The 8th annual Growing Sustainable Communities conference will be held on the Dubuque riverfront in early October. Hosted by the City of Dubuque and Sustainable City Network, the event features two days of education, inspiration and collaboration for those interested in the convergence of economic prosperity, ecological integrity and social/cultural vibrancy in community design and development.

City government professionals will present case studies on sustainability initiatives in the Midwestern communities of Grandview, Mo., Madison, Wis., St. Paul, Minn., South Bend, Ind., Lawrence, Kan., Moline, Ill., and the Iowa communities of Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Davenport, Charles City, Ames, Iowa City and Dubuque. Researchers from seven universities and numerous nonprofits will also present their findings.

The speaker line up includes Beth Osborne, senior policy adviser at Transportation for America and former Acting Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at the U.S. DOT. She will deliver the Tuesday luncheon keynote address. Gloria Rubio-Cortes, president of the National Civic League and executive editor of the National Civic Review, will deliver the Wednesday morning plenary address; and Peter Kageyama, author and community development consultant will present the Wednesday luncheon keynote address.

Registration information can be found at http://www.gscdubuque.com/