Green Century Institute was pleased to support the third Earth Day week Digital Be-In in San Francisco on April 25, 2008. The two-hour Ecocity Symposium featured a special presentation honoring urban designer and GCI advisor Paolo Soleri, an eco-village panel discussion, and the demonstration of a new technology platform for the Urban Environmental Accords.

The Ecocity World Summit 2008 was held in San Francisco April 21-26. Produced by Ecocity Builders, the event drew an international attendance and world leaders in large scale green city development. GCI co-founder Michael Gosney presented a panel showcasing cutting edge “green info-tech” with representatives from Autodesk, Visible Strategies and Urban Logic: The Future of Information Technology and Cities, Towns and Villages, Friday April 25.

Urban Environmental Accords + Technology Platform = Global Sustainability Success! Green Century Institute is working with Visible Strategies, ICLEI (the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives), the cities of San Francisco and San Jose, and other groups on a new initiative to give the Urban Environmental Accords program, launched during World Environment Day in San Francisco June 5, 2005, a powerful technology platform to allow the world’s cities to share best practices and measure compliance progress. A demonstration of the new platform will be featured at the Ecocity World Summit and Digital Be-In 16 in San Francisco (see above).

2008 Arcosanti Workshops underway now!

Paolo Soleri awarded the U.S. National Design Lifetime Achievement Award by Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum and the White House

Living Green Interview with Michael Gosney – 2006 interview on Califia project, the Digital Be-In and Biomimicry

CALIFIA: Bay Area EcoCity

About the Califia Project:

Califia is a proposed 10,000-person ecocity to be built in the San Francisco metropolitan region over the next ten to fifteen years. The Green Century Institute is developing the general proposal for the project and seeking partners for this world class sustainable development.

Key Objectives:

• Model Ecocity Development: Create a living example of an ecologically and economically sustainable urban development that leverages the evolutionary culture of Northern California in a real estate development integrating advanced green design features, network-facilitated community development, and forward thinking partnerships with private, non-profit, commercial, and civic institutions.

Development Process Goals:

1. Financing: Develop pioneering community-based financing and development approaches, and strategic public/private partnerships.
2. Ecology: Focus on sustainable and/or regenerative design solutions wherever possible in answering Califia's fundamental questions regarding energy use, food production, construction techniques/materials, transportation, etc
3. Values: Propagate the interdependent values of social justice and ecological sustainability.
4. Social: Use social network enhanced decision-making processes for accelerated project development, including sustainable lifestyle guidelines and systems, and the ongoing function and evolution of the Califia community.
5. Creativity: Encourage biomimetic design, aesthetics and lifestyles.

Click here to learn more.

AUROVILLE
Making Connections - GCI Acting Director Michael Gosney
Visits Auroville - January 2005