Tom Payton writes on Plaza De Armas“….In response to Mayor Castro’s SA2020 initiative, the San Antonio chapter of the American Institute of Architects launched the annual Sustainable Urban Development Luncheon series. The goal is to spark public debate about how to make San Antonio a more successful, sustainable, and livable city. The first lecture, held in 2011, featured Peter Calthorpe, a San Francisco-based architect and urban planner who was named one of the 25 most innovative thinkers in America by Newsweek. A founding member of the Congress for New Urbanism, Calthorpe turned an eager audience on its ear with his provocative ideas for new urban development models in an age of climate change and ecological challenge. It was a message a city facing never-ending sprawl and drought needed to hear.

This year, the AIA has raised the ante with Dr. Richard J. Jackson, professor and chair of environmental health sciences at the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also host of the recent PBS documentary “Designing Healthy Communities.” It too will be a presentation not to be missed….”