From Jana Petersen. Questions or comments, email Jana at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @jana_petersen.

What might a sustainable community look like here in DC? You could begin by counting the number of Capital Bikeshare terminuses in a given area, or looking at the number of bike owners or bike lanes. The number of bus stops or proximity to Metro lines might also be good indicators. In a recent lecture hosted by the Coalition for Smarter Growth, more than 50% of folks in the DC area want to live less than 0.5 miles to a Metro station.

Does the sustainable community I describe above sound familiar? I hope so.

For this reason, Borderstanis, bike enthusiasts and residents of our sustainable community, join Coalition for Smarter Growth and Young Rail-volutionaries on October 17 at 6 pm for the Rail-volution Film Fest, a collage of short films centered around the themes of transit and livable communities. A sell-out success from Rail-Volution 2010, the Filmfest will run for about an hour, featuring 5-minute films on sustainable communities around the country.

What have other communities done to embrace sustainable living? What does the world outside of programs like Capital Bikeshare look like? Where could/would programs like Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and Cycletracks find their home?

The Rail-volution Film Fest is one program of the four-day (October 16-19) Rail-volution Conference held in DC this year. Rail-volution is a national networking group based out of Portland, Oregon that is passionate about the impact of new professionals in creating livable communities and sharing a vision to create places that are more equitable, sustainable and vibrant. Interested in other transit-related events as part of Rail-volution? Click here. 

As residents of a vibrant and developing community, I encourage you to check out the Rail-volution Film Fest. Healthful and sustainable living have become more important than ever, and we should be asking ourselves a few questions:

• First, how do we continue to “develop” communities like 17th Street NW and Dupont Circle without creating new spaces? In other words, how do we make what we have better?
• Second, how can we contribute to areas that continue to develop, like Logan Circle and U Street NW? As businesses and apartment buildings continue to move into 14th Street NW, what’s the best way to get people from one destination to the next? Can the current bus lines meet the population influx?

Admission to the Film Festival is $25 and includes one free drink covered at the Big Hunt following the Festival. Proceeds will go to the Coalition for Smarter Growth (Follow them on Twitter @betterdcregion) for transit and sustainable communities.

Event details:

• Who: Hosted by Coalition for Smarter Growth and Rail-volution
• What: Rail-volution 2011 FilmFest
• When: Monday, October 17, 2011 at 6 pm, followed by happy hour at the Big Hunt
• Where: Carnegie Institution for Science, 1530 P Street NW
• How much: Tickets are $25 and RSVPs are required