Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania will host the 2008 International Urban Parks Conference, scheduled for September 21-23. Over the course of three days, Body and Soul: Parks and the Health of Great Cities will explore how parks support the physical, emotional, environmental and economic health of cities. The conference will bring together leading-edge research experts, public officials and management innovators to explore how parks are shaping the future of the world's cities.

Panel discussions will explore ways that park organizations across the country are building innovative partnerships with the public health community to promote active living. More than 90 speakers will provide practical information on environmentally sustainable parks management and will cover such topics as restoring historic natural areas, managing storm water, coping with the impact of global warming, and finding a balance for parks and cars.

Continuing Education Units are available for Body and Soul: Parks and the Health of Great Cities.

Body and Soul is a presentation of City Parks Alliance and the National Association for Olmsted Parks and is a production of the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. The complete conference schedule, speaker information, and registration information is available at www.urbanparks08.org or by calling 412-682-7275.

Keynote speakers for Body and Soul are Teresa Heinz, chairman of the Heinz Family Philanthropies and The Heinz Endowments, and co-author of This Moment on Earth: Today's New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future; Luis Garden Acosta, founder of El Puente, a community human rights and environmental organization in Brooklyn, New York, and recipient of the Heinz Award for the Human Condition; and Californian Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder and founder of the Children & Nature Network.

Body and Soul will spotlight Pittsburgh's near miraculous transformation from "Smoky City" to America's Most Livable City. Conference participants will have the opportunity to observe Pittsburgh's waterfront transformation aboard a lunchtime riverboat tour. Mobile workshops in Pittsburgh's parks will present in-depth case studies that showcase a wide range of innovative restoration and development initiatives. Pre-conference tours include excursions to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, Olmsted, Olmsted, and Eliot's Vandergrift, a bike tour along Pittsburgh's riverfront, and kayaking on the Three Rivers. The Body and Soul Exhibit Hall will feature the parks-related products and services of nearly 50 organizations.

For more information or to register, please contact Melissa at the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy: (412) 682-7275 or www.urbanparks08.org.