Sustainability Expert Speaks at Vanderbilt

An international growth and development expert says Nashville is on the right track to creating a more sustainable environment.

Architect William McDonough recently co-authored a book about how to structure businesses or design cities so that all by-products are reused and reinvested into the environment.

McDonough praised Nashville’s Civic Design Center and its book, the Plan of Nashville.

“Just that alone is one of the most sustaining strategies that we can see anywhere. The fact that citizens are getting together to talk about design is a signal of your own intentions for your own city is the first step in any coherent strategy so I think Nashville’s way ahead of the curve for most of the cities we see.”

McDonough says non-toxic materials should be used in all manufactured things, ranging from textiles, to cars, to buildings. He’s designed several buildings with gardens as rooftops.

Mayor Bill Purcell will be kicking off the city’s Celebrate Nashville festival today from one of the largest green rooftops in the city–the new public square. It’s the cover for the courthouse parking garage.