2003 National Urban Forest Conference
September 17-20, 2003
Adams Mark Hotel
San Antonio, Texas

American Forests is pleased to announce the 2003 National Urban Forest Conference to be held at the Adams Mark Hotel along the scenic River Walk in San Antonio. Engineering Green into metropolitan America is not only the recipe for a healthy city, but the theme of the 2003 conference.

The growth of metropolitan areas has stretched the capacity of most urban areas to survive. The cost of building and maintaining infrastructure while keeping the air, water and energy needs safe for residents has created an impossible challenge. Can we change this direction? Cities need a lesson in ecology-to incorporate ecological principals into urban planning and development. Engineering cities into existing natural systems is not a new idea, but one that is not widely practiced. Trees are the lungs, water filters, and air conditioners of our cities. Many research and demonstration projects over the last decade have shown their effectiveness to clean the air, purify surface water, and cool urban heat islands. Yet cities use trees as street ornaments or try to fit them into pre-designed infrastructure. The green and gray infrastructure must be integrated into the urban landscape from the very beginning.

How does the urban forest movement take the next giant step--from demonstrating urban forest benefits to engineering green infrastructure into everyday planning, development and management of our cities? Engineering Green will showcase ways that cities can build according to nature's laws.

American Forests seeks proposals for presentation for concurrent sessions and in-depth workshops. If you would like to respond to our Call for Papers, click here. Deadline for submittal has been extended to October 31, 2002.

Program and registration materials will be available on-line in January 2003. To request a printed brochure and registration form (available in February 2003) contact: Donna Tschiffely, conference planner, at: donna@amfor.org or call: 703-904-6932.

Check back periodically for conference program and registration updates.

Update your established speaker profile or proposal.