NEWS

Community development, environment to be addressed in upcoming seminar

CHAPEL HILL -- Land use, transportation, affordable housing and ecosystem protection are some of the topics to be discussed at the upcoming Smart Growth and Sustainability Seminar, sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Sustainability Coalition.

Scheduled as a part of the university’s Earth Day celebration, the seminar will take place 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. April 23 at the Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building auditorium and will focus on issues important to community development and the environment. Information on other Earth Day-oriented events sponsored by the coalition, including a walking tour of the North Carolina Botanical Garden, is available at http://sustainability.unc.edu/EarthDay2002.html.

Seminar speakers are from the business and non-profit communities, academia and the North Carolina General Assembly’s Commission on Smart Growth, Growth Management and Development – which advocates for smart growth as an efficient use of public resources. Those scheduled to speak include:

n N.C. Rep. Joe Hackney, co-chairman of the North Carolina General Assembly’s Commission on Smart Growth, Growth Management and Development and speaker pro tempore of the North Carolina House of Representatives.

n Dr. David Godschalk, member of the North Carolina General Assembly’s Commission on Smart Growth, Growth Management and Development, Stephen Baxter professor of city and regional planning at UNC and chairman of the campus’s buildings and grounds committee, an advisory panel.

n D.R. Bryan, developer of Southern Village, a Chapel Hill neighborhood that combines residential, retail and office uses in a walkable community. The neighborhood, an example of smart growth, has been featured in Time, Better Homes & Gardens and Builder Magazine.

n Mark Chilton, executive director of EmPOWERment Inc., an organization that expands homeownership through affordable housing in Orange, Chatham and Alamance counties. By

renovating existing houses and building new ones, EmPOWERment Inc. provides housing for low-income families.

n Dr. Nancy White, professor of landscape architecture at North Carolina State University’s College of Design. Her research interests include ecology and water quality. She examines the impact that various development strategies have on local watersheds.

Speakers will discuss what efforts North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Carrboro and UNC are making to encourage more livable communities. Research has shown that mixed-use developments that are pedestrian- and transit-friendly can reduce the need to drive and, thus, reduce air pollution.

The UNC Sustainability Coalition is made up of students, faculty and staff from many departments. The coalition exists to promote a strong environmental ethic and to cultivate sustainable policies, practices and curriculum throughout the university.

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UNC Sustainability Coalition contact: Cindy Pollock Shea at (919) 843-5251

News Services contact: Deb Saine at (919) 962-8415