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Those around the Eugene area are getting a treat tonight as the nationally recognized architect, suburban planning theorist and teacher Ellen Dunham-Jones is speaking in the valley city.

According to the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium, Dunham-Jones, currently teaching architecture at the Georgia Institute of Technology, , located at 975 High St., at 7:30 p.m. on today. The presentation, Retrofitting Suburbia, is part of the University of Oregon’s City Design Lecture Series.

If you haven’t heard of Dunham-Jones, she is an expert on the topic of sustainable suburban planning. She focuses on the future of suburbia, which is going to consist of retrofitting spaces much like what is happening now in urban areas where old industrial buildings are converted into retail spaces and mixed-use buildings.

In suburban areas she sees parking lots being restored back to wetlands once people start changing their transportation habits and parking lots are no longer necessary. Or repurposing big-box spaces when the retail chains housed in them go out of business.

If you don’t get the opportunity to hear her speak in person you should . In January of last year Dunham-Jones was invited to give a speech at one of the infamous TED conferences in Atlanta. She spoke on her favorite topic, retrofitting suburbia.

While she does speaking events all around the country I think a presentation in Oregon will be fitting for the topic. A large majority of the state is considered rural or suburban and her type of planning could do a lot to harness and push forward Oregon’s efforts for smart planning and sustainability.