Green City Confidential Symposium

The Green City Confidential Symposium proved to be a truly dynamic conversation about the future of green communities. The panel of Portland-based, green business leaders presented fresh perspectives and ideas from a diverse array of sectors including alternative energy, architecture, land-use planning, sustainable development, regional agriculture, grocery, home hardware manufacturing and retail, strategic communication, and design. Some of the highlights from our panelists:

Eric Friedenwald-Fishman, President/Creative Director, Metropolitan Group, facilitated the conversation and shared the concept of generating community capital as a way to advance sustainable social change efforts. (metgroup.com)

Mia Birk, Principal, Alta Planning and Design, shared her experiences both in Portland and across the country helping communities integrate bicycling and walking into their systems and ways of living to meet multiple environmental and community building goals. (altaplanning.com)

Dennis Wilde, Principal, Gerding Edlen Development, described an integrated sustainable systems approach to federal stimulus funding that Oregon Governor Kulongoski has started, called the Oregon Way. (gerdingedlen.com)

Brian Rohter, CEO, New Seasons Market, stressed the importance of the Oregon "vortex," which centers around finding positive and entrepreneurial solutions to complex situations. He also argued that we define ourselves through our values and should remember that shared values help make green approaches mainstream. (newseasonsmarket.com)

Stan Amy, Investor/Developer, New Villages Group, described the power of the marketplace community--consumers and producers who share common values and information, and ultimately meet each other's needs. (newvillages.com)

Wayne Lei, Director, Research and Development, Portland General Electric, discussed the latest exciting developments in alternative energy, which include ground source heat and more options for customers. (portlandgeneral.com)

Alysa Rose, President, Rejuvenation, stressed the need to give customers many reasons to buy: craftsmanship, price, quality and green. Click here to read her extended conversation with The Oregonian, "5 Questions with Alysa Rose." (rejuvenation.com)

Bob Packard, Managing Partner, Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects, stressed the importance of the foundational elements of strong communities to green development, such as healthy public schools. (zgf.com)

During the same week as the Symposium, we also met and heard from more than 100 Green Cities Conference attendees. We "tweeted" and blogged about some of their insights and stories. Check out the conversation and follow us on twitter @metgroup.

Click here to check out our blog to share more input and join the ongoing conversation about creating stronger, healthier and more sustainable communities.