POCACITO is coming to Memphis

On behalf of Ecologic Institute and the POCACITO project, we would like to invite you to a special two-part event to help shape Memphis' sustainable urban future. We believe that sustainability is a function of accessibility and community is founded on inclusivity. That’s why we want you, your friends and neighbors, your colleagues and their kids – everyone whose life is impacted by the environmental issues facing Memphis – to be involved in building a more sustainable tomorrow.

Tuesday, September 27, 7-9pm at the U of M’s River Room

and

Wednesday, September 28, 12-4:30pm at the Playhouse on the square

Post-Carbon Cities of Tomorrow (POCACITO) is an international consortium of cities working together to share their visions, innovations, and experiences building more equitable, accessible, and sustainable urban communities. Together, we are developing strategies to leverage the diversity and dynamism of the world’s cities and turning ideas into reality. It’s an exciting process – one that’s always evolving – and we hope you can be part of it.

Here’s how it works:

POCACITO will host a two-part event in Memphis on September 27 & 28, 2016. The first part, Finding the Vision, is a two-hour town hall-style forum on Tuesday evening that focuses on defining a visionary post-carbon future for Memphis. Joined by sustainability leaders from Copenhagen, Lisbon, and Turin (more about them below), this freestyle, open dialogue will encourage you to dream big and, most important, share your ideas, no matter how wild they may seem. The second part, Finding the Way, will take place on Wednesday and begin with a catered lunch and presentations from our European speakers about how they put together the pieces to realize visions at home. Then, sufficiently inspired and well-fed, we will work in groups to develop ways to achieve the visions shared the night before. At the end of the day, we will build a campfire, join hands, and sing songs. No we won’t. What we will do is put together concrete steps we can all take to make sure our discussions lead to initiatives that lead to implementation and to a more sustainable future for our communities and cities.

Where and when:

Finding the Vision: On Tuesday, September 27, from 7-9pm, we will host a town hall discussion in the River Room at the U of M’s University Center. This is an open-door forum for everyone, but registration is recommended, and we’d be happy to hear if you are planning to attend. Bring everyone whose heart or head is filled with passion for urban sustainability. And bring everyone else.

Finding the Way: On Wednesday, September 28, from 12-4:30pm, we will meet in the Theatre Cafe at the Playhouse on the Square. Registration is required due to space limitations and catering, so let us know if you can participate as soon as possible. Please let us know if you have concerns about transportation expenses. If you need help with the parking costs, we can help, though you might hear a brief discussion about the benefits of active mobility or public transportation in return. You should also let us know if there are specific food choices you would like us to consider when ordering lunch.

Who’s coming:

We hope you. And in addition:

Chiara Lucchini, an architect from Turin, Italy, focusing on revitalizing industrial sites for business, residential and recreational use; Oeystein Leonardsen, a Business Improvement District manager from Copenhagen, Denmark, who discusses community engagement for business improvement districts; and Francisco Gonçalves, an environmental engineer at LISBOENOVA in Lisbon, Portugal specializing in sustainable energy-water management.

Also, Brendan O’Donnell and Max Gruenig from Ecologic Institute will be there.

About this international consortium:

After the event, the conversation continues, and even expands. As a participant of the POCACITO project, you will be invited to join our online networks and take part in our webinar series, which will connect you to people in other POCACITO cities, including Barcelona, Copenhagen, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Lisbon, Malmö, Memphis, Milan, Minneapolis, and Turin. There will also be opportunities to find out about other iterations of the POCACITO portfolio of projects. For a sneak peek, you can visit www.pocacito.org/home.

If you have any questions about the event or the POCACITO project, don’t hesitate to contact us. You can write to brendan@eius.org or max.gruenig@eius.org for more details. We hope you can join us for this exciting two-part event. We look forward to meeting you later this month in Memphis.

On this page, you can register for our Vision Town Hall: