Past Conferences

WP|WS Conference Archive

Expand items in the list below for information, videos, and materials from past Western Places | Western Spaces conferences.

2023 – "Framing the Future: Investing in Solutions for a Thriving West"
The West is facing a series of compounding crises that threaten our way of life in the region. Extreme temperatures are impacting the ongoing drought, urban heat islands and public health, vulnerability to fire, our agricultural economy and food security, and our energy infrastructure. And yet people continue to move to the West, creating further pressure on our natural systems, our transportation and housing systems, and driving up the cost of living — especially the cost of housing — which jeopardizes the vitality of the entire region.

Although the challenges are growing, so are the creative solutions that communities can use to address these crises; mitigate their risks; adapt to a changing environment; advance diversity, equity, and inclusion; and build in resiliency to forge ahead when times get tough.

Presentation Videos & Session Materials

Conference Program

Keynote – Leveraging the Moment to Frame the Future
- Video
Burns Affordable Housing Symposium
- Agenda
- Video
Housing Affordability: Solutions for the West
- Agenda
- Video
How To Present Your Case in a Public Hearing
- Agenda
- Video
Using the Tax Code to Preserve Ecosystem Services and Help Achieve 30% Land Preservation by 2030
- Video
Protecting Watersheds: The Versatility of Local Government Tools
- Video
Ethics for Lawyers (Legal Ethics Credits)
- Video
Ethics and Equity: Opportunities and Consideration for Utilizing Available Federal Funding (Planning Ethics Credits)
- Video
Co-Creating a Resilient Region for People and Nature — LAW 180
- Video
Renewable Energy: Siting for a Sustainable Future — LAW 190
- Video
Hot Topics in the Law: Updates from the Rocky Mountain States
- Video
Applying the APA Zoning Equity Guide
- Video
Jim Lochhead, Investing in a Water Wise Future (Plenary Lunch)
- Video
Temporary Housing Solutions are Becoming Longer Term
- Video
Mitigation Matters: Wildfire Mitigation Strategies in the Inland West
- Video
Will the Water Be There? Best Practices in Water Adequacy Policies and Regulations
- Video
Asking Directions: Experts with Disabilities Lead the Way
- Video
Saving The West: The Dynamic Dozen—Local Solutions From The Sustainable Development Code
- Video
Dancing with Disaster: Key Considerations for Communities Pursuing Resilient Futures
- Video
The Desert Tightrope: Balancing Growth, Affordability, and Finite Resources in the Southwest
- Video
Building Communities that Improve Physical and Mental Health
- Video
2022 – "Growth & Change in the West: Can We Adapt Sustainably?"
As we emerge from the pandemic, the West is facing immense pressures from growth and change that challenge our notions of sustainability in our region. An intractable housing affordability crisis is spreading beyond our urban areas to exurban communities and rural towns, where people are now moving in greater numbers. The impacts of climate change are upon us, with the West is experiencing an extended drought that threatens our regional water supply and our forests and fire seasons that are growing in duration and severity with each passing year. As we face these challenges (and many more), the 2022 Western Places | Western Spaces conference focuses on how the region can adapt to these mounting pressures and what measures we need to be taking now to ensure greater resilience to whatever the future holds.

Presentation Videos & Session Materials

Conference Program

Presentation Videos
2021 – "Bouncing Forward: Building Thriving, Healthy & Equitable Communities"
Over the last year, we have seen a world of change with a global pandemic that disrupted economies and re-ordered our notions about how and where to work and live. At the same time, the impacts of climate change are increasingly evident in the ferocity of our wildfire seasons and extreme weather events. And the inequities in our society―highlighted in the disproportionate impacts of COVID across communities―have become impossible to ignore. We don’t want to “bounce back” to business-as-usual. Instead, the focus for RMLUI’s 30th Western Places | Western Spaces conference will be on how to bounce forward and build communities that are thriving, healthy, equitable places for both people and nature. Through design, planning, and other creative approaches, we will look at how our built environment contributes to health, wellness, and economic vitality, while also reducing our impact on climate change.

Sponsorship & Promotional Opportunities

Our conference is not possible without the generous support of our sponsors. These financial contributions help fund our programs and conference activities, including top-notch keynote speakers, plenary lunch events, and tours. Conference sponsorship provides visibility and underscores your company’s commitment to sustainable communities and informed and ethical land use and development practices.

Equally important are our Aspen sponsors, who provide in-kind marketing and promotional support.

