The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Sustainable Smart Cities Research Center will bring green experts from around the world for the second annual Sustainable Smart Cities Symposium. The event on Wednesday, April 3, 2013, is free and open to the public, and it will focus on lessons learned in sustainability, as well as potential programs for Birmingham.
Jose Holguin-Veras, Ph.D., who helped implement Manhattan’s Off-Hour Delivery Truck Program, will explain how limiting freight deliveries from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. gives the city an estimated economic savings of $100-200 million. Richard Michos, a global vice president with IBM, will discuss how his company’s Smarter Cities Challenge helps 100 cities address critical challenges. Wouter Schik with Arcadis in The Netherlands will explain how real sustainable cities are not based on the number of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building or neighborhoods, but the continuous process of transformation.
After lunch, there will be a panel discussion, “Birmingham’s Potential as a Sustainable Smart City,” featuring Catherine Sloss Jones, president and CEO of Sloss Real Estate, and Iwan Alexander, Ph.D., incoming dean UAB School of Engineering, among others. The event will be held at the Double Tree Hotel Birmingham at 808 20th Street South.