"A Community-Wide Approach to Sustainability"

Sarah James is a private city and town planning consultant. who is based in Cambridge, Mass. She is co-author of The Natural Step for Communities: How Cities and Towns Can Change to Sustainable Practices and of the American Planning Association’s Policy Guide on Planning for Sustainability. In 2005, she helped found the Eco-Municipality Network in the U.S., consisting of communities that are committed to taking a comprehensive approach to sustainability in government operations, energy use, and land development.

Ms. James has consulted with many town and city governments on how to apply four sustainability principles to municipal decision-making, most recently with the Senior Management Team of the Town of Concord. Her focus at the October coffee will be on steps that can be taken to engage the larger community in a similar process. She will include examples of how this has happened in other locations around the U.S. and world.