PA Municipal League 2018 Fall Sustainability Conference

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

The Chubb Hotel & Conference Center
309 Manor Road
Lafayette Hill, PA 19444

Join the dialogue on creating policies and strategies to sustain vibrant communities through the Sustainable Pennsylvania Community Certification program. Convene with municipal leaders and sustainability professionals to learn about the components and benefits of certification, how you can get involved, and hear success stories from Pennsylvania municipalities who have already achieved certification.

Conference runs from 8:30 AM to 3:45 PM. Click the conference poster for a full agenda.

Click here to register.

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Why cities? From fear-based interventions to sustainable-solutions

In the current polarized political climate, it is common to hear people from different sides of the political spectrum propose quick-fix solutions to deep and complex issues, that unfortunately won’t produce long-lasting change. International migration has become one such hot-button issue, where fear-based versus evidence-based interventions have become the rallying cry for millions. Yet, there’s a much deeper story behind many of the current challenges that most of the proposed solutions won’t solve. For example, the growing urbanization of conflict and violence that has led to impressive migration streams in the past few years won’t be solved by some of the superficial and simplistic solutions that are being touted. In fact, a number of them will create more problems in 10 or 20 years, since they don’t address root causes and therefore won’t result in sustainable change. But what then, shall we do?

Jean-Luc Krieg, founder and executive director of Urban Mosaic, an organization working for transformational change in urban poor communities in Mexico and Colombia, focuses on the importance to work for sustainable change in cities, in order to address the challenge of rapid urbanization and increasing violence that affect us all. His stories and principles for engagement show that while it would be easy to lose hope or settle for simplistic but counterproductive solutions in the long-term, real, measurable and sustainable change that impacts the lives of tens of thousands of people is possible, even in the most uncertain and complex of circumstances.