APPLETON, WIS. — Against a backdrop of U.S. land space increasingly devoted to development at rates far outpacing the percentage of population growth, the ecological, social and political issues surrounding “green” urban growth will be explored during Lawrence University’s 2007 three-part Spoerl environmental studies lecture series.
Donna Erickson, a land-use and landscape planning consultant in Missoula, Mont., opens the series Tuesday, Oct. 16 with the address “MetroGreen: Connecting Open Space in North American Cities.” The presentation, at 7 p.m. in Science Hall, Room 102 on the Lawrence campus, is free and open to the public.
Based on her 2006 book of the same title, Erickson will discuss how ecology, recreation, transportation, community and green infrastructure can motivate city planning and affect the spatial fabric of contemporary cities. The presentation will examine comparative case studies Erickson conducted on 10 North American cities, among them Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago, Minneapolis and Milwaukee.
Erickson is a former professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, where her scholarship focused on open-space and landscape-scale conservation planning. A 2003-04 Fulbright Scholar, she earned degrees in landscape architecture from Wageningen University in The Netherlands and Washington State University. She has written for numerous publications, including Landscape and Urban Planning, Land Use Policy, and Environmental Management.
Other talks scheduled in the series include:
&bullOct. 23 — “What’s a Green Neighborhood?: Challenges Faced by Green Developers in Appleton,” Mark Geall, principal developer at Tansey Development, 7 p.m., Science Hall 102.
&bullOct. 30 — “The Geography of Nowhere,” James Howard Kunstler, noted author and social critic, 7 p.m., Wriston Art Center auditorium.
The environmental lecture series is sponsored by the Spoerl Lectureship in Science in Society. Established in 1999 by Milwaukee-Downer College graduate Barbara Gray Spoerl and her husband, Edward, the lectureship promotes interest and discussion on the role of science and technology in societies worldwide.
