Conference: Developing a Convergence Sustainable Urban Systems (SUS) Agenda for Redesigning the Urban-Rural Interface along the Mississippi River Watershed

Iowa State University, Ames IA

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this project is to develop a transdisciplinary research agenda to address large-scale problems such as nutrient runoff, erosion, flooding, heat island effects, and urban sprawl at the urban/rural interface. The approach is a workshop on Redesigning the Urban-Rural Interface (RURI) along the Mississippi River Watershed (MRW). The meeting will foster collaborations among researchers, experts, and community members to advance the science needed to address current infrastructure challenges. Over two days, participants will explore the multi-state and multi-system impacts of climate variability, infrastructure design, and population dynamics within the watershed's network of cities. The agenda is aligned with research focused on Sustainable Urban Systems (SUS). The SUS-RURI workshop will catalyze new knowledge of social-ecological-technological interdependence in urban systems using the synergistic methodology of design thinking to engage diverse participants. Framed by three ecological/climatic scales, panels and interactive sessions will encourage the development of transdisciplinary approaches to model, simulate, and assess land-use, sustainability, and resilience throughout the watershed. Participant interactions will generate knowledge to apply within the MRW as well as in other cities and their satellite communities and rural neighbors. This workshop will be an initial meeting to support development of a research network that will bring architecture, arts, data science, ecology, engineering, and socio-ecological systems professionals into a dialogue with a variety of community stakeholders and industry professionals. This conference enables broad participation by researchers in this diverse and interdisciplinary ecosystem. 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.