Agenda

A truly sustainable city must consider equity, environment, and infrastructure in equal measures. This framework shapes our broad discussion highlighting the inherent tradeoffs in achieving equity, reducing environmental risks, and creating new energy, building, and transportation infrastructure as a means to find sustainable solutions for cities.
 
Lucy Hutyra | Associate Professor, Earth & Environment, Boston University
Marc Draisen | Executive Director, Boston Metropolitan Area Planning Council

Boston, like too many U.S. cities, is experiencing a housing availability and affordability crisis. More than 35% of residents in the Metropolitan Boston region spend over 30% of their income on housing — and that number is risings despite efforts to increase construction of affordable units. Boston is also facing significant vulnerabilities from climate change. Addressing these challenges simultaneously requires assembling coalitions who approach these questions with at times competing aims. Considering Boston and beyond, this session will explore urban approaches to tackling housing availability, affordability, and equity, while jointly considering the cost of improving infrastructure to mitigate climate change.
 
Katherine Einstein | Moderator | Assistant Professor, Political Science, Boston University
Gregg Colburn | Assistant Professor, University of Washington
Amy Dain | Public Policy Analyst, Dain Research
Sara Hughes | Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
Maxwell Palmer | Assistant Professor, Boston University
 
Session 1 Slides

Achieving ambitious sustainability goals will require the large-scale retrofit of the existing building stock and construction of “net zero” buildings to support growth. Such actions are likely to have large upfront costs that may conflict with housing affordability goals. Nonetheless, building retrofits can deliver significant monetary, social, and health benefits. This session will evaluate the physical, social and financial elements of the retrofit process with the aim of identifying key performance metrics, and frameworks that could lower barriers to energy retrofits.
 
Michael Walsh | Moderator | Research Assistant Professor, Earth & Environment, Boston University
Anne Evens | CEO, Elevate Energy
Galen Nelson | Director of Innovation Programs, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
Brooks Winner | Clean Energy Coordinator | Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Kurt Roth | Head of Building Energy Systems, Fraunhofer Center for Materials Innovation
Maria Stamas | Western Director, Energy Affordability, National Resources Defense Council
 
Session 2 Slides

From False Starts to Six Stops (and a Bike Lane): Lessons from the Green Line Extension
Our region’s newest multi-modal transit corridor – the Green Line Extension – has been on the drawing board since 1990. The project has endured false starts, long lags, political transitions, and shifting priorities. After so many delays, how did this project come to fruition when other transit promises made as part of the Big Dig fell away? Former U.S. Representative Mike Capuano offers lessons on fostering the political, policy and financial environment necessary to realize transformative urban infrastructure projects in our region.
 
Michael Capuano | Keynote Speaker | Former U.S. Representative in Congress

We know what we want from sustainable urban transportation system – safety, low-to-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, promotion of physical activity, good accessibility, low-to-no cost shared modes of travel, & last mile transit solutions. But, how do we get there? This session explores emerging technologies and proactive policies for sustainable urban transportation systems that serve the needs of the evolving and diverse urban population. How can public-private implementation of transportation technologies and solutions be coordinated across the nearly 200 jurisdictions served by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), the regional Metropolitan Planning Organization, the state government, and private actors.
 
Tim Reardon | Moderator | Data Services Director, Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Chris Dempsey | Director, Transportation 4 MA
Kate Elliott | Senior Program Manager, American Cities Climate Challenge, NACTO
Chris Osgood | Chief of the Streets, Transportation, and Sanitation, City of Boston
Stacy Thompson | Executive Director, Livable Streets Alliance
Kate Elliott | Senior Program Manager, NACTO
 
Session 3 Slides

Human well-being depends on ecosystem services such as the provisioning of clean air and water and maintenance of air temperatures that are not too extreme, yet climate action plans for cities often exclude the role of ecosystems, as well their biogenic fluxes of greenhouse gases and other compounds known to influence climate, water and air quality (e.g., carbon dioxide, water, volatile organic compounds, ground-level ozone). In this session, we bring together experts to discuss the state of ecosystem science in cities and how ecosystem services can be better integrated into planning and policy making. The session will address: How can we integrate measurements and understanding of natural ecosystems and the built environment to inform our understanding of key greenhouse gas and pollutant pathways to ensure human health of our cities, especially for our vulnerable populations?
 
