Watch Driven to Change: A Virtual Summit on Transportation, Housing, and the Climate Crisis in Our Region
It’s hard to believe it’s already been a month since we hosted Driven to Change: A Virtual Summit on Transportation, Housing, and the Climate Crisis in Our Region.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been blown away by the positive responses and feedback we’ve received from those who attended.
Participants joined the conversation from as far away as London! But most were our neighbors and peers from right here in Wake County — others like us (and you!) who are committed to taking meaningful local action in the fight against climate change and who recognize the need for communities to adapt to rising temperatures and extreme weather events.
THANK YOU to all who participated in this first-of-kind event for us! We’re still organizing and processing all the tremendous information we gathered from the event, all of which will help guide us towards real policy solutions to this urgent and growing crisis.
While we continue to work through all we learned last month, we hope you’ll take the opportunity to go back and re-watch your favorite sessions from Driven to Change. We’re excited to announce that ALL sessions are now available FOR FREE on YouTube!
(Re)Watch Driven to Change: A Virtual Summit on Transportation, Housing, and the Climate Crisis in Our Region
Day 1: February 17, 2021
Welcome & Introductions
Welcome and introductions from: Jackie Turner, WakeUP Board Member (beginning at 3:00); Dr. Adam Terando, WakeUP Vice Chair (beginning at 6:40); Sig Hutchinson, Wake County Commissioner (beginning at 18:20); Jeremy Tarr, Senior Advisor for Climate Change Policy to Governor Cooper (beginning at 29:00); and Mary-Ann Baldwin, Mayor of the City of Raleigh (beginning at 47:05).
Session 1: Forecasting Our Future: A Presentation From Dr. Katharine Hayhoe on Climate Change, Extreme Weather, and Planning for Resilience
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is a world-renowned atmospheric scientist who studies climate change and why it matters to us HERE AND NOW. She is also a remarkable communicator who has received the National Center for Science Education’s Friend of the Planet award, the American Geophysical Union’s Climate Communication Prize, and the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Hayhoe has been included on such prominent lists as Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, Foreign Policy’s 100 Leading Thinkers, and FORTUNE magazine’s World’s Greatest Leaders. She was also named United Nations Champion of the Earth in Science and Innovation in 2019. Check out more incredible content from Dr. Hayhoe here, in her special PBS digital series, “Global Weirding.”
Session 2: Transportation & Policy Solutions for Reducing Emissions
Brent Toderian is an internationally sought thought-leader with over 25 years of experience in advanced urbanism, city planning and urban design. Brent established TODERIAN UrbanWORKS following 6 years as Vancouver BC’s Chief Planner, where he managed planning and design around the 2010 Winter Olympics; the EcoDensity and Greenest City Initiatives; new visions and strategies for the city’s viaducts; multi-modal mobility and active transportation (walk, bike and transit); place-making, public place design and street activation strategies; next generation transit-oriented development (TOD) initiatives; and the Laneway Housing program and other affordability/housing strategies.
Session 3: Shared Perspectives in Policy
An informal discussion about the challenges and opportunities in policy to help curb climate change, as well as a presentation on the Environmental Protection Agency’s EnviroAtlas Tool.
Day 2: February 18, 2021
Session 4: Panel Discussion with Local Elected Officials and Environmental Experts
Speakers include:
- TJ Cawley, Mayor of Morrisville (Panel Moderator)
- Jessica Day, Mayor of Knightdale
- Nicole Stewart, City Councilor At-large for the City of Raleigh
- Kym Hunter, Senior Attorney at Southern Environmental Law Center
Session 5: Panel Discussion with Local Sustainability Managers
Speakers include:
- Emily Barrett, Natural Resources & Resilience Program Manager, Triangle J Council of Governments (Panel Moderator)
- Megan Anderson, Sustainability Manager for the City of Raleigh
- Megan Pendell, Sustainability Coordinator for the Town of Apex
- Niki Jones, Assistant Planning Director for the Town of Wendell
Session 6: Presentation from Dr. Ozge Kaplan
Dr. Ozge Kaplan is Principal Investigator within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development (ORD). Her research focuses on end-use energy sector technology and fuel trends in buildings, transportation and industrial sectors.
Session 7: Interview with Vernice Miller-Travis About Environmental Justice Issues
Vernice Miller-Travis is a civil rights and environmental policy analyst and advocate with the Metropolitan Group. She was a contributing author to the landmark report “Toxic Waste and Race in the United States.” Vernice was recently awarded the Robert Bullard Environmental Justice Award by the Sierra Club.
Session 8: Panel Discussion about the S-Line Passenger Rail Line
Speakers include:
- Julie White, Deputy Secretary for Multimodal Transportation for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT)
- Vivian Jones, Mayor of the Town of Wake Forest
- Chris Lukasina, Executive Director for Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO)
Session 9: Becoming a Climate Advocate in the Triangle
Doug Parsons is a climate adaption expert and host of America Adapts, a podcast exploring the challenges that climate change presents, solutions already underway, and the global movement to prepare for the future. Doug has interviewed many of the world’s leading experts and practitioners of climate adaptation techniques, strategies, and policies. In this final session, Doug shares the most important lessons he’s learned from experts in the field of adaptation and inspires with positive stories and ideas for how concerned individuals can take meaningful action today to address the growing threat of climate change.
We Hope You Feel Driven to Change
We hope that you will feel the excitement from Driven to Change and want to help us move forward on climate change issues as they impact — and are impacted by — transportation, housing, and land use in Wake County.
In her closing remarks, Susan Parry, WakeUP’s Board Chair, asked all of us to take three simple but important actions:
- Pay attention and engage with your local officials in your town or city
- Talk to your friends, family, and neighbors about your climate concerns and what you’ve learned
- Share your thoughts and ideas with us. Email your ideas on climate action, sustainability, and community resilience to us at climate@wakeupwakecounty.org and we’ll bring them to our Climate Committee for action
WakeUP believes that we all need to pitch in on the climate change crisis in the same way we’ve learned over the past year to fight COVID-19 —through behavior and lifestyle changes, and through smart, strategic policies that look out for our most vulnerable citizens and help us build a more sustainable quality of life.
With your help and support going forward, we’re optimistic about our vision for a future where all residents share the benefits of Wake County’s tremendous growth, a future with resilient communities centered around housing choices, clean mobility options, thriving public schools, and a sustainable environment.
And if you enjoyed Driven to Change, please consider making a donation to WakeUP to help us host more events like this one.
Above all, we hope you’ve come away from this event with a better understanding of how we can work together to address the urgent challenge of climate change. We hope you feel, quite literally, driven to change your community as well as the world!