Posted on June 10: What would make Hamilton a truly sustainable city?

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/researcher_baetz.jpg” caption=”Brian Baetz”]When you ask Brian Baetz what makes a community sustainable and livable, he reels off a long and detailed list of ingredients. His list includes things like: neighbourhoods with a mix of housing and shopping with schools and recreation just a walk or bike ride away; low energy and material usage; frequent and accessible public transit; accessible bikeways and pedestrian paths; extensive recycling, composting and waste reduction programs; plenty of green space and rural landscapes within close proximity; and buildings designed and operated with green design principles.

While Hamilton has most of the necessary ingredients to lead it to becoming a sustainable city, Baetz believes “we're at a crossroads. If we build on the things that have been done right, we will go someplace. If we keep up with this '60s-type thinking, we'll be in big trouble.”

In an interview with the Hamilton Spectator, Baetz, a professor of civil engineering, says that “a community is sustainable if it meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the interests of future generations.”

Baetz and civil engineering colleague Cameron Churchill will deliver the sixth and final lecture of the Science in the City lecture series: “Sustainable Communities: What Would Make Hamilton a Truly Sustainable City?” They will address the need to plan, design and maintain communities so that “we really minimize the environmental footprint of what we do.”

The lecture takes place tonight (June 10) at the Hamilton Spectator Auditorium, which is located in the Hamilton Spectator building, 44 Frid Street in Hamilton. Doors open at 6:30 pm and the lecture begins at 7 pm. The lecture is free and all are welcome. The Science in the City lecture series is jointly sponsored by McMaster University and the Hamilton Spectator.