The Washington Chapter of the APA is offering a training series on climate change and sustainability issues. For those who can't make it to the University of Washington, the sessions will be available as webcasts for three months after they take place.

The major challenge facing this and the next generation of architects, planners and builders is how to develop land use patterns that respond to the demands of the post-carbon age and provide a high quality of life for future generations. How our profession adapts to the need for reducing dependency on fossil fuels and contributes to the use of new technologies and approaches to planning and development that foster sustainability is critically important and will be the focus of this year’s Salzburg Congress on Urban Planning and Development.

Public sector entities are helping meet their energy needs with on-site renewable energy facilities. One key to the long-term success of an on-site renewable project is financing: how will construction be funded and what incentives can be leveraged to ensure the financial feasibility of the project?

Hear about the success of the most robust new streetcar systems at the last of four national workshops, hosted by the national nonprofit Reconnecting America and the Seaside Institute. Speakers from around the country will talk about the political and funding strategies that are getting new streetcar systems built, and all the benefits of these public-private partnerships.

In June, 2008, a 5-day national training session will take place at Tufts University to increase citizen and planner leadership capacity in communities and their local governments to initiate and lead a change process to become a sustainable community. This sustainable communities approach has a substantial track record of successful implementation – possibly the most extensive in the world - in over 100 municipalities in Sweden, U.S., and around the world. The objective of the training is to prepare potential local leaders – including citizens, local officials, planners, or municipal staff – to be able to lead a process involving sustainability education, communication, and a strategic implementation process.

The Center for Energy, Environment and Economics at the New York Institute of Technology is hosting their third annual conference, titled Energy Shock and Climate Change: Sustainable Solutions for Converging Crises. A full day of speakers and panelists, including Post Carbon Cities' Daniel Lerch, will explore the issues of climate and energy uncertainty.

The Towards Carfree Cities conference series brings together people from around the world who work to promote practical alternatives to car dependence. The conference attracts professionals, advocates, and community leaders who focus on the creation of sustainable transportation systems and on the transformation of cities, towns, and villages into human-scaled environments rich in public space and community life.

The Summer Institute in Sustainability is an intensive professional development program targeted to administrators in corporations, local and provincial governments, and universities and colleges who wish to integrate sustainability as a core value in their organization. Academic experts and working professionals will help you understand how to develop sustainability policies and procedures that are mindful of public policy, stakeholder interest, and the bottom line.

GreenGov Conference 2008 is an operations-greening conference for government agencies at all levels. Themes like "Show me the funding," "Green purchasing," and "Green buildings" will provide information for agencies working to make their operations more efficient.

That's "pro" as in for, not as in paid for. This conference, put on by BikeWalk.org, the National Center for Bicycling and Walking, will bring together advocates, officials, planners, and others in almost a week of bike and pedestrian oriented workshops, meetings and presentations.

The Playbook for Green Buildings and Neighborhoods: Strategic Local Climate Solutions, a web-based resource, provides strategies, tips, and tools that counties can use to take immediate action on climate change through: green building, green neighborhoods, and sustainable infrastructure. The Playbook is designed both for communities that are considering making the first steps toward these, as well as for those who want to take existing efforts to a new level.

The majority of the world’s population lives within sixty kilometers of the coast line - and this portion is steadily increasing. Yet the coastal ecosystem is fragile, and the combination of development and climate change can cause harm to the priceless natural resources that draw people to the oceans. This conference, for coastal city leaders, managers and academics, will feature discussions on many aspects of the human/urban piece of the coastal environment.

The theme of this year's U.S. Green Building Council’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo is "Revolutionary Green: Innovations for Global Sustainability." Join architects, code officials, developers, green power providers, and many others in Boston, Mass. for this important conference on green building.

No city today can function efficiently without public transport. Indeed the development of public transport is a prerequisite for sustainable urban development. It is all the more critical in the light of growing urbanization, air quality concerns, peak oil, and climate change.