For more information, please see our Sponsorship Platforms Brochure or contact Susan Daggett.
Presentation Videos & Session Materials

Conference Program

Conference Video Playlists
Keynote Presentation
- Agyeman, Just Sustainabilities in Policy, Planning & Practices
Housing Affordability & Zoning Workshop
- Housing Affordability & Zoning Workshop Part 1
- Housing Affordability & Zoning Workshop Part 2
Presentations
2020 – "Hot, Dry, and Crowded: Planning for the Future"
The West of the future will be warmer and more populous, and as a result, will face significant challenges with respect to our water supplies, our ability to withstand unpredictable weather patterns and extreme storm events, and our capacity to preserve our economy and our quality of life while adapting to the coming changes. The climate is changing, but we can do something about it.

Land use planning, water planning, and disaster mitigation are just a few of the tools available to help prepare for an uncertain future. We can work now to prepare our communities and landscapes for the impacts we are sure to experience. We can use design to create places that are more sustainable and adaptable. We can use integrated water and land use planning to help stretch dwindling water supplies. We can use our natural systems to create more resilient communities that are cooler and more connected. And we can work to ensure that the communities of our future are more equitable, affordable, and inclusive.

For RMLUI’s 29th Western Places/Western Spaces conference, we will be looking at the ways in which we can use design, planning tools, and creative approaches to better plan for a future that will be different from the known past. The Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy is partnering with us to develop a track focused on integrating land use and water planning. In addition, we will consider how our built environments, using mixed use design, transportation infrastructure, and even building codes, can help reduce our impact on climate change and create a more comfortable and sustainable living environment. We will explore how our natural systems and outdoor spaces can be designed for greater resilience, cooler micro-climates, and more water-wise landscaping. We also will focus on rural resilience and how to adapt sustainability innovations and new technologies to small towns and rural communities. Finally, we will consider how climate change is likely to affect our natural resources—from our recreational playgrounds to our economic engines—and discuss ways in which our land use strategies can or should adapt in anticipation of changes across our Western landscapes.

Session Materials

Conference Program

Conference Agenda

Handouts
Development Finance Workshop
PowerPoints
2019 – "Designing for the Future: Building Enduring Value"
Imagine your ideal community. What makes a place of enduring value? Does it preserve and appreciate its local history or is it a high-tech and future-oriented master-planned development? Is it welcoming to all, regardless of income, ethnicity, ability, or age? Is it accessible and easy to navigate? Is it resilient and sustainable? How important is it to create spaces that inspire awe, that promote civic engagement, that provide a respite, or that encourage recreation?

As economic recovery has spread across the West, the demands of rapid growth threaten to undermine our ability to plan for and design places of lasting value. And yet, good design can transform a mundane block of apartments into a vibrant community; it can help revitalize a struggling Main Street; and it can promote sustainability by ensuring that our investments are durable.

For RMLUI’s 28th Western Places/Western Spaces conference, we are looking at the ways in which the quality of design informs and shapes our communities. What works and what doesn’t? How are small towns using design to encourage growth and economic opportunities? How are cities ensuring that their focus on affordability doesn’t come at the expense of quality infrastructure? How are suburban areas re-designing spaces to meet changing market demands amid a retail revolution? And what tools can we use to promote more thoughtful, more effective, and more beautiful design?

Session Materials

Conference Program

Handouts
Powerpoints
2018 – "Disruption, Innovation, and Progress: Planning for an Uncertain Future"
How do we plan for the future when we don’t know what it holds? This is a common dilemma for planners and land use practitioners everywhere. Despite the best-laid plans, new practices or technology can disrupt the entire process. The sharing economy—with the advent of Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, and others—has already made an impact on transportation and housing. Cities are exploring how to become smarter through the use of responsive infrastructure, but question how to integrate this model into the existing city-scape. And with fleets of driverless cars on the horizon, what will this mean for our mobility networks and parking structures?

Disruptive influences impact more than just cities. Landscape managers can now track livestock and grazing, map remote areas, and monitor plant and animal species using drones and GIS mapping. The rise of e-commerce is disrupting both big-box stores and Main Street shops. What additional impacts will drone delivery have on brick-and-mortar retail? And how can rural communities improve their communication and data networks so their residents can also benefit from the smart economy?

In addition to all the changes being brought about by technology and innovation, communities also have to contend with the disruptions brought on by natural processes. How do communities embed resilience and adaptation in their long- range planning to address potential impacts caused by climate change, for example, including prolonged droughts, heat waves, and extreme weather events? What adaptive strategies can cities employ to protect public health and safety in the face of extreme weather? How do rural communities manage the risk of wildfire at the wildland-urban interface?

In a world full of disruptions, how do we build infrastructure and craft policies that not only meet our present-day needs, but also have the flexibility to adapt to future scenarios? These questions will help frame our discussions at the 2018 Western Places/ Western Spaces conference.

Session Materials

Conference Program

Handouts
PowerPoints
2017 – "Creating Inclusive Communities"
Across the Rocky Mountain region, creating spaces that work for diverse populations—rich and poor, young and old, newcomers and natives—is a central challenge of our times. While the West is home to many thriving communities with robust economies and enviable amenities, there are also numerous communities that are struggling to keep pace economically and to manage the challenges of rapid growth.

