Urban visions and challenges

The Lund University Urban Arena is organising a full-day workshop ‘Urban Visions and Challenges’ during which a range of eminent speakers representing academia and experts in governance and planning will provide their views on the following issues in urban development for sustainability:

• What experience and examples do we have of effective local governance for urban sustainability?
• How do we define a sustainable, resilient, low-carbon and dense city?
• To what extent are processes for sustainability innovations urban and regional?
• Will the Öresund region be able to live up to the expectations on being a forerunner in sustainable urban development?

Programme

08.30 Registration and coffee

09.00 Introduction and Welcome Lena Neij, coordinator for the Lund University Urban Arena

Future urban areas – dense and attractive, or what? David Sim, Gehl Architects

Local environmental governance Janette Webb, professor, Institute of Governance,
School of Social and Political Science,University of Edinburgh.

Sustainable cities – challenges and visions for sustainable urban development in Sweden
Peter Örn, chairman, Delegationen för Hållbara städer

Sustainable cities – challenges and visions for sustainable urban development in
the Öresund region Katarina Pelin, Head of Environment Department, City of Malmö,
Chairman Urban Transition Öresund

12.30 Lunch 

13.30 Urban Visions and Challenges
In a series of 5 minutes reflections by prominent Lund University researchers, we will be
updated on current perspectives on the visions and challenges on sustainable urban transformation: Prof Tom Rye (Transport and Roads), Dr Catharina Sternudd (Urban Design), prof Annika Carlsson-Kanyama (Environmental and Energy Systems Studies), prof Hans Hansson (Water Resources Engineering), etc.

14.30-16.00 Panel Discussion: What are the key questions for further development and research?
 
Workshop location: Lund University, Hörsalen, Stora Algatan 4
Registration: mail your name, title, place of work and contact information (cell
phone number and mailing address) along with any dietary restrictions or other special needs, to nora.smedby@iiiee.lu.se. Please note that number of participants is limited. 
Last date of registration: Tuesday, November 7 to nora.smedby@iiiee.lu.se
Fee: the workshop including lunch is free of charge and open to all. However, no-show for registered participants will be charged with a fee of 500 SEK.

The Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative (SCORAI) is organizing an international conference "The Future of Consumerism and Well-Being in a World of Ecological Constraints" to be held on June 12-14, 2013, at Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. 
The conference seeks:

• To improve understanding of the complex driving forces underlying prevalent consumerist lifestyles in the wealthy parts of the globe.
• To generate insights about fostering a necessary transition toward alternative ways of pursuing individual and societal well-being in a technological society cognizant of ecological limits.
• To build on recent developments to establish a vibrant global research community focused on sustainable consumption.

Deadline for abstract submissions is October 1, 2012.

An inception meeting of a Task Force on Green Development and Sustainable Consumption in China  of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development was held on 21-22 of September in Beijing. The goal of the Task Force is to study relationships between green development and sustainable consumption and to devise policy recommendations for China's strategy for sustainable development.

Final conference of the SPREAD Sustainable Lifestyles 2050 project in Brussels

Save the date - 26 and 27th November 2012 - for the final Sustainable Lifestyles conference where final results of the SPREAD Sustainable Lifestyles 2050 project will be presented.

The two-day conference will present the outcomes of the SPREAD project and support actions towards reaching sustainable lifestyles in 2050. The first half of day one, the SPREAD consortium will demonstrate four different scenarios for sustainable living in 2050, detail roles and recommendations for policy makers, businesses, civil society and researchers from 2012 to 2050 and present an agenda for future research needs.

The second half of day 1 and day 2 have the aim to support common actions. Practitioners will present their promising approaches for new business models, products and services, social innovation on a market place. Break-out sessions will allow for detailed knowledge exchange and action-planning on topics such as choice influencing, local actions, sufficiency, value creation models, health, happiness and many more. 

The conference will take place at the Flemish Parliament & the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts in Brussels.