2008 International Urban Parks Conference - Tuesday
* Additional speakers to be announced.
 
7:30  EARLY BIRD OPTIONS (R)
Point State Park Landscape History
Point State Park Management Issues
Point State Park Cultural History
Conference on the Move: Group Walk with celebrity host
Affinity Groups meet in hotel restaurant
Scholarship winners meet
 
8:45  GENERAL SESSION
* The Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
 
Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder and founder of the Children & Nature Network
 
9:30 - 10:00 BREAK AND BOOK SIGNING WITH RICHARD LOUV
 
10:00 - 11:30 BREAK OUT SESSIONS
 
1. Nature Smart in the Park
Environmental education gets a boost from Professor Howard Gardner’s addition of an eighth intelligence (naturalistic intelligence or nature smart) to his renowned Multiple Intelligence Theory. The naturalistic intelligence involves the full range of knowing that occurs in and through our encounters with the natural world including our recognition, appreciation, and understanding of the natural environment.
 
- Moderator: John Flicker, President, National Audubon Society
- Neil McCarthy, General Manager, Parks and Marine Division, Parks Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
- Karen Purcell, Project Leader for Urban Bird Studies, Cornell Ornithology Lab
- Charlie Lord, Director, Urban Ecology Institute, Boston College
 
2. Young Voices 
 
- TBD
 
3. No One Left Inside: Lifting Barriers to Parks Access for All
ADA, certainly, but how do we broaden our commitment and actions to facilitate the broadest possible access to parks?
 
- Moderator: TBD
- Gina McCarthy, Connecticut Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection
- Heng Lam Foong, Director, Healthy Parks, Healthy Communities Program, Trust for Public Land
- Victor Calise, Accessibility Coordinator, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
 
4. Re-Discovering Our Neighbors and Our Community in City Parks
Just as parks build better bodies, they also build better neighbors. From overcoming the evisceration of Urban Renewal to new signs of hope in New Orleans, current research and projects point the way.
 
- Moderator: TBD
- Mindy Fullilove, MD, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Public Health, Columbia University; author of Root Shock
- Bob Becker, Chief Executive Officer, New Orleans City Park
- Denys Candy, Managing Partner, Pittsburgh Community Partners Institute
 
5. Measuring Success: Translating Good Intentions about Sustainability into Measurable Results
Parks managers will have a chance to discuss current practices and look into the future of objective standards for sustainability.
 
- Moderator: TBD
- José Almiñana, ASLA, Principal, Andropogon Associates, Ltd., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Richard Dolesh, Director of Policy, National Park and Recreation Association
 
6. Olmsted Legacy Workshop
A hands-on workshop by NAOP and staff of the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, National Park Service, will cover the basics of researching historic parks, using the newly republished Master List of Design Projects of the Olmsted Firm, 1857-1979 and other informational resources available for communities interested in restoring their historic parks.
 
- Caroline Loughlin, Master List Editor, co-author of Forest Park
 
7. Where the Rubber Leaves the Parkway: Balancing the Relationship of Parks and Cars
America's city parks contain thousands of miles of roadways.  Some bring users into the resource, others provide a pleasant commuter route, and others are used mostly for parking.  But park managers are increasingly questioning the safety and environmental impact of traffic, and a fledgling "car-free park" movement is spreading across the nation.  Many users are finding true benefits from closing a park roadway, but the concept is controversial.  Panelists will discuss the pros and cons of road closures and how to go about testing the idea in your city. 
- Moderator: Peter Harnik, Director, Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence, Washington, D.C. 
- Scott Stover, San Antonio Parks and Recreation, San Antonio, Texas 
- Andrew Wiley-Schwartz, PlaNYC, New York, N.Y. 
- Rick DeWees, Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Houston, Texas
 
8. It Takes Three: Lessons in Collaboration
A 14-year old partnership between a non-profit organization, community residents and a government agency have transformed the parks of Philadelphia. This session will consider what it takes to create a system for sustainable stewardship.
 
- Joan M. Reilly, Senior Director, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Green program and associates
 
11:45 GENERAL SESSION
* Making the Most of This Moment in Time
 
Michael DiBerardinis, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
 
12:15 LUNCH AT THE HILTON
 
2:00 - 4:30 MOBILE WORKSHOPS IN PITTSBURGH PARKS (R) (+)
 
1.       Take a Parking Lot and Turn It into a Paradise – The Challenge of a Sustainable Schenley Plaza
2.       David and Goliath’s Happy Ending – Achieving Win-Win Solutions with Powerful Public Agencies
3.       Natural Partners –Restoring Urban Trails and Woodlands with Community Teamwork
4.       Preserving Park History on Pittsburgh’s North Side – Allegheny Commons, Riverview Park Chapel Shelter, and the Allegheny Observatory
5.       From Slag Heap to Valued Landscape – Reclaiming an Urban Watershed in Frick Park
6.       Compare and Contrast – An Olmstedian Campus Arboretum and the Über-Green Phipps Conservatory
 
4:30    A CELEBRATION OF URBAN PARKS in Schenley Plaza
 
5:30    PITTSBURGH À LA CARTE
Wrap up your visit with a trip to one of the attractions that help make Pittsburgh America’s Most Livable City, and enjoy special conference discounts.