As our region continues to grow and change, increasing in density and diversity, questions about how to maintain affordability and livability, while promoting equity and inclusiveness, are top of mind in many of our fast-growing Western cities and towns. At the same time in the rural West, many communities are looking for innovative ways to maintain their infrastructure and economic viability.

The theme for the 2017 Western Places/Western Spaces conference, Creating Inclusive Communities, focuses on the challenges and strategies available to cities—large and small—to plan for and build communities in which everyone can thrive. Sessions at this year’s event will address the pressing need for fair and affordable housing, smart cities and technology, engaging with the community, and balancing density with livable spaces.

We will also continue to explore options for conserving and protecting our lands and natural resources. Water and energy development—whether from fossil fuels like oil, gas, and coal or renewable sources like wind and solar—remain as inextricably linked with the West as our mountains and plains.

Session Materials

Conference Program

Handouts
PowerPoints
2016 – "Examining the Past, Exploring the Future"
The Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute was established to conduct education and research programs on legal and public policy issues related to land use and development. For 25 years, RMLUI has been leading a discussion in the West about the challenges presented by growth and innovative ideas for addressing them.

In celebration of its 25th year, RMLUI is pausing to look back and examine lessons learned that can guide our actions and policies as we move forward into the next 25 years.

This year’s Western Places/Western Spaces conference will address the transformative land use legal and policy developments in the Rocky Mountain West that have influenced the shape of our communities today. We will also explore the trends and innovations—like demographic shifts, climate change, and economic forces—that are likely to affect the future of the West.

RMLUI will continue to advance the dialogue on some recurring themes from past conferences—urban growth and density, regional planning and conservation, water, and housing—and consider emerging challenges facing the region.

In addition, RMLUI's optional workshop on Wednesday, March 9, Linking Land Use & Water: Tools to Grow Water- Smart, is a day-long workshop that will bring together land use planners, water providers, policy makers, lawyers, and others to explore the legal framework that underlies efforts to regulate water use and to discuss best practices that local communities can use to integrate water and land use planning to maximize water efficiency and conservation.

Session Materials

Conference Program

Handouts
PowerPoints
2015 – "Building Fair & Resilient Communities"
Across the West, communities large and small are grappling with change. Our largest cities are thriving, but gentrification is making urban living unaffordable for many. As suburban communities transition towards more compact development and public transit, they are starting to lose the small town appeal that attracted so many. Rural communities struggle to balance their wild and rustic roots in the face of a changing economy. Set against a backdrop of increased risks associated with long-term drought, violent storms, flooding, and wildfire, the West is embracing its latest challenges.

The 2015 RMLUI Conference focuses on the innovative ways cities and towns across the West are building more resilient, equitable, and vital communities. The theme addresses how we can meet the many challenges of the future—including threats posed by climate change, a modern economy, and demographic shifts—while better addressing issues of social and environmental justice. The featured track on resilience explores the innovative approaches that communities across the West are thinking about as they work to rebuild and mitigate future risks.

Session Materials

Conference Program

Handouts
PowerPoints
2014 – "Moving Beyond Recession: What's Next?"
As the nation emerges from the Great Recession, the West is poised to lead the way in economic and population growth. Both Colorado and Arizona expect to add a million people each decade until 2050, with other Western states growing at similar rates, if not in equal numbers. Although newcomers will tend to congregate in the region’s metropolitan areas—where the populations will also be older and more diverse—smaller, high-amenity communities will also experience significant growth. This growth will create demand for new housing, transportation and transit options, educational and economic opportunities, as well as water, energy, and other natural resources. These demands will, in turn, increase pressure on our governmental and policy institutions to help support this growth in a way that protects the quality of life that attracts people to the region in the first place.

The 2014 RMLUI Annual Land Use Conference will focus on how we can approach issues of growth as we come of out the Great Recession. What can we learn about the mistakes of the past to make sure that the next boom results in the right kind of growth? How will our master planned communities do things differently this time around? How will we build new communities and retrofit existing neighborhoods while ensuring access to transit, to jobs, to schools, and to outdoor recreation? How do we ensure that our new forms of development are equitable and ecologically responsible? What are the best ideas about how to make the next boom an opportunity to create enduring communities for the future? And how do we ensure that financing is available to support smarter growth?

Conference Highlights

Keynote Presentation

Former Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, delivered the Keynote Address for the 2014 RMLUI Conference.

Dynamics of the Land Use Case: Elements, Strategy and Presentation

This day-long, soup-to-nuts workshop explored the process of land use development. Click the button below for the workshop flyer.

