The Catawba College Center for the Environment will host a presentation entitled “Developing a Sustainable Rowan” on Tuesday, Feb. 22, as part of its Clean Air/Sustainability Lecture Series.
Developer Nate Bowman, who recently won the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2004 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement, will be the featured speaker.
A Davidson College graduate and resident of the Huntersville/Davidson area, Bowman has created a number of neighborhoods in the North Mecklenburg area and Greensboro. He has been cited for his vision in the planning and development of the area’s first neo-traditional neighborhood.
Vermillion in Huntersville was named North Carolina’s Project of the Year for 2000 by the Sierra Club. It also won an American Institute of Architects Merit Award in 2001 for town planning. The Southside Neighborhood in Greensboro won the 2004 National Award for Smart Growth.
A panel will respond to Bowman’s remarks. Panelists include Rodney Queen, developer; Victor Wallace, developer/Realtor; Jeff Smith, Realtor; Mark Lewis, city councilman/banker; and Karen Alexander, architect/infill developer.
The presentation will begin at 7:15 p.m. in Room 300 of the Center for the Environment facility on the Catawba campus. A 6:45 reception will precede the forum. It is free and open to the public.
The Catawba Center for the Environment began spearheading the Clean Air Initiative in 2003 after the American Lung Association rated Rowan as one of the worst counties in the nation for air pollution. Rowan, Mecklenburg, Iredell, Cabarrus, Union, Gaston, Lincoln, Davie and Davidson are among 32 counties in the state that do not meet federal air quality standards.
Sponsors of the Clean Air Initiative include F&M Bank, Central Carolina Bank, Wachovia Bank, Rowan Bank, Bank of North Carolina, Power Curbers Inc., the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, the Blanche & Julian Robertson Family Foundation Inc., the County of Rowan, the City of Salisbury, Fred and Alice Stanback and Catawba College.
