I’m at the Resilient Cities/Gaining Ground conference this week in Vancouver. (You can followup updates by delegates by seaching for the #ggrc09 hashtag on Twitter; one speaker joked about not believing he was saying “hashtag” in Vancouver.) The conference focuses on too many things to get into here, but part of it was re-imagining the city after peak oil. And part of that re-imagining was economic. Which explains why people such as entrepreneur-environmentalist Paul Hawken turned up to inspire the crowd of what I’m estimated was more than 500.
McArthur “Genius Grant” recipient Majora Carter came in yesterday from the Bronx, where she runs a green economic development consulting firm. Carter was one of the warmest speakers, smiling and sweeping her arms around. (Some people talk with their hands; Carter talks with her arms.)
“There was a time when local wasn’t a bad word or a buzzword. It was just a word. It was just how things were,” she said, while sharing stories about some of the economic and community redevelopment she’s done in the Bronx and elsewhere. She happens to be a TED alumnus also. Here’s a taste of her ideas.