Download Flyer

Featured Track: Conservation in Metropolitan Regions

RMLUI was very pleased to work with the Metropolitan Greenspaces Alliance (MGA) to develop this year’s featured session track. Click the button below to learn more about this track from the Session Information guide. You can also watch videos from these sessions through the 2014 Home Study program.

Download Guide

RMLUI’s Home Study

RMLUI’s Home Study sessions provide an ideal option to maintain your professional credentials. Each block of videos presents a selection of panels from RMLUI’s Annual Land Use Conference and is accredited for CLE and AICP continuing education credits. For more information about the sessions and registration information, please visit the Home Study page.

Session Materials

Conference Program

Handouts
PowerPoints
2013 – "Land Use for a Lifetime: Changing Demographics & Shifting Priorities"
Shifting demographics and housing preferences are creating new challenges for modern land use professionals. Fifty years ago, urban flight referred to those fleeing the cities in favor of tidy suburbs, leaving behind blight and urban decay. Today, urban flight is reversed, as both Boomers and their children return to cities in droves, looking for urban attractions and modern living. Young families are seeking a balance: the good schools and family friendly features of the suburbs combined with the amenities and walkability of the city. They also want new development that protects their natural environment and iconic landscapes.

The times they are a changin’, and cities are racing to keep up. Whether it’s siting schools for young kids, improving accessibility for an aging population, or creating mixed use urban infill that can help meet the needs of a growing, changing population, land use planning can help communities face these new challenges. This year’s conference will focus on changing demographics, emerging trends, and the tools that can help communities grow and change to serve the shifting priorities of their populations.

Session Materials

Conference Agenda

Campus Map

Attendee List

Handouts
PowerPoints
2012 – "The Wilderness City: Nature, Culture and Economy in the Next West"
The Rocky Mountain West is characterized by majestic peaks, rolling prairies, rugged plains and vast open spaces. At the same time, the West is home to rapidly growing cities like Denver, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Boise, as well as countless small towns trying to remain viable in an increasingly urbanizing region. Interestingly, as urban centers continue to grow, they are seeking to reconnect their local cultures and economies to what remains of their native ecology. Meanwhile, rural communities are looking for ways to support economic development while maintaining their strong ties to local landscapes and natural resources.

“Wilderness Cities” like Vancouver, Canada blend the wild and the urban seamlessly, with skyscrapers and industry nestled up against rain forests, killer whales and coastal mountains. How can a Wilderness City model and other “green” development approaches not only make Western communities vibrant economic centers but also strengthen our connection with the land? How can rural communities grow successfully without having to sacrifice natural beauty and ecosystem health?

Session Materials

Conference Agenda

Speaker Bios

Attendee List

Handouts
PowerPoints
2011 – "The Next West: 20th Anniversary Land Use Conference"
The Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute’s 20th Anniversary presents a singular opportunity to explore both change and continuity in the region’s communities and landscapes over the past two decades while beginning to look ahead to the next twenty years, to the Next West.

An extraordinary confluence of forces is changing the way communities across the West and the nation plan, grow and define their success. Climate change, technology, globalization, urbanization and a new wave of immigration are challenging old rules and patterns of development—both physical and economic.

As the region begins to emerge from the current economic crisis, professionals and citizens alike will need to understand the forces driving our land use and development patterns, forces that cut across geography, disciplines, fields and sectors. Like never before, they will be called upon to design new models that join prosperity, community and ecology in a bold vision tailored to the needs of a rapidly changing region in a radically changing world.

Session Materials

Conference Agenda

Speaker Bios

Handouts
Presentations
2010 – "The Future of American Communities: Outlook to 2050"
Session Titles & Materials

Thursday, March 4, 2010

John Carver Distinguished Lecture and Keynote Address, Joel Kotkin
- View PowerPoint
The New American Landscape, Thomas J. Ragonetti, Esq.

Perspective #1: Master Planned Developemnt, Don Whyte

Perspective #2: New Urbanism, Daniel Parolek

Perspective #3: Green Urbanism, Gordon Price

Perspective #4: None of the Above, Dr. Arthur Nelson
- View PowerPoint
Patricia C. Tisdale Symposium, Closing Debate – Thomas J. Ragonetti, Don Whyte, Daniel Parolek, Gordon Price, Dr. Arthur Nelson
- View PowerPoint (Dr. Arthur Nelson)
Towards a National Conservation Landscape, Peter Pollock, FAICP, Lynn Scarlett

Smarter Rural Planning Tools, Tim Davis, Christopher J. Duerksen, Esq.
- View PowerPoint (Presentation #1, Christopher J. Duerksen, Esq.)
- View PowerPoint (Presentation #2, Christopher J. Duerksen, Esq.)
Renewables Scale Up: Large Solar & Wind Installations and Transmission Corridors, Mary Kay Peck, John Shepard, Alex Daue, Erica Heller
- View PowerPoint (Mary Kay Peck)
- View PowerPoint (John Shepard)
- View PowerPoint (Alex Daue)
- View PowerPoint (Erica Heller)
Friday, March 5, 2010

