Integrating Nature in the City

The Imagine Austin Speakers Series continues on December 10th with presentations and a panel discussion on the topic of “integrating nature into the City”. This event will be held at the Joe C. Thompson Conference Center at the UT campus (TCC on map). Integrating nature into the City is one of the guiding principles of the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan and is seen as essential to the Imagine Austin vision of a more compact, connected, livable and healthy community. Join us and learn more about:



Why integrating nature into the city is important

How valuable is green infrastructure in developing a compact and connected city

Environmental policy in Austin: Its history and future challenges

Innovative approach: Washington D.C. and their Green Area Ratio Program

Featured Panelists:

Dr. Frances E. Kuo | Director of the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory (LHHL) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Kuo founded the LHHL in 2006, to focus on the relationship between human health and greenspace.

Patrick Murphy | Formerly the City of Austin’s Environmental Officer and Assistant Director of the Watershed Protection Department. Successfully implemented the multidisciplinary review of land development projects to ensure conformity with the City of Austin’s tree, landscape and watershed regulations. 

Laine Cidlowski | Project manager for the Sustainable (Washington) DC initiative for the District’s Office of Planning, which is a plan to make Washington DC the healthiest, greenest and most livable city in America. She is responsible for sustainability planning issues for the District of Columbia such as green infrastructure and the built environment.

Sign in begins at 6:30, talk begins at 7:00pm.