Humane Metropolis Talks

Since its publication in 2006, Rutherford Platt has lectured on The Humane Metropolis book and concept to audiences in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Houston, Portland OR, Seattle, Los Angeles, Riverside CA, and Istanbul, Turkey among other cities.

Dr. Platt has been a keynote or plenary speaker at the Chicago Wilderness Tenth Anniversary, New Directions in the American Landscape (New London and Swarthmore, PA), the Native Plants in the Landscape Conference (Millersville, PA), the Houston League of Women Voters, Metro Portland's Regional Greenspaces Summit, the UNESCO Urban Biosphere and Society: Partnership of Cities Conference, and the 2007 EuroMAB Conference in Antalya, Turkey. He has also spoken to many academic audiences and community groups.

[List of Dr. Platt's recent talks]

The Humane Metropolis lecture runs about 40-50 minutes, although it can be shortened according to time constraints. Ideally, it concludes with general discussion and perhaps a panel of local experts. Powerpoint slides illlustrate trends and issues posed by metropolitan sprawl, and provide many examples of efforts to make cities and suburbs more green, healthy and safe, efficient, equitable, and neighborly - in other words, more "humane"

Speaking fees are negotiable according to the size of audience and type of host organization. Travel expenses are normally reimbursable for trips involving overnight stays or driving distance of more than 75 miles.

Dr. Platt may be contacted at (413) 575-0685 or platt@geo.umass.edu.