Sustainable Lansing

Community Forum
May 15, 1999

At the first Sustainable Lansing Community Forum on May 15, 1999, some 60 people from across the greater Lansing area shared accomplishments and began to explore the work needed to shape a sustainable future that affords fair opportunities to all for a high quality of life.

How do we define progress so that local families, businesses, and environments are sustained and enhanced? What sort of community do we want to be in the 21st century? How do we best meet present needs without reducing the ability of future generations to meet their needs?

Through broad based participation and dialogue, each community can bring forth its own definition and understanding of sustainable progress. The forum began this work for the greater Lansing area.

David Wiener, Assistant to the Mayor of Lansing, expounds principles of constructive dialogue during lunch.

• Posters reflected the work of local groups.
• Keynote Speaker -- Michael Shuman, author of Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age, addressed the problems and methods of bringing about a vibrant and sustainable local economy. Outline of Shuman's talk
• Four small group discussions addressed broad themes for the work ahead.
• A discussion with Michael Shuman on May 14 explored successful community financial systems.
• Support and endorsements for the forum came from a range of local citizens, government, community groups, and businesses.
• Extensive publicity for the forum included a guest editorial, Take Back The Future, in the Lansing State Journal, May 9; appearances on several radio shows, including the Bill Ballinger WKAR talk show May 14; and the lead story on Channel 6 TV News at 6 p.m. on May 15. A background report from the publicity package is also available here.

Credits

The forum was organized through the efforts of the Lansing area Green Team, an affiliate of Urban Options. The Green Team usually meets on the first Saturday of each month, 10 a.m. at Urban Options. The next regular meeting will be Sept. 11, 1999. All who share the broad goals of sustainability are welcome to join us.

The Forum Planning Committee consisted of

Phil Shepard, Chair
Deborah Davis, Forum Coordinator
Thomas Stanton
LeRoy Harvey, Director of Urban Options

Additional assistance came from Urban Options staff, other members of the Green Team, a wide range of partners from the larger community, and Communications and Research (formerly Ross & Associates) for publicity.

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Send e-mail to: shepard@msu.edu

Last Updated:    July 23, 1999

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