The Inconvenient Truth about Environmental Regulations and Housing Costs, Dr. Arthur “Chris” Nelson, FAICP, Professor Joe Schilling
- View PowerPoint (Dr. Arthur Nelson)
The Pathology of the Suburbs, David Green, Doug Allen, Heather Alhadeff, AICP
- View PowerPoint (David Green)
Emerging Land Conservation Case Law, Prof. Federico Cheever, Bill Silberstein, Esq., Chris Jensen, Esq.
- View PowerPoint (Prof. Federico Cheever)
Law of Sustainability, Craig Richardson, Esq.
- View PowerPoint
Regional Sustainability, Jennifer Schaufele, Stuart Freudberg, Karla Weaver, AICP
- View PowerPoint (Jennifer Schaufele)
- View PowerPoint (Karla Weaver, AICP)
- View PowerPoint (Climate Change Report)
Chasing Green: Urban Form and Local Revenue Policy, Rita McConnell, AICP, Todd Messenger, Elaine Carmichael

The New Edge City, Real Sustainability, Jon Grosshans, AICP, LEED AP, Lane Kendig, Dwight Merriam, Esq.
- View PowerPoint (Jon Grosshans, AICP, LEED AP)
Rural Smart Growth & Sustainability, Christopher J. Duerksen, Esq., Lynn Richards
- View PowerPoint (Christopher J. Duerksen, Esq.)
- View PowerPoint (Smart Growth and the Rural Context)
Recent Land Use Decisions in the Rocky Mountain West, Douglas A. Jorden, Esq., Jeff Parker, Esq., Anita Miller, Esq., Rich McClintock
- View PowerPoint (Jeff Parker, Esq.)
Bouillabaisse Regulation: How to Cook up a Great Code Using Ordinary and Unusual Ingredients, Dwight H. Merriam, Esq., FAICP, CRE, Prof Orlando E. DeLogu, Prof Edward H. Ziegler
- View PowerPoint (Bouillabaisse Zoning)
Putting Soul into the Neighborhood: The Possibilities and Pitfalls of Working with Communities of Faith, James van Hemert, AICP, Reverend Eric O. Jacobsen
- View PowerPoint (James van Hemert, AICP)
- View PowerPoint (Reverend Eric O. Jacobsen)
Walking, Biking and Busing: Smart Tools for Active Transportation, Sara Zimmerman, Esq., Matthew Dalbey, Renee Kuhlman
- View PowerPoint (Renee Kuhlman)
Local Food Systems: Building a Resilient Economy, Erick Aune, Robby Overfield, Jim Dyer, Heather Wooten
- View PowerPoint (Heather Wooten)
Land Use Ethics for Planners, Michael A. Harper, FAICP
- View PowerPoint
Re-Farming our Cities: Vegetable Gardens and Chicken Coops in the New Urban Landscape, Eric Kornacki, Rachel H Cleaves, Gail Meakins
- View PowerPoint (Gail Meakins)
An Emerging Sustainable Transit Corridor: The Future of a Suburban City, Robert Watkins, George Crandall, Larry Warner
- View PowerPoint (Robert Watkins)
- View PowerPoint (George Crandall)
- View PowerPoint (Larry Warner)
Energy Conservation Strategies & Climate Action Plans, Judy Dorsey PE, CEM, LEED-AP, Christopher J. Duerksen, Esq., Wayne Snider
- View PowerPoint (Christopher J. Duerksen, Esq.)
Predicting Carbon Foot-Printing: In Depth or Shortcuts?, Patric Dawe. AIA, Jeremy Klop, Sarah Rockwell, Esq.
- View PowerPoint (Jeremy Klop)
The TOD Premium: Is It Real?, Daniel R. Guimond, Andrew M. Knudtsen, Kenneth Ho

Sustainable, Net-Zero Energy Urbanism: Issues and Examples, Michael Leccese, Michael Tavel AIA, David Kahn, ASLA

Transfer of Development Rights: Protection without public funding, Ellen Crain Hoj, Melinda Beck Esq.

