Just Do It

Sustainable Philadelphia Forum: Greening Philadelphia's Infrastructure

by Andrew Thompson

Thu., June 19, 6-8 p.m., free, Academy of Natural Sciences, Main Auditorium, 1900 Ben Franklin Parkway, 215-299-1108, sustainablephiladelphia.com

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If you've ever had gripes about Philly's measly recycling rate or the murky health of the Schuylkill, the latest Urban Sustainability Forum is your chance to complain to the one man in City Hall paid to care about your pagan, tree-hugging ways. Mark Alan Hughes, appointed last month by Mayor Nutter as the city's first-ever director of sustainability, will be the keynote speaker at this month's Sustainable Philadelphia meeting.

Sustainable Philadelphia has been hosting forums since early 2006 in the spirit of making Philly "the greenest, most livable city in America," and it often invites guests from other cities to give us some helpful hints. (Also present will be Melissa Wright from New York City's Office of Long Term Planning.) But what's notable about June's forum is that, for once, attendees will get someone directly from Philadelphia's government whose sole job is to improve these streets. The evening, titled "Greening Philadelphia's Infrastructure," will focus on how to make the most fundamental aspects of a city — such as energy, water treatment and transportation — more Earth-friendly.