4 NATION’S CITIES WEEKLY
December 5, 2011
Green Cities Conference Offers Cities Strategies to
Advance Sustainability Goals
by Raksha Vasudevan
The 2011 Green Cities
Conference in Phoenix allowed
attendees to not only engage
with peers doing similar work,
but also to go home with spe-
cific strategies to advance sus-
tainability in their own com-
munities. The conference
— one of four offered at this
year’s Congress of Cities and
Exposition — boasted sessions
on the latest sustainability top-
ics that cities and city leaders
are tackling.
Attendees listen to panelists at “Partnerships for Success: Building and Strengthening Partnerships in Your Community
and Region,” one of the workshops at the Green Cities Conference./ Photo by Steve Schneider
her organization’s extraordinary
success in improving access to
healthy food for Phoenix residents. She told the story of the
very successful downtown farmers’ market that accepts food
stamps, allowing all residents to
enjoy fresh food.
Participants’ follow-up questions led to an animated discussion about the barriers to and
opportunities for communities
coming together around various
food initiatives, such as food
trucks, farmers markets, food
councils and healthy corner
store programs.
In addition to topic-specific
sessions, several workshops were
presented to provide ideas and
resources to help cities build
support for sustainability within
their internal operations and
throughout their communities.
During the “Institutionalizing
Sustainability: Building
and Broadening Support
Throughout City Operations”
session, a panel of city leaders
and staff discussed ways to cultivate a culture of sustainability
within their city, focusing on
building partnerships, developing comprehensive approaches,
raising awareness and demonstrating political leadership.
In another session,
“Partnerships for Success:
Building and Strengthening
Partnerships in Your
Community and Region,”
representatives from four cities discussed their experiences
building partnerships involving
community groups, utilities,
regional councils and universities.
One thing was clear through-
out the Green Cities Conference:
engaging in sustainability activi-
ties is no easy task. However,
through City Showcase pro-
grams, content-rich workshops
and peer networking opportuni-
ties, this event highlighted the
tremendously creative work that
cities and their constituents are
already doing to create sustain-
able, healthy, inclusive commu-
nities.
Details: Visit www.nlc.org/
find-city-solutions/research-
innovation/sustainability/2011-
conference-resources for a
complete list of programming
offered at the Green Cities
Conference and a collection
of all available presentations.
For more information about
or to stay connected to NLC’s
Sustainability Program please
visit www.nlc.org/sustainabil
ity, e-mail us at sustainabil
ity@nlc.org, or follow us on
twitter@NLCgreencities.Th e
Sustainable Cities Institute,
coming to NLC in 2012, can be
found at www.sustainablecities
institute.org.
