Conference on Harnessing the Science of Complexity on Behalf of Sustainable and Attainable Mobility.; Ann Arbor, Michigan; June 2003

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

Modern transportation systems have given the large parts of the world an unprecedented degree of mobility, but this mobility has engendered a growing number of unintended environmental and socioeconomic costs. One of the major challenges facing contemporary society is to contain the growth of the environmental and socioeconomic costs of mobility while simultaneously ensuring that future generations have access to adequate mobility resources to meet their own needs and aspirations. This project initiates an enterprise to harness the emerging science of complexity to design mobility systems that serve to secure a sustainable human future in an attainable manner. This award will help contribute toward the conduct of a conference to explore the application of complexity science to questions of sustainable mobility through the conduct of a conference at the University of Michigan business school Ann Arbor in June 2003. The conference will include (1) overviews of sustainability concerns in general and sustainable mobility concerns in particular in the U.S. and around the world, (2) discussions of economic, behavior, technology, and policy aspects and options of sustainable mobility, and (3) collective generation of a large-scale and long-term research agenda applying complexity science to sustainable and attainable mobility. Speakers will include government, NGO, and industry leaders and researchers on sustainability issues as well as and complex systems researchers from industry and the academy. The conference is being organized by the University of Michigan Center for the Study of Complex Systems, the University of Michigan Erb Environmental Management Institute, and the Ford Motor Company Research Laboratories. Results of the conference will be made available through a proceedings volume as well as dissemination of video tapes made at the conference and other forms of outreach. This project will advance knowledge about how more sustainable mobility might be achieved through the application and adaptation of theories, methods, and approaches from complexity science. The involvement of researchers and stakeholders from academic, public, and private sectors will broaden the impact of this conference and encourage greater interactions on topics of common interest among individuals in the different sectors. The conference also will provide new insights regarding approaches that can help engender more sustainable mobility for the benefit of all parts of society.