Public Finance Tools in the New Energy Economy, Darlene Sisneros, Esq., MaryAnn M. McGeady, Esq., Kenneth A. Guckenberger Esq.
- View PowerPoint
PUD Overload: A 12-Step Program for Restoring Zoning Sanity, Elizabeth Garvin, Esq., Matthew R. Gennett, AICP

Choosing the Best Tools to Build Sustainable Neighborhoods and Communities, Aaron Welch, Conor Merrigan
- View PowerPoint (Conor Merrigan)
Costs & Benefits of Sustainability, Joyce Allgaier, AICP, Bryan Bowen, Kevin Nelson
- View PowerPoint (Kevin Nelson)
2009
Session Materials

Thursday

Bonus Material
- Roundtable on Sustainable Forest
Creating a Regional Transit Vision
Green Urban Design
- Claire Bonham
- Krista Sprenger
Keynote
- RMLUI Keynote Remarks – Ralph Becker
Mountain Megas
- Dr. Robert Lang
- Brookings
Planning for Global Climate Change
The Housing Crisis Sustainable Solutions
Friday

Changing Directions and Deeper Patterns
- Backyard Forward – William Shutkin
Climate-Smart and Healthy New Allies
Coming Soon to an EIS Near You: NEPA & Climate Change
- Coming Soon to an EIS Near You – John Putnam, Larry Svoboda
Going Beyond LEED Carbon Accountability
- Going Beyond LEED – Pat Dawe, Tom Hootman
Green Infrastructure: A Sustainable and High-Value Option
Green, Greener, Greenest
- View PowerPoint
Historic Preservation: Green When Green Wasn’t Cool
Innovative Community Sustainability Measurement Tools
- Adam Palmer
- Gary Taipalus
Is the Marketplace Ready for Zero Energy Building (ZEB)?
- View PowerPoint
Land Use Ethics for Attorneys
- Eldorado Mountain Pictures
- Land Use Ethics for Attorneys
Land Use Ethics for Planners
- 2009 RMLUI Ethics Session
LEED or Follow: The Pros and Cons of Green Building Standards
- No materials available
LEED-ND: Sustainable Neighborhood Measurement in Practice
- View PowerPoint
Making TOD Work in the Heart of Suburban Sprawl
- View PowerPoint
Monetizing Sustainability
Motivating Local Action on Climate Change
- Dr Rosalind Bark
- Local Government Officials and Climate Change Policy
Out of the Car and On the Bike: Making Bicycle Communing a Reality
Recent Land Use Decisions in the Rocky Mountain West
Shame on the Sustainability Sham: Density is What’s Needed
Social Sustainability and Innovative Public Engagement
- View PowerPoint
Sustainable Infrastructure
- No materials available
The Greater Yellowstone Framework for Sustainable Development
- Climate Smart and Healthy – Gregg Thomas
- Mountainside Village
The Impact of Global Warming on Land Use Planning
- View PowerPoint
- California's Climate Change Tsunami
Urban Regional Governance
- View PowerPoint
- What Makes Collaboration Work
Water for Development in the West: Realities and Pipe Dreams
2008
Session Materials

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Alternative Energy Paths to a Clean and Sustainable Future
America at 400
- Sustaining the Next 100 Million – Arthur C. (Christian) Nelson, Ph.D., FAICP
- The Next 100 Million – Arthur C. Nelson, FAICP, and Robert Lang
Energy Battles
Land Use Ethics Session I
- Land Use Ethics Scenarios
Planning for Climate Change in the Interior West
Saving the World Through Zoning the Sustainable Community Development Code
- Sustainable Community Development Code Beta Version 1.0
The Future of Energy Beyond Fossil Fuels
- An Energy Revolution for the Greenhouse Century – Martin Hoffert
- Beyond Fossil Fuels – Martin Hoffert
The Train is Leaving the Station
- No materials available
Friday, March 7, 2008

