Cary Conference 2007 to be held on May 1 - May 3, 2007 at IES: Advances in Urban Ecological Heterogeneity and Its Application to Resilient Urban Design

Cary Institute Of Ecosystem Studies, Inc., Millbrook NY

Investigators

Abstract

Intellectual Merit Spatial heterogeneity is an important organizing concept in ecology. However, studies of ecological heterogeneity have often focused on small scale, wild, or uninhabited landscapes. As ecology turns increasing attention to urban areas, additional aspects of heterogeneity must be better understood. New frameworks for spatial heterogeneity are required to support new models of resilient urban ecosystems as coupled ecological, social, and built systems. Because much of the spatial heterogeneity in urban systems is anthropogenic, the urban design and ecology must be better linked. We propose a Cary Conference to explore common frameworks for ecology and urban design. This would be the 12th biennial Cary Conference at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies. These conferences are known as milestones in the development of ecology due to their synthetic, interdisciplinary, and fundamental nature. The 2007 Cary Conference will advance the fundamental ecological theory and synthesis of data on urban spatial heterogeneity, as well as articulate the theory and practice of urban design in an ecological context. For ecology, advances would include 1) development of integrated frameworks for urban spatial heterogeneity, 2) better integration with social processes and the hazards associated with infrastructural and designed components of urban systems, 3) exploration of new models of urban spatial heterogeneity; and 4) refinement of ecological models of urban systems. For the fields of urban design, advances will include 1) summarizing contemporary ecological insights to support new strategies for resilient urban design, and 2) understanding ecological functions of urban designs in their larger contexts. Utilization of insights from environmental hazard analysis and feedback from ecological urban design to social science will also be explored. Broader Impacts Through the building of professional networks, the publication of a crossdisciplinary book, and the construction of a website on ecological urban design, the Conference will promote the development of more ecologically motivated designs in cities, suburbs, and the urban fringe. It is crucial to make the best contemporary ecology available to urban design. The growth of global and US urban population and land conversion confirms that urbanization is a pressing issue for the 21st century. This Conference will help incorporate contemporary ecological knowledge into design practice by 1) communicating ecological concepts and principles to design theorists, educators, and practitioners, and 2) demonstrating how basic ecological science can be applied in an urban setting. In addition, encouraging an experimental aspect to design and development can encourage more ecological research in urban systems.