The Rail~Volution 2008 Call for Presentations
San Francisco, CA
October 26 - 29, 2008
Proposal Deadline: May 2, 2008
Rail~Volution is a conference for passionate practitioners - people from all perspectives who believe in the role of land use and transit as equal partners in the quest for greater livability and greater communities. The success of the conference depends on the quality and diversity of presentations. Rail~Volution solicits your story-sharing expertise, experience, success and challenges, including:
- The basics of creating livable and sustainable communities with good planning, design and projects that deliver transportation options.
- Approaches to weaving partnerships among public, private and community partners.
- Innovations in applying planning methods, transit-oriented design and communication.
- Current examples of transit-oriented development, integrated transportation options and livable communities.
- The latest approaches to creating sustainable communities and addressing climate change.
- Methods for leveraging resources and opportunities to help achieve success.
The Bay Area – with its tradition of innovation in transportation and land use planning -- is the dynamic setting for Rail~Volution 2008.
How to Submit
Please submit presentation proposals online here. Note that all submittals must include a short bio. For submittals as faculty, the proposal field may be left blank, unless you want to communicate topic preferences or other information that might assist in your placement (see Presentation Opportunities below for more details). Faxed or mailed proposals will not be accepted.
Schedule
We will confirm receipt of your proposal via email. We will notify by June 23 about whether your proposal has been accepted.
Presentation Topics
Rail~Volution is about building livable communities with transit and much more. This annual conference is where a mix of disciplines and topics converge to inform and influence national and international community building. Each year the conference presents core topics for new practitioners, as well as many advanced topics. The conference focuses on a theme and related topics – all of which are relevant to current leading issues and to the conference host region.
The theme for the 2008 conference is:
“Reshaping communities in an energy challenged future.”
Rail~Volution has always been about creating livable communities with transit. Scarce energy resources and a belated understanding of dramatic climatic impact have lent an imperative to this mission. It is no longer just about new communities and new development, but how we must reshape our existing, built environment to answer the call to rethink how we live in very fundamental ways.
Around this central theme, the following topics have been proposed as a focus for workshop presentations. However, other presentation topics are welcomed as well.
- Climate change and the scarce energy challenge – How are communities responding to this challenge -- whether it is via community design, transit integration strategies or local and regional policy?
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Addressing the diverse needs of communities – The changing community will exacerbate the limited housing and mobility options for low-income residents, senior citizens and the disabled. How are communities increasing housing and mobility options for all members of society?
- With change comes opportunity – There is before us an historic opportunity to influence local, regional and national policy and program priorities. How are communities, organizations and programs responding to this opportunity? What are the best models for making the case?
Presentation Opportunities
This 2008 Call for Presentations seeks your participation in two ways:
Present yourself as a resource or expert in a subject. Check the “faculty proposal” box on the attached form and provide a short bio that describes your background and topics that you can comfortably present. Conference “faculty” will be a resource for core sessions that cover foundation topics. The faculty also may be contacted for strategic placement in panels or workshops. Prospective faculty will be consulted before any assignments are made.
Present a specific workshop proposal, Check the ”workshop proposal” box and fill in both the bio and a short description of your proposal. Proposals should clearly state the intent of the presentation and value for the audience.
Presentations generally are placed within a 90-minute workshop with up to two other related presentations, with a moderator guiding workshop themes and discussion. Alternative workshop formats will be considered.
Selection Process and Program policies
The Rail~Volution National Steering Committee will review each proposal. Considerations for selection include:
- Relevance to conference themes. The committee will select sessions that respond to the conference themes, although other topics also will be considered.
- Experience of the presenter: The committee would like to provide opportunities for everyone, but professional experience and success with prior presentations is important.
- Workshop development: Presentations are matched to workshop topics. A balance of perspectives and a distribution of examples will affect the placement of selected presentations.
- Presenters may be asked to modify presentation to better match conference program needs.
- Proposals that address the latest innovations in community building are encouraged, but weight will be given to implemented projects with demonstrated success.
Thank you for your proposal – and we hope to see you at this year’s conference, either as a presenter or as a participant.
Rail~Volution 2008: http://www.railvolution.com/default.asp
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