(3:45 to 5:00pm, 1.25 hours)
The Building Sustainable Communities Initiative (BSCI) brings together an interdisciplinary team of faculty from 8 UI colleges and 9 academic departments, and UI Extension to deliver state-of-the art programs in graduate planning education, community outreach, and in-service professional training.

The entire initiative is linked together by a “bioregional” approach to planning that considers the ecological functions and human settlement patterns of a region, builds more inclusive civic constituency, and emphasizes regional resources and energy sources to inform community and economic development policy and design.

This session will highlight the work BSCI faculty and students are currently doing with Idaho communities.

Steve Hollenhorst will present an overview of the interdisciplinary bioregional approach embodied in the initiative.

Steve Drown will discuss the current Learning and Practice Collaborative (LPC) happening in Cascade, Idaho. In partnership with the Cascade community, the project explores the boundaries of bioregional thought and practice while transforming university outreach through cross-disciplinary student and faculty service learning.

Laura Laumatia will discuss how design and planning on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation can support efforts by the Tribe and community to break down
generations of social divides, and provide a means for the reinhabitation of place.

Sandra Pinel will highlight how students in a local and regional
planning class worked with the Latah County Planning and Zoning Commission to complete a Smart Growth assessment of its land use plan.
The students also researched the viability of various rural transportation and agricultural preservation alternatives.

David Paul will discuss the role community design may play in obesity and the development of preventable disease in the United States.

Gregg Servheen, Idaho Department of Fish and Game facilitates a discussion about BioRegional Planning.