EDRA's annual conference will take place at the Renaissance Seattle Hotel, May 30-June 2, 2012. Please check back here often, as this site will be updated frequently. If you have any questions about the EDRA43Seattle, please email edra43seattle@edra.org.

Conference Theme: Emergent Placemaking

Diverse, challenging, complex, agile, and interconnected; five words that describe our world today. As we navigate its constancy and change, the world we live in compels us to act in authentic ways, ask difficult questions, and take risks. This is a magical time for placemaking. Successful placemaking demands innovative thinking to respond to shifting contexts and life in a world of increasing complexity, hybridity, and uncertainty. It requires investment and stewardship of both the people and the land that comprise our communities. It advocates for formal and informal efforts to initiate positive community change and achieve spatial justice.

This year's theme, "Emergent Placemaking", speaks to both potentiality and continuity. It captures the value of innovation and creativity in tackling the pressing issues of our time. It advocates for the formation of new, dynamic approaches to understanding and fostering healthy communities. It accepts controversy, embraces diversity, advocates creative problem solving and crosses boundaries.

Seattle is ideal for exploring Emergent Placemaking. Nestled between the mountains and the Sound, the "Emerald City" is one of the nation's forerunners in urban ecological design, community stewardship and participatory processes. It is a place of compelling juxtapositions where urban growth and green design meet, where resilience and change go hand in hand, and innovative solutions for a sustainable future abound. Home to indigenous tribes and new immigrants, guerilla artists and computer start-ups, it is a place where hybrid identities and sensibilities emerge, where the nature of the public realm is interrogated in the local, regional and global scale.

EDRA43Seattle becomes a place of exuberant transformation and connection; the sphere where we explore emergent thought and action.

Keynote Presentation

EDRA43Seattle is proud to welcome Denis Hayes, President and CEO of the Bullitt Foundation, as the keynote speaker on Thursday, May 31. A seasoned veteran of many legislative, cultural, and courtroom battles over the years, and the author of numerous books and articles, he is probably still best known for having been National Coordinator of the first Earth Day when he was 25. At the Bullitt Foundation, Denis leads an effort to mold the American Pacific Northwest into a global model of sustainability.

Registration

Conference registration opens for EDRA members on December 19, 2011. Registration for non-members opens February 1, 2012. Registration rates vary based on membership status and date of registration.

Member Rate

• Regular Members: $475 early/$550 regular
• Student/Emeritus Members: $215 early/$265 regular

Non Member Rates

• Regular Non Members: $675 early/$750 regular
• Student Non Members: $295 early/$345 regular

Hotel Accommodations

EDRA43Seattle has reserved a block of rooms at the conference hotel, the Renaissance Seattle, located at 515 Madison Street in downtown Seattle. The rate in this block is $153/night single or double occupancy. Unfortunately, the special student rooms we reserved for students at the rates of $99/single and $119/double occupancy are completely filled except for Saturday night. For more information or to make a reservation, please click here.

Sponsorship and Exhibitor Opportunities

EDRA43Seattle has a variety of opportunities available for companies, non-profit organizations and academic institutions to receive enhanced visibility at our conference. For a complete listing of these unique opportunities, please click here or email resourcedevelopment@edra.org.

Call for Proposals

The submission deadline for EDRA43Seattle has passed. A detailed call for proposals can be found here.

Submissions

Please submit all edits to accepted session proposals at http://edra43.abstractcentral.com.

The deadline for all edits is January 9, 2012.

Emergent Placemaking: EDRA43Seattle Conference Committee

• Lynne Manzo, EDRA43 Co-Chair, Programming
• Rula Awwad-Rafferty, EDRA43 Co-Chair, Proposals
• Claudia Bernasconi
• Gordon Bradley
• David Fell
• Danny Mittleman
• Kevin Nute
• Zhe Wang
• Julie Wolfe
• Helena Yoon
• Bo Zhang