A New Breakthrough in Sustainability Frank Bangs
American Perspective Urban Planning Social Cohesions Part II
- Urban Planning Law, Growth, and Sustainable Development: An American Perspective – Edward H. Ziegler
Beyond the Environment: Socio-economic Sustainability & Meaningful Community Input in Land Use Decisions
- Socio-economic Sustainability Defined and the Community Benefit Agreement Tool – Robin Kniech, FRESC, Denver
- Additional Tools to Promote Socio-Economic Sustainability: Community Impact Reports, Cost-Benefit Analysis, and Large Scale Land Use Decisions – Sarah Muller, WPUSA, San Jose
Birds of a Feather
Blowin' in the Wind Wind
- Power in America: The Green Energy Land Use Issue – Ronald H. Rosenberg
- Local Government Zoning/Regulatory Issues for Wind Farms – Raymond Young
European Perspective Urban Planning Social Cohesion Part I
- Urban Planning Law, Social Cohesion and Sustainable Development – Part I: A European Perspective – Juli Ponce Sole
Holy Wars
- No materials available
Housing the Next 100 Million
- No materials available
Land Use Ethics II
- Land Use Ethics II Scenarios
LEEDS for Neighborhoods Lunch Session
- No materials available
Neighborhoods on Purpose
- Neighborhoods on Purpose: Where We Come To Life – David Wann
Planning and Climate Change Mitigation and Clean Energy Strategies
- Planning and Climate Change: Mitigation and Clean Energy Strategies – Bill Klein, AICP, Jan Mueller, Scott Shuford, AICP
- Planners and Climate Change: The Role of Urban and Rural Area Planners in Helping Mitigate and Communicate Climate Change – Scott Shuford
Planning for Urbanization in Chindia
- Urbanization in “Chindia” – India Struggles with the Next 500 Million – Don Elliott
- Urbanization in “Chindia” – India Struggles with the Next 500 Million – Notes – Don Elliott
Pooling Our Resources
Recent Land Use Decisions
Rough Waters
Scrape-Offs and Mansionization
The Carbon You Save Might Be Your Own
- No materials available
The Confluence of Property Rights
- Protecting the Property Rights of All: No Adverse Impact Floodplain and Stormwater Management – Edward A. Thomas, Esq.
- The Confluence of Property Rights and Flood Plain Management – Edward A. Thomas Esq., David Mallory PE
The Effect of Private Land Conservation on the Western Landscape
- No materials available
Using Build Out Models to Manage Growth
- Using Modeling the Manage Growth
- Using Build-Out Modeling to Manage Growth
Where Have All the Marshes Gone
- Where Have All the Marshes Gone? Wetland Regulation After Rapanos – Melinda Kassen
Wildlife Habitat in a Changing World
- “Local Wildlife Law” in Context – Frederico Cheever
2007
Session Materials

Thursday, March 8, 2007

Best Practices for Common Problems with Land Use Disputes
- View PowerPoint
Can Sustainability Sustain A Profit
Complete Streets: Regraming Key Transportation Conventions
- Complete Streets Denver
- Ian’s Denver
Dr. Nelson Lunch Presentation
- Tear Up A Parking Lot: Rebuild America
- Leadership In A New Era
Form Based Codes in the West
Joint Fact Finding in a Land Use Context
- View PowerPoint
Land Use Ethics
- AG Letter re Amend. 41
- Amendment 41
Saving the World Through Zoning
Selecting a Land Use Mediator
- View PowerPoint
SOS Integrating Water Conservation Techniques to Quench the West
Sprawl, A Compact History
- Brueggman – Presentation
- Pollock – Presentation
Urban Planning, Sprawl, and America’s Energy Future
- Morey Wolfson – Presentation
- Edward Ziegler – American Cities and Sustainable Development: Why Thinking Globally Why Thinking Globally But Excluding Locally May Be A Recipe For Doom
Friday, March 9, 2007

A Place to Live for Everyone – Inclusionary Planning for Housing
Antidotes to the Property Rights Revolution
- No materials available
Better Tasting Tomatoes, Urban Gardens, Farmers Markets, and Agricultural Land Preservation
- Agribusiness Marketing Report
Distributed Workplace Alternative
- Finding the Balance – The Role of Telecommunications in Transportation & Land Use Planning
- Beyond Telework – Using our resources more effectively – The advantages of a more deployed workforce
Dogs, Hogs and Bullfrogs Rural and Agricultural Land Use Law
- PowerPoint – Right to Farm Act: When Can Barring Nuisance Actions or Zoning Enforcement Constitute an Unconstitutional Taking? Or Something’s Rotten in the State of Iowa
- Outline – Right to Farm Act: When Can Barring Nuisance Actions or Zoning Enforcement Constitute an Unconstitutional Taking? Or Something’s Rotten in the State of Iowa
Goodbye Main Street: Techniques to Preserve Affordable Commercial Space in Your Downtown
- No materials available
Handling SOBs: Tips for Successfully Regulating Sexually Oriented Businesses
- Outline – Handling SOBs: Tips for Successfully Regulating Sexually Oriented Businesses
- PowerPoint – Handling SOBs: Tips for Successfully Regulating Sexually Oriented Businesses
Implementing Form Based Codes in Denver
- No materials available
Inclusionary and Affordable Housing Mitigation: The State of Practice in the West and Nationally
- No materials available
Initiative and Referendum: Will Campaigning Trump Land Use Planning?
- No materials available
Land Use Ethics
- Colorado Land Use Cases – 2006
Low-Impact Development: Stormwater Management Modeled after Nature
- Low Impact Development: Implementing Programs that Make Community Sense
Missing Links: Legally Defensible Options for Funding Trail Connections
- Edward R. Byrne
New Ways to Turn Down the Lights
- No materials available
No Adverse Impact: Is it a Myth or Reality?
Overcoming the Dreaded "D" Word: Density and Community Development
Planning and Design for Healthy Child Development
- Growing the Future – News From the Children, Youth and Environments Center for Research and Design, Spring 2007, Vol. 1, No. 1
Private Land Conservation
- Update on Legal Issues Recent Developments in Land Conservation
Public Health – Taking It to the Streets
Recent Land Use Decisions in the Rocky Mountain West
- Colorado Land Use Cases – 2006
- Recent Land Use Decisions in the Rocky Mountain West
Resolving Land Use Disputes Clinic
- View PowerPoint
Spielman Handouts
- Spielman – AG Letter re Amendment 41
- Amendment 41
The Board of Adjustment as Candy Man Legal Standards Governing the Granting of Variances
- No materials available
Top Ten Global Trends Affecting Downtowns and How to Respond At Home
- No materials available
Was Chicken Little Right – Is the sky falling?
Water and Development: A New Western Paradigm
- View PowerPoint
Saturday, March 10, 2007

