The following is a look ahead at select upcoming events held at SFU Vancouver, for the week of September 19-26, 2014. For the full calendar of events, please visit:

https://events.sfu.ca/ViewCal.html?calendar_id=6

Coming up next week at SFU Vancouver:

Thursday, September 18

City Conversations- Linked: A Housing Speculation Tax and Transportation Funding

Time: 12:30pm
Place: Rm. 1600, Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings St.
Cost: Free

The two hot issues in the Lower Mainland are the cost of housing, and how to fund Translink. Some argue for a tax on non-resident buyers of housing that flip their units for profit. Indeed, many new condos are marketed in Hong Kong which, ironically, taxes such practices there. Might such a tax help fund Translink, which provides public transit and major road operations in Metro Vancouver?

In 2011, the Black Press newspapers Surrey and North Delta Leader made this 'radical proposal' in an editorial. Is it time to resurrect that innovative idea? Chris Bryan, Editor, Burnaby NewsLeader & New Westminster NewsLeader, and SFU City Program Director Gordon Price will start a conversation exploring the possibilities and challenges. Then it's your turn to question and comment. It's a conversation, and you are part of it. Please feel free to bring your lunch. ree

The Cleantech Edge – Canada’s Fastest Growing Industry in the Age of Climate Change

Time: 4:30pm
Place: Segal Graduate School, 500 Granville St.
Cost: $35, ($10 student with ID), online

Canadian leader in the rapidly expanding cleantech economy, Céline Bak, will be in Vancouver to share her insights on Canada’s advantage in clean technology, and how to build on this momentum towards a clean and prosperous future. Cleantech business leaders will join in a post-presentation discussion and audience-participation question and answer session.

Friday, September 19

CreativeMornings/Vancouver

Time: 8:30am
Place: Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 West Hastings St.
Cost: Free, register online

Speaker Reece Terris is a Vancouver based artist whose work alters the expected experiential qualities of a place or object through an amplification or shift in the primary function of an original design.

Philosophers’ Café

Time: 12pm
Place: Rm. 2250, Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings St.
Cost: Free

Come join the discussion! How free are you? What is freedom? What is political freedom? What is spiritual freedom? Moderated by SFU Cognitive Science professor Michael Picard.

Saturday, September 20

Diaspora, Sustainability, and Development: Meeting at the Nexus

Time: 9am
Place: Segal Graduate School, 500 Granville St.
Cost: Free, register online.

Simon Fraser University's Centre for Sustainable Community Development, Institute for Diaspora Research & Engagement, School of International Studies, and the Faculty of Environment's Development and Sustainability Program invite you to participate in an inaugural conference focused on the intersection of development, sustainability, and diaspora studies. Is ‘diaspora-led development’ also sustainable development? What does sustainable development entail in the context of diaspora-led development? What is at stake for diaspora communities and the development interests of their communities abroad? What convergence and synergies, if any, can we see in 2014? We are pleased to announce Julian Agyeman, a Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University, Medford, as the keynote speaker for this conference. Julian is the originator of the concept of 'just sustainabilities', the full integration of social justice and sustainability, defined as ‘the need to ensure a better quality of life for all, now and into the future, in a just and equitable manner, whilst living within the limits of supporting ecosystems.'

Sunday, September 21

The Only Animal presents: 2nd Story

Time: 3pm
Place: Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 West Hastings St.
Cost: Free

Personal stories from and about the area known as ‘Blood Alley’ in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside have been gathered and documented. The area has been chosen for its long, often constructed, history, and as a microcosmic example of a neighborhood in transition: a Single Room Occupancy hotel and shelter stands across the alley from a new condo development with boutiques and restaurants on the ground floor. Nine of these stories were adapted into short videos by a team of film and theatre artists. The videos download onsite into the 2nd Story app developed by media artist and creative coder Jesse Scott, making it possible for visitors to discover these hidden stories for themselves.

"Story/Tech" invites artists/producers/makers intersecting around story, technology, and community for a gathering intended to seed further conversation and connections.

Monday, September 22

Assessing Access and Use of the Home Environment Among Older Adults with Functional Limitations

Time: 2pm
Place: Rm. 2270, Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings St.
Cost: Free, contact

Free public lecture by the SFU’s Department of Gerontology featuring Dr. Laura Lien, Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Science, School of Public Health & Health Professions University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

Tuesday, September 23

CKNW CEO Series - Sue Paish, LifeLabs Laboratory Services

Time: 7am
Place: Segal Graduate School, 500 Granville St.
Cost: $25, register online

As the Location Sponsor, SFU’s Beedie School of Business is excited to announce the new season of the CKNW Chief Executive series featuring Simi Sara. This is an exclusive opportunity to connect with a local Top CEO and participate in the Q&A period. Join us for the September 23rd interview with Sue Paish, CEO, LifeLabs Laboratory Services.

India at the Crossroads: The Meaning of Modi’s Victory

Time: 5pm
Place: Rm. 4400, Segal Graduate School, 500 Granville St.
Cost: Free

In May 2014, the Indian general elections produced a generational shift in Indian politics, with the defeat of the incumbent Congress party and the election of the Bharatiya Janata Party, a centre right party with Hindu leanings, led by Narendra Modi. who is now Prime Minister. Did Modi win as many believe because of his promises to jumpstart the Indian economy and because of voters’ disgust with the corruption and drift in the last years of Congress rule? Is it because Modi’s humble origins resonated with voters? Or instead were voters responding to Modi’s social message and a resurfacing of Hindu nationalism? And what does Modi’s monumental victory mean both for India’s economy and relations with the rest of the world? And, finally, what does Modi’s victory mean for Canada? Dehejia had the unique opportunity spend the entire election campaign season on the ground in India and will share his thoughts, analyses, and opinions on the questions above, and more generally on the course of economic policy reform in India since the 1991 liberalization to the present day and beyond.

Speaking of Dance

Time: 7pm
Place: Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 W. Hastings St.
Cost: Free

For the first Speaking of Dance of 2014, join dance critic and Georgia Straight Arts Editor Janet Smith for a lively illustrated presentation about Wayne McGregor and Random Dance, and this renowned company's role in the international dance scene.