LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Oct. 16, 2017) – The Louisville Metro Office of Sustainability and the Louisville Sustainability Council will co-host the fourth annual Sustainability Summit on Friday, Oct. 27. Highlights will include local and national speakers and a focus on opportunities for residents to actively engage in creating a more just and sustainable Louisville.
“For the health of our residents and our city, we must focus on how climate change is affecting our city, particularly the lives of our most vulnerable residents,” Mayor Greg Fischer said. “Please join the 2017 Sustainability Summit to work with community leaders and stakeholders on how we can make progress toward being more resilient and adapting to a changing climate.”
“This year’s summit will help call attention to the themes of equity, resilience and climate change, which are inextricably linked,” said Maria Koetter, director of the Office of Sustainability. “From national experts to local practitioners, the event aims to engage citizens and generate conversations that will help drive action toward addressing these themes simultaneously.”
Emily Chandler, executive director of the LSC, said, “This is the first time our community has come together to consider how Louisville will prepare to be resilient to increasing severe heat events, flooding, drought, insect outbreaks, and other local effects of a changing climate. As we see impacted cities across the nation we are reminded to focus on people that are most at risk to ensure we do not create further inequity.”
The keynote speaker of the event will be Vanessa Keith, author of 2100: A Dystopian Utopia—The City After Climate Change. Keith is a nationally-recognized architect and the principal at Studioteka Design, a firm headquartered in Brooklyn, which she founded in 2003. Studioteka approaches design through a multidisciplinary lens that spans the boundaries between architecture, economic and social development, and urban and environmental concerns.
A panel session on climate change and equity impacts in Louisville with local stakeholders will be held followed by breakout sessions focusing on local and equitable action related to energy, public health, agriculture, water, air quality and transportation/land use. Louisville’s Chief Resilience Officer Eric Friedlander will conclude the Summit with a session on engaging the community for a resilient and just Louisville.
The 2017 Sustainability Summit receives support from convening sponsors Yum! Brands, Humana and Festival of Faiths; session sponsors TARC, PNC Bank and M&M Cartage; and connecting sponsors K. Norman Berry Associates, Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District, QRS Recycling, Partnership for a Green City, Stantec and Harshaw Trane.
The 2017 Sustainability Summit will take place Friday, October 27, from 8:00am – 4:00pm at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage Center. Thanks to sponsors, a limited number of free tickets are available on a first-come first-served basis. Tickets include lunch and access to the full event, and are $20 for LSC members, $30 for the general public, and $7 for college students. Discounts are available for groups of 5 or more and attendees of the Center for Neighborhoods Summit held the following day in the same location. Tickets, at an increased price, will also be sold at the door the day of the event.
More information can be found on the Louisville Sustainability Council website: http://louisvillesustainabilitycouncil.org
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