Partners featured in La Raza

Carmen Vidal-Hallett,president of EcoVidalDesign and Illinois-Sao Paulo Partners of the Americas was interviewed by La Raza about environmental projects in Chicago and Brazil. It is wonderful to have this kind of exposure and to be able to inspire more Hispanics in the US and Latin America. Click here to read the article in Spanish.

After SMASH Conference Thoughts...

The SMASH conference I participated in in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, was a huge success. We are now beginning to post results, video and photos from the 3-day event. Here is a short video piece where I talk about my own conclusions. View it at http://www.youtube.com/user/SMASHuser1#play/uploads/5/CUhD-c4s-FQ.

SMASH Sustainability Conference in San Miguel de Allende

My husband Mark and I were invited to participate in a conference, known as SMASH, the first week of August. The brainchild of our friend Federico Vidargas, the conference brought together a variety of professionals (architects, planners, economists, historians, journalists, engineers, environmentalists, etc) to brainstorm solutions to SMA's urban problems and to propose a possible sustainable master plan. I participated as president of Partners of the Americas - Illinois/Sao Paulo chapter and as a professional in the field. It was an intensive, three-day conference where we were all fully engaged and produced a number of practical potential solutions to issues, such as water management, congestion, urban development and land use, architectural preservation and economic development. To learn more, see our 6-minute slideshow on the conference at http://smash2009conference.webng.com. We'll share more when the conference report becomes available.

The conference was a real SMASH, and I hope we can replicate a similar experience in Sao Paulo, Brazil soon.