Sustainability in City and Country: PSU
Dates:
September 9-21, 2010
Price:
TBD
Program Website:
http://web.pdx.edu/~dbanis/tuscany2009.htm
Program Coordinators:
David Banis
Address:
Department of Geography
Portland State University
P.O. Box 751-GEOG
Portland, OR 97207-0751
Telephone:
503-725-8903
Fax:
503-725-3166
E-mail:
dbanis@pdx.edu
Preferred method of contact:
e-mail
Description:
The focus of the program is urban and rural sustainability in the Tuscany region of Italy. After spending two days in Siena, we will be based at Spannocchia, a rural estate located southwest of Siena. On day trips we will examine urban design and social life in Italian hill towns, noted as models of urban sustainability. Past programs have visited Volterra, San Gimignano, Massa Marittima, Pienza, Montalcino, the small villages of Chiusdino and Montieri, and the abbeys of San Galgano and Sant’Antimo.
At Spannocchia students will explore sustainable agriculture and agritourism practices in self-defined, individual projects. As a group, we will hike in the surrounding countryside, participate in ongoing mapping projects and help develop an interpretive plan for the cultural landscapes of the estate and its surroundings.
Coordinator Biography(ies):
David Banis manages the Center for Spatial Analysis and Research in the geography department at Portland State University. His teaching focuses on map use, cartography, and geographic information systems. His interests include resource management and cultural geography. He has traveled in more than 30 countries including numerous trips to Tuscany.
Tom Harvey is a professor of geography at Portland State University. He has worked in historic preservation and as a city planner. His teaching and research emphases are urban geography, sustainability, and sense of place. He taught for a term in Siena in 1999, has traveled extensively to Tuscany’s hill towns, and has a strong interest in landscape photography.
Gil Latz is Vice Provost for International Affairs and Professor of Geography and International Studies at Portland State University. Dr. Latz was awarded a Fulbright Research Scholarship, University of Florence, Italy, 2001-02, to study landscape conservation at Spannocchia.
“My most memorable experience at Spannocchia was four young Cinta Senese pigs
taking a stroll into the yard and up to the Limonaia studio.”