Coordinators:
Melissa Everett	Phil Myrick
Placemaking in a Changing Climate: a new Master Class
A Resource Sampler: portals for information you can use

The Hudson Valley Resource Center for Sustainable Communities is a support system for voluntary regional collaboration and knowledge sharing.  Its mission is to help communities cost-effectively address complex challenges; establish a culture of innovation; promote deeper understanding of policies and tools for sustainability and smart growth; and encourage decisions based on regional perspectives rather than on inter-jurisdictional competition.
This program is being coordinated by two capacity building NGOs, Project for Public Spaces and Sustainable Hudson Valley. Inspired by a successful model for helping local governments meet their challenges - the Netherlands Institute for City Innovation Studies (www.nicis.nl)- the Resource Center has two primary components: an extensive online Knowledge Center (now in development), and an Action Network of participating communities, agencies, and expert groups who work together flexibly according to their needs. We will support sustainable communities using the tools of:

• Consensus building and problem-solving workshops
• Master classes providing state of the art training and professional development
• Studies and strategies
• Public domain databases
• Engaging, practical publications

With initial planning support from the Fund for Environment and Urban Life, SHV and PPS have been developing the program elements in consultation with the Mid-Hudson Valley Regional Planning Partnership, led by the planning departments of Orange, Ulster and Dutchess Counties. Our original steering committee included representatives of the New York Department of State, Department of Environmental Conservation, Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Colleges and Universities, Hudson Valley Regional Council, Historic Hudson River Towns, and Empire State Future.