Innovative Community Development Codes
- View PowerPoint
Planning Commissioners Workshop – Best Practices for Local Comprehensive Plans
- View PowerPoint
Integrating Plans for Housing with Other Comprehensive Planning Activities
- View PowerPoint
American Cities and Sustainable Development – Why Thinking Globally But Excluding Locally May Be a Recipe for Doom
- View PowerPoint
Planning History – The Roots of Today's Decisions
- View PowerPoint
Universal Design and Visitability Regulations: The City of Arvada Experience
- View PowerPoint
Findings from DRCOG's EPA-Funded Smart Growth & Aging Project: Removing Senior-Friendly Development Regulatory Barriers
- View PowerPoint
Transit-Oriented Development
- View PowerPoint

Past Conferences

WP|WS Conference Archive

Presentation Videos & Session Materials

Keynote – Leveraging the Moment to Frame the Future

Burns Affordable Housing Symposium

Housing Affordability: Solutions for the West

How To Present Your Case in a Public Hearing

Using the Tax Code to Preserve Ecosystem Services and Help Achieve 30% Land Preservation by 2030

Protecting Watersheds: The Versatility of Local Government Tools

Ethics for Lawyers (Legal Ethics Credits)

Ethics and Equity: Opportunities and Consideration for Utilizing Available Federal Funding (Planning Ethics Credits)

Co-Creating a Resilient Region for People and Nature — LAW 180

Renewable Energy: Siting for a Sustainable Future — LAW 190

Hot Topics in the Law: Updates from the Rocky Mountain States

Applying the APA Zoning Equity Guide

Jim Lochhead, Investing in a Water Wise Future (Plenary Lunch)

Temporary Housing Solutions are Becoming Longer Term

Mitigation Matters: Wildfire Mitigation Strategies in the Inland West

Will the Water Be There? Best Practices in Water Adequacy Policies and Regulations

Asking Directions: Experts with Disabilities Lead the Way

Saving The West: The Dynamic Dozen—Local Solutions From The Sustainable Development Code

Dancing with Disaster: Key Considerations for Communities Pursuing Resilient Futures

The Desert Tightrope: Balancing Growth, Affordability, and Finite Resources in the Southwest

Building Communities that Improve Physical and Mental Health

Presentation Videos & Session Materials

Presentation Videos

Sponsorship & Promotional Opportunities

Presentation Videos & Session Materials

Conference Video Playlists

Keynote Presentation

Housing Affordability & Zoning Workshop

Presentations

Session Materials

Handouts

Development Finance Workshop

PowerPoints

Session Materials

Handouts

Powerpoints

Session Materials

Handouts

PowerPoints

Session Materials

Handouts

PowerPoints

Session Materials

Handouts

PowerPoints

Session Materials

Handouts

PowerPoints

Conference Highlights

Keynote Presentation

Dynamics of the Land Use Case: Elements, Strategy and Presentation

Featured Track: Conservation in Metropolitan Regions

RMLUI’s Home Study

Session Materials

Handouts

PowerPoints

Session Materials

Handouts

PowerPoints

Session Materials

Handouts

PowerPoints

Session Materials

Handouts

Presentations

Session Titles & Materials

Thursday, March 4, 2010

John Carver Distinguished Lecture and Keynote Address, Joel Kotkin

The New American Landscape, Thomas J. Ragonetti, Esq.

Perspective #1: Master Planned Developemnt, Don Whyte

Perspective #2: New Urbanism, Daniel Parolek

Perspective #3: Green Urbanism, Gordon Price

Perspective #4: None of the Above, Dr. Arthur Nelson

Patricia C. Tisdale Symposium, Closing Debate – Thomas J. Ragonetti, Don Whyte, Daniel Parolek, Gordon Price, Dr. Arthur Nelson

Towards a National Conservation Landscape, Peter Pollock, FAICP, Lynn Scarlett

Smarter Rural Planning Tools, Tim Davis, Christopher J. Duerksen, Esq.

Renewables Scale Up: Large Solar & Wind Installations and Transmission Corridors, Mary Kay Peck, John Shepard, Alex Daue, Erica Heller