Livable Urban Futures

The Urbanization and Global Environmental Change Project, in partnership with the Stockholm Resilience Centre, is leading a Future Earth Cluster/Fast Track initiative called Livable Urban Futures. Led by Patricia Romero-Lankao, David Simon, Corrie Griffith, and Thomas Elmqvist, the objective of this initiative is to ultimately define critical pathway(s) for co-produced interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary urban research within the Future Earth framework. It will establish the scientific foundation, goals and mission of an urban initiative(s) based upon the collaboration and expertise of the Global Environmental Change (GEC) projects, outside researchers and stakeholders.

This effort has included the creation of the Future Earth Urban Platform (FEUP), whose mission is to create broad-based sustainable networks for research, innovation and learning that champions co-designed and co-produced urban research-toward-action that: a) recognizes urbanization as a transformation process that is driving and driven by interlinked and interacting social, economic, and environmental processes across all scales; b) understands cities as complex, evolving social-ecological systems; and, c) identifies and contributes to transitions towards sustainable and livable urban futures worldwide in an era of profound social and environmental change. For more information, read the FEUP Initial Design Draft.

The second part to this initiative is an edited book, currently titled “The Urban Planet: Knowledge towards Livable Cities”.  The book is being edited by Thomas Elmqvist, Xuemei Bai, Niki Frantzeskaki, Corrie Griffith, David Maddox, Timon McPhearson, Susan Parnell, Debra Roberts, Patricia Romero-Lankao, David Simon, and Mark Watkins.  Publication date is anticipated in late 2016/early 2017.

Links

First Scoping Meeting – London

Second Scoping Meeting – Boulder

Third Scoping Meeting – Phoenix

Livable Urban Futures Proposal to Future Earth

Future Earth launches eight initiatives to accelerate global sustainable development

ASU News: Award helps ASU advance urban, environmental solutions

Special Session at 2nd International UGEC Conference – presented by Thomas Elmqvist, Corrie Griffith, Patricia Romero Lankao and David Simon