BUILDING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES 2007 HIGHLIGHTS
Building SustainAble Communities II a definite “YES!”
by James Glave
The business cards have by now been imported, connections have been pursued, fresh partnerships forged. The 2007 Building SustainAble Communities conference is behind us, but its impact still resonates in the lives and work of the 320 delegates who attended.
"SustainAble Communities is one of the best, if not the best, conferences I have ever been to in terms of quality of speakers, relevant content, and tips that I can take away from the event and back to my job," says Gayle Jackson, director of community planning and subdivision approval for the City of Parksville.
Jackson was one of the many dozens of attendees representing local governments across the province. Indeed, elected officials and their staff constituted perhaps the largest single group at the three-day Kelowna event.
"We all hear and listen and watch as our world evolves with these challenges," says Rory McIver, a councillor with the City of Penticton. "The conference put a focus on the specifics. I finally got something I could wrap my hands and mind around, and it was like, 'yes!'"
Beyond the steps of city hall, attendees and speakers also represented a broad spectrum from the world of academia and non-governmental organizations, as well as a few consulting firms and technology-solution providers.
And that broad mix is precisely what makes the Kelowna event such a success, says Mark Holland, a two-time attendee and presenter.
"The list of speakers that [conference organizer and facilitator] Joanne de Vries compiles are some of the most focused and current in the sustainable development movement in Western Canada," says Holland, a partner with Holland Barrs Planning Group. "It is not like a 'regular' conference, where you get a hodge-podge of skills and people, some of whom are still learning how and what to present." de Vries also scored points for including "unpopular" perspectives and speakers, most notably Dr. Gabor Zovanyi, a professor with Eastern Washington University, who made a compelling — if unpopular —argument for "zero growth."
"I congratulate de Vries for having the courage to invite speakers with a controversial message," says John Zegler, chair of Citizens for Responsible Community Planning, a Kelowna-based grassroots citizens group. "I hope the conference organizers continue to have the courage to invite speakers with a different message."
While dissenting views were well represented, for many of the attendees, the conference underscored that the time for debate is past. We now understand the challenges, many seemed to conclude, and we're ready to get down and wrestle with solutions.
"There were people there that would never have been there five years ago," observes Dave Biggs, cofounder of Envision Sustainability Tools, a technology firm that engages with communities to help them unite around a common, more sustainable vision. "It was a sign that we have arrived."
Indeed, one of the local government delegates says that a pair of elected colleagues who had attended the inaugural Building SustainAble Communities event in 2006 experienced something of a life-shifting epiphany there. "It changed their entire belief system," the delegate recalls. "They went from a flat-out pro-development position, to embracing a far more sustainable philosophy."
But for Envision's Dave Biggs, the broad consensus at this year's event indicates that the time has come to turn things up a notch.
"We spend a lot of time reaffirming our commitment to making the world a better place, and while that has some limited value, I think that getting on with the job is our challenge for next year. How do we implement this excitement? Where do we go with this?
"We are all talking about getting people to radically change their lifestyles," Biggs adds. "What is the most effective way of manufacturing that change in the least amount of time, with a minimal amount of resources? We need to get more practical. What do we actually do when we get back home?"
It's a good question. And perhaps Building SustainAble Communities III will help shed some light on the answers.
James Glave is a Bowen Island-based writer and consultant whose work focuses on solutions and strategies to address global challenges. His forthcoming first book, Eco-Shed (Greystone, Fall 2008), chronicles the sustainably designed writing studio he has spent the past year building in his front yard.
