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January 13, 2009

Conference targets sustainable city development

By Whit Richardson

A lack of leadership in community planning and "haphazard" development are the impetus behind a conference this Thursday on sustainable development in Portland, according to Paul Stevens, principal at architecture firm SMRT Inc.

The conference, "Sustainable Portland by 2030: How do we get there?", comes at a time when discussion is swirling around the development of the Maine State Pier and the recent news that Eric Cianchette wants to build a multi-million dollar luxury hotel and spa on the wharf he owns on Portland's waterfront. In fact, Stevens, chair of the Portland Society of Architects committee planning the conference, said discussion about the conference first began "when the Maine State Pier was beginning to show that the process was a train wreck waiting to happen."

"There isn't any kind of vision for where we want this town to go," Stevens told Mainebiz. ""There's no grand plan; there's a lot of knee-jerk reactions to projects that come along without thinking about how they fit into the overall fabric."

Stevens says the conference offers an open forum for Portland residents to discuss a sustainable development plan for Portland. "We feel that there has not been sufficient leadership in the community with planning and design matters and we think it's important to put on a forum to allow us to get together to talk about what the vision ought to be for our town 25-30 years from now."

The conference will address the questions: How do we adapt to a changing climate, new forms of transportation and higher densities? How do we significantly reduce our carbon footprint? How do we promote innovation and flexibility in planning and design in the public realm? The conference includes a keynote address by Gary Lawrence, former planning director for Seattle. Lawrence developed the first sustainability-focused municipal comprehensive plan in the world, according to the PSA.

The conference will be held this Thursday from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the Portland Museum of Art. Admission is free.

 

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