The Nature of Cities Summit--A movement for transdisciplinary green cities; Paris, June 2019

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators

Abstract

Ecosystem scientists have played a small role in the planning and design of cities. This is limiting advances in understanding of how cities develop and function. Ecological features like biodiversity, energy flow, nutrient cycling, hydrology and pollution loads, remain poorly understood, especially to those responsible for urban design. The flow of scientific information to urban planning, design, and policy professionals has been relatively slow. Scientific advances that may contribute to solving pressing urban problems have not been adequately incorporated into policy and practice. To improve communication between urban ecological science and the practitioners that plan, design, and manage cities, the PIs propose to bring scientists and professionals together at a unique international summit about the ecology of cities. This summit is uniquely designed to equally advance both scientific understanding of cities as well as better urban societal outcomes. The PIs wish to ensure participation from a broad range of U.S. students, ecosystem scientists, and practitioners in urban ecological planning and design. They seek to broaden participation in urban ecological research and urban practice by funding attendance from members of underrepresented groups, researchers from predominantly undergraduate institutions, and practitioners who lack the funds to attend an international summit. The intended scientific outcomes are to ensure that urban ecological research addresses the most pressing uncertainties in meeting social and environmental challenges in modern cities. There is great potential for integrating cutting edge ecosystem science into many elements of city creation and management, yet currently, there are very few avenues for doing so. This summit presents a rare opportunity to create meaningful and lasting collaborations between scientists, planners, designers, artists, developers, community leaders, and elected officials who share these goals. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.