A city in Oregon, USA will serve as a compelling case study for “Visioning and Living City Design” at the Futures Trust’s August Lunch Forum in Wellington this Friday.

Sustainable city planner and Oregon native Steven Ames will trace the evolution of the citizen-generated Bend 2030 initiative and how its Living City Design project is finding new pathways for the city in an era of peak oil, climate change and "whatever else the planet might throw at us".

Five years ago, the City of Bend, a lifestyle- and recreation-oriented community of 82,000, was one of the fastest growing cities in America and expanding at a breakneck pace. Then came the Global Financial Crises and real estate collapse, bringing the city’s economy to its knees.

In 2007, the Bend City Council adopted the Bend 2030 Vision and Action Plan, laying out a sustainable path for the community. Today, Bend 2030 is a non-profit NGO with 63 partner organizations that seeks new and innovative ways to advance the community’s vision.

Mr Ames’s insights on Bend 2030 will provide lively conversation that might have Wellingtonians looking differently at where they live.

Friday, 26 August from 12.15 - 1.30pm
Museum Room (top floor), Turnbull House, Bowen St, Wellington

Admission:
New Zealand Futures Trust members: $25
General public: $40

Registration form available on the Futures Trust homepage: www.futurestrust.org.nz

Steven Ames is a consulting long-range planner, futurist and principal of Steven Ames Planning, based in Portland, Oregon, USA.

Author of the American Planning Association’s (APA) award-winning handbook, A Guide to Community Visioning, Steven has worked with local communities, cities and regions across the US, as well as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in planning for the future.

He currently serves as the Craig Byrne Fellow of the Orton Family Foundation, for whom he is studying “stewardship” of values-based, vision-centric community planning.

Steven holds degrees from Drew University and the University of Michigan, and has studied with faculty of the London School of Economics.

ENDS

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