Delivering Sustainable Places

Date:   Tuesday, 19th August 2008
Time:   12.00-14.00 hrs
Venue: Buchanan House, seminar room K505, 58 Port Dundas Road, Glasgow G4 0HG

Programme
12.00 Registration and buffet lunch
12.30 Welcome
12.35 Presentation
13.35 Questions and answers
14.00 Close

Abstract
A key outcome of the delivery of the Scottish Governments 5 key objectives for a wealthier and fairer, healthier, safer and stronger, smarter and greener Scotland is that  ‘We live in well-designed, sustainable places where we are able to access the amenities and services we need’  - But what does a sustainable place look like?
‘Sustainable places’ is already one of the 21st century’s catch phrases. In England this is being championed through ‘Eco-towns’ initiative, and in Scotland the Government has just launched the ‘Scottish Sustainable Communities Initiative’.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges (if not the biggest) that faces the world today. The built environment has a crucial part to play in the climate change agenda by reducing emissions from buildings. But that alone does not create a sustainable built environment. Scarce non-renewable resources must be used wisely. But sustainability is not simply about the physical environment. In Scotland we also have the challenge of sustainable growth in a country at the edge of Europe that has seen huge economic changes over the last 50 years. And that is coupled with the challenge of ensuring that all of our citizens have access to a decent quality of life, including education, health, housing and public places.

We who work in the built environment sector have a major role to play in all of this. The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions requires not only to make the best use of existing buildings and their surroundings but also to ensure that those places which have yet to be built have significantly lower carbon emissions. The quality of life available in our towns and cities is largely determined by the character of the spaces between our buildings. The quality of place helps to ensure sustainable growth and provides a good environment in which to live, work, play and love. The Danish urbanist Jan Gehl reminds us that sustainability is about people – ‘first the life, then the spaces, then the buildings’.

This seminar is based upon work being developed by Sust., the Lighthouse on sustainability using sustainable development principles and drawing from Sust.’s work with Community Based Housing Associations and Development Trusts on the creation of  sustainable communities. The seminar will include a case study of the village of Neilston which is using a ‘bottom up’ approach to community regeneration through a Development Trust. The Trust’s campaign for change is rooted in the conviction that sense of place has been overlooked as a resource in the planning of settlements, and that ordinary places –small towns and neighbourhoods – offer an untapped source of potential for sustainable development.

Speakers:

Raymond Young (Architecture and Design Scotland)

Raymond Young has worked with housing associations for over 35 years. He is an architect by training and was one of the founder members of ASSIST, the community architecture practice in Govan that pioneered both tenement rehabilitation and community based housing associations in the city. He has long term interest in community regeneration and sustainability. Since 1997, he has run a part-time regeneration consultancy from a sustainable straw bale office in Perthshire, including working with SUST at the Lighthouse on the Sustainable Designs on You programme.
He is the chairman of Architecture and Design Scotland, and a board member of Historic Scotland. He has worked with both the Housing Corporation and Scottish Homes. He is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow, a Visiting Professor at Strathclyde University and is chair of the Rural Housing Service. He was a member of the UK Sustainable Development Commission 2000-2004.

Lori McElroy (SUST)

Lori McElroy directs the Scottish Government funded Sust. Programme at the Lighthouse in Glasgow. Her career spans over 20 years in provision of design support to built environment design professionals.  She was Technical Director of the Energy Design Advice Scheme in Scotland from 1988 – 1998, Director of the Scottish Energy Systems Group from 1998 – 2004 and now manages Sust., which focuses on helping to deliver truly sustainable buildings and places by providing appropriate design support and information to clients, designers and construction teams to facilitate delivery with an  in the context of emphasising the role of better environments in improving people’s lives.

Pauline Gallagher (Consultant)

Pauline Gallacher studied art history, then planning and worked in Glasgow’s community based housing associations before returning to study architecture in 1990. Her ‘Design’s on You’ client education course, developed for SHARE, formed part of the city’s bid for Glasgow 1999, city of architecture and design, where she subsequently worked as Initiatives Director.  A NESTA fellowship then enabled her to consider neighbourhood public space, explored in her book ‘Everyday Spaces’ (London 2005). In 2004 she initiated, and manages, an ambitious community-based public space project in Neilston, which has developed into Neilston Development Trust. In 2007 she was Acting Director of ACCESS to Architecture at The Lighthouse, a programme charged with taking the Scottish Executive’s Policy on Architecture to the widest possible audience. She is also a member of the advisory board of Architecture and Design Scotland.

Booking

To book a place please book online, or phone CBE on 0141 273 1411, or send a message to cbeinfo@gcal.ac.uk.  You can also fax us on 0141 273 1418. When booking, please provide contact details (e.g. title, name, surname, organisation, address, town/city, postcode, telephone, fax, e-mail).

• To cover the costs of the venue hire and catering, CBE will send an invoice for £40 per delegate on receipt of a booking.
• In event of cancellation by CBE, a full refund will be made available.
• In event of delegate cancellation, an administrative fee of £15 will be charged for up to a week before the event - there will be no refund after this point.

If you have any special requirements (e.g. dietary, access, hearing etc.) please let us know in advance

Delegates are welcome to the CBE seminars even if they have not booked places. However, please advise CBE by telephone or by e-mail no later than 10am on the morning of the seminar, as we must have definite numbers for our presentation packs, catering and seating allocation.

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