French Delegation Visits Key U.S. Cities to Explore Issues of Sustainability with American Counterparts

The French-American Foundation is pleased to welcome a delegation of French professionals to the United States this week as part of a new initiative to examine and compare issues of sustainability in French and American cities. Four French experts and practitioners (an architect, an urban planner, an engineer, and a specialized journalist), along with a representative from the French Ministry of Culture, will tour three cities to meet with their American counterparts: Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Cleveland.

Organized with the support of the Florence Gould Foundation, this study tour focuses on the current challenges facing European and American cities and the policies they are implementing to achieve greater sustainability. Over the course of three years, the French-American Foundation and the French Ministry of Culture are organizing a series of reciprocal study tours connecting French and American experts.

A delegation of American experts will visit Paris and Lille, France, in December 2011 as the program continues to promote trans-Atlantic dialogue and working relations as both nations seek to address these pressing issues of sustainability and urban development.

This inaugural exchange will focus on:
-    The rehabilitation of rundown neighborhoods and the revitalization of inner cities
-    Cities in transition (“in decline”) and their adaptation (“right-sizing”)

In Washington D.C., meetings are scheduled with various organizations, such as the German Marshall Fund, Smart Growth America, the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In Baltimore, the French delegation will focus on current work and research conducted by the local government and organizations by touring brownfields and rundown areas of the city, which has struggled to overcome economic hardship and a decline in population.

Lastly, the delegation will spend three days in Cleveland, Ohio, in order to observe how a former industrial city can successfully adopt a plan of “right-sizing” policies, such as supporting small businesses and the health care sector.

More About the Sustainable Cities Program

In the United States, cities are at the forefront of the debate on climate and sustainability and have begun to undertake a profound transformation to respond to successive crises. For the first time in history, in 2009, the federal government created an Office of Urban Affairs to coordinate the policy agenda for urban America across executive departments and agencies. The administration favors the model of the dense and sustainable city. Beyond these developments at the federal level, cities like Portland, Seattle, Chicago, and New York have engaged in specific and innovative ways to address the challenges of sustainability.

To learn more about the members of the French delegation visiting the United States as well as the meetings and workshops in which they will be taking part, please contact Emma Archer at earcher@frenchamerican.org.

About the French-American Foundation

Founded in 1976, the French-American Foundation is the principal non-governmental organization linking France and the United States. Our mission is to promote a dynamic French-American partnership and to advance the values that these two countries represent. We provide high-level policymakers, academics, business leaders and other experts on both sides of the Atlantic with a platform to share knowledge and best practices on a wide range of policy issues. Our goal is to inform debate and to identify solutions to common issues of global concern.

We accomplish this mission through conferences and study tours on subjects such as leadership, national security and defense, sustainability, equality of opportunity – for universal access to education, employment and health care – business, media and culture.

About the Florence Gould Foundation

The Florence Gould Foundation is an American foundation devoted to French-American exchange and friendship. Born of French parents in San Francisco in 1895, Florence Gould lived both in the United States and France during her lifetime. At her death in 1993, Florence Gould left the bulk of her fortune to the foundation bearing her name.