Tuesday, September 25, 2007

DUEP to Offer Sustainable Field Study in Spain

The Department of Urban Environmental Planning will offer its third sustainable cities study tour in the early summer of 2008 to be led by Timothy Beatley, Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities. The focus of the field study will be southern Europe, and in particular the emerging sustainable cities and sustainable urban practice of Spain.

Early plans for the trip include beginning in the City of Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the Basque country. Vitoria has emerged on the international green cities scene as a leader in promoting compact and green urban form, and notably the creation of an innovative greenbelt that encircles the city. The field study will visit several other cities and regions, including leading-edge wind and solar energy projects (including the solar tower at Sanlúcar la Mayor, wind turbines in Navarre) and will end in Barcelona exploring a variety of urban sustainability initiatives there (transit, bicycles, Barcelona’s innovative solar ordinance).

Previous field studies have taken students to cities in the Netherlands and Germany, and most recently to Denmark and Sweden.

It is anticipated that 15 students will participate in the field study. Participants will enroll in a preparatory seminar held during spring 2008 and will develop individualized research programs to pursue while in Spain.