Pamela Templer | Moderator | Professor of Biology, Boston University
Christopher Cook | Chief, Environment, Energy, and Open Space; Commissioner, Parks and Recreation, City of Boston
Brendan Shane | Climate Director, Trust for Public Land
Jonathan Thompson | Senior Ecologist, Harvard Forest
Paige Warren | Professor, UMass Amherst
 
Session 4 Slides

Vancouver, Toronto and Minneapolis are flourishing. Through innovative housing, green space and transportation policies, plus shifts to renewable energy, these communities offer roadmaps for sustainable urban growth. This free community event brings together three renowned chief city planners who are transforming their cities, tackling where and how people live and how they get around. Together, they’ll offer lessons for our own region, revealing ready solutions to our shared challenges.
 
Barbara Moran | Moderator | Senior Producing Editor, Environment, WBUR
Jennifer Keesmaat | Former Chief City Planner, City of Toronto
Gil Kelley | General Manager of Planning, Urban Design, and Sustainability, City of Vancouver. B.C.
Heather Worthington | Long Range Planning, City of Minneapolis
 
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Although universities and governmental agencies often identify a commitment to engaging community members in a strong and equitable way in local, state and/or regional initiatives, the reality is that the practice often falls short of this ideal. What can we do differently to have more equitable engagement in the decision making, planning, and implementation processes of research and policy solutions to generate more equitable health outcomes? Experts from Miami and Somerville MA collaboratives will speak about the norms, practices, tools, and resources that are fostering their ability to work collectively and promote a more equitable distribution or investment in resources that are the determinants of population health.
 
Judith G. Gonyea | Moderator | Professor, School of Social Work, Boston University
Robin Bachin | Professor & Assistant Provost, University of Miami
Doug Brugge | Professor, School of Medicine, University of Connecticut
Linda Sprague-Martinez | Associate Professor, Boston University
Ellin Reisner | President of the Somerville Transportation Equity Partnership (STEP), Somerville, MA
 
Session 5 Slides

Local health can be influenced in multiple ways by building and land use decisions, including direct influences of the built environment on health as well as indirect influences related to air pollution, climate extremes, green space, and opportunities for active transportation. This session focuses on the twin challenges of affordability and carbon emission reductions, and the potential implications for health of vulnerable populations. Key issues include the influence of energy and housing costs on health, connections between transportation systems and both health and well-being, and the influence of gentrification on those who move into gentrifying neighborhoods and those who are displaced.
 
Jonathan Levy | Moderator | Professor of Environmental Health, Boston University
Roseann Bongiovanni | Executive Director, GreenRoots
Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba | Executive Director, Children’s HealthWatch
Patricia Fabian | Research Assistant Professor, Boston University
John Spengler | Akira Yamaguchi Professor of Environmental Health and Human Habitation, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Lindsey Tucker | Associate Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
 
Session 6 Slides

Climate and Health: The Greatest Public Health Challenge of our Time, and what You Can Do About It
Our dependence on fossil fuels is changing weather patterns and temperatures are rising, leading to more extreme weather events, the spread of vector-borne diseases, harmful air pollutants, and food insecurity that all affect our health. But we also know that every step we take to tackle climate change creates major health benefits: cleaner air, cleaner water, and safer places for us to live, work and play.
We can all do so much more in our lives, in our homes, our communities, our schools, to take action on climate change. We cannot rest until each and every one of you gets engaged and active. Our kids are counting on us because their lives and their futures are at stake.
 
Gina McCarthy | Keynote Speaker | Former EPA Administrator, Director of C-CHANGE, Harvard University

The contemporary and future sustainable city has to have an inclusive, equitable approach to tackling issues related to politics, housing, transportation, ecosystems, community engagement, and health. Using the lessons learned from this conference we will sketch out emerging opportunities for research and policy changes.
 
Lucy Hutyra | Associate Professor, Earth & Environment, Boston University
Katharine Lusk | Co-Director, Initiative on Cities, Boston University