:

"The 35th ACE Annual Meeting 

Urban Foods - From Fast to Healthy and Sustainable
Tuesday, March 12, 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.
NRECA, 4301 Wilson Blvd., Arlington

Join Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment (ACE) for our annual membership meeting and a celebration of 35 years. ACE promotes stewardship of our natural resources and practical solutions to a sustainable lifestyle in order to protect water, air, and open spaces in the Arlington community. The event will feature Chef Cathal Armstrong as our keynote speaker. Chef Armstrong's work at Restaurant Eve in Alexandria has received numerous awards and accolades. Now with the opening of Eamonn's on Columbia Pike, Chef Armstrong is bringing a taste of his native Dublin to Arlington. Armstrong is a leader in the local food movement and was recently featured in a program on the Kojo Nnamdi show about kids and food with Alice Waters.

Other speakers will include:    

• John Vihstadt, Chair of the Urban Agriculture Task Force
• Charles Meng, Executive Director, and Puwen Lee, Volunteer Services & Plot Against Hunger Manager, of the Arlington Food Assistance Center  

We will also provide an overview of ACE programming for 2013, hold the election for the 2013-2014 board of directors and serve light refreshments.

More information: www.arlingtonenvironment.org, volunteer@arlingtonenvironment.org or 703-228-6427."

You're Invited: 2013 Spring MI+SPIA Lecture Series on U Street's Transformation, DC Planning and Urban Absorption in a Shrinking City

2013 Spring MI+SPIA Lecture Series 
Virginia Tech Research Center, Arlington, VA

Hosted by: Urban Affairs and Planning Program

All events will convene at the Virginia Tech Research Center – Arlington,  900 N Glebe Rd, Arlington, VA 22203

Please RSVP to Tina Whaley.

FEBRUARY

 

“Corridor of Cool: A Tale of Washington’s U Street”  A Lecture by Blair Ruble, Thursday, February 28^th

East/West Falls Church Room
6:00 – 6:30 PM Q&A Session for potential Urban Affairs and Planning (UAP) graduate students
6:30-7:30 PM (Presentation)
7:30-8:30 (discussion)
Light Refreshments will be served
Full Flyer Available here.
Please RSVP by February 26, 2013

MARCH

 

“Planning Lessons from D.C.”  A Lecture by Harriet Tregoning, Thursday, March 28^th

East/West Falls Church Room
6:00 – 6:30 PM Q&A Session for potential Urban Affairs and Planning (UAP) graduate students
6:30-7:30 PM (Presentation)
7:30-8:30 (discussion)
Light Refreshments will be served
RSVP by March 26, 2013

APRIL

 

“Urban Absorption in a Shrinking City: A close examination of depopulation, land use change, and city planning”  A Lecture by Justin Hollander, Thursday, April 11^th

Ballston Room
6:00 – 6:30 PM Q&A Session for potential Urban Affairs and Planning (UAP) graduate students
6:30-7:30 PM (Presentation)
7:30-8:30 (discussion)
Light Refreshments will be served
Full Flyer Available here.
RSVP by April 9, 2013

Location:

Virginia Tech Research Center
900 N. Glebe Road, Arlington, VA Directions/Parking Information
Street Parking and Pay Parking Garage Available
5-minute walk from the Ballston-Marymount U Metro Station (orange line)
For questions or more information, please contact Tina Whaley at (703) 706-8100.

 
MI+SPIA is a joint research effort between the Metropolitan Institute of Virginia Tech and the Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs.

Wed Mar 6: Megaprojects, Megaevents, and the Right to Housing in Rio de Janeiro: The Porto Maravilha Urban Operation

Wednesday, March 6, 7-8:30 pm
100 Hancock, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Presented by the Urban Affairs and Planning Program and the School of Public and International Affairs

This presentation discusses the experience of an urban planning studio of the Master of Planning Program at Columbia University (http://www.arch.columbia.edu/files/gsapp/imceshared/lld2117/1_RioStudio2012_FinalReport_interactive.pdf ). The studio analyzed the urban megaproject Porto Maravilha and the challenges and opportunities it posed to the maintenance and expansion of affordable and inclusionary housing in the port area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It evaluated the extent to which current policy and institutional conditions of Rio and Brazil helped or hindered an adequate response to the housing challenges in the port and the city, and proposed specific reforms and innovations that could help overcome barriers for maintenance and production of affordable and inclusionary housing in Brazil in general and Rio de Janeiro and the port area in particular. The presentation shows both the substantive planning exercise and a metareflection of the challenges and opportunities of the pedagogical experience.

Clara Irazábal is the Director of the Latin Lab (http://www.arch.columbia.edu/labs/latin-lab) and an Assistant Professor of Urban Planning in the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University, New York City. She received a Ph.D. in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley, and has two Masters in Architecture and Urban Design and Planning from the University of California at Berkeley and the Universidad Central de Venezuela, respectively. In her research and teaching, she explores the interactions of culture, politics, and placemaking, and their impact on community development and socio-spatial justice. She primarily focuses on Latin American cities and Latino communities in the US. Irazábal has worked as consultant, researcher, and/or professor in Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Germany, Spain, Vietnam, and the US; and has lectured in many other countries. She is the author of Urban Governance and City Making in the Americas: Curitiba and Portland Ashgate, 2005) and the editor of Ordinary Places, Extraordinary Events: Citizenship, Democracy, and Public Space in Latin America (Routledge/ Taylor & Francis, 2008). Irazábal has published academic articles in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Check her work at http://www.arch.columbia.edu/about/people/cei2108columbiaedu and contact her at irazabal.zurita@columbia.edu