Speaker: Robert Young
Assistant Professor of Planning, Public Policy & Management, University of Oregon

Topic: Towards an American Architecture

Prof. Young's essay, Towards American Architecture: Washington D.C., Oregon and Green Cities, is the inspiration for the 2010 Transformational Lecture Series in Oregon.  His lecture will outline four topics that are crucial for the Oregon community to address: close at hand food production, transportation networks, diminished reliance upon imported energy sources, and urban regions growing more compactly and more responsively to the availability of local resources. His theory is that when we address these crucial topics, it will lead the shift to a genuinely American architectural vernacular that is eminently rooted in its place.

Bio: As an Assistant Professor at the University of Oregon, Robert Young works in the fields of urban and regional planning, sustainable economic development, and urban ecology.  Previously, Robert served as the Director of Planning for the Philadelphia Recycling Office and served under Governor Christine Whitman as the Director of the Office of Sustainable Business in the New Jersey Commerce Department. Additionally, he founded two successful, large-scale composting firms in New Jersey and California and co-founded the Sustainable Business Alliance, a coalition of firms interested in expanding the market for environmental technologies and design.  Robert was recently appointed by Governor Kulongoski to the Oregon Way Advisory Group, which advise and assist state agencies seeking competitive federal stimulus grants by developing grant proposals that include innovative elements that promote sustainability, renewable energy, carbon reduction, energy efficiency and green development. 

Date: March 11, 2010

Location: University of Oregon White Stag Building, 70 NW Couch St., Portland, OR 97204

Time: Doors open at 5:00PM, Lecture begins at 5:30PM

Cost: Cascadia Members and students; Free (RSVP MANDATORY)
General Audience; $10

Thank you to our sponsors:

The Transformational Lecture Series aims to inspire all building industry professionals to embrace their role in creating as sustainable built environment now, as well as ensuring that sustainability becomes integral to all development in the future. Taking the lead from the Living Future 2010 tag line, “Hope: Revaluing Community,” Oregon’s Transformational Lecture Series will establish a through-line for revaluing the greater community of Oregon by addressing the enormous challenges confronting the state of Oregon and the importance of moving to a more self-sufficient economy for a secure and sustainable future. In an effort to both reduce cost and carbon emissions, and to inspire the local community, most speakers are notable local heroes and reside in the Pacific Northwest.