idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Today, around 50% of the present world population - composed of about one billion people in the developed world and 5.5 billion in the developing world - lives in urban areas. And by 2050 - when the population will have grown to around nine billion - this proportion will have risen to 70%, so that twice as many people will live in cities as do today.
This extraordinary increase in urban population comes mainly through the migration of poor from rural areas into urban areas that are ill prepared to absorb them. How will these urban areas provide education, food and shelter, clean water and air, energy, transportation, employment, security, and economic advancement? Scenarios range from utter chaos as the urban areas and their surrounding areas are inundated by uncontrollable masses, to an optimistic technology future in which major advances in science, technology, systems, management and policy provide the needed tools for evolving structures and institutions to provide for this massive shift.
The challenge posed by the transition to urban living is to harness the process to ensure progress towards sustainability. With this in mind, two key propositions have guided the planning of the AGS Annual Meeting 2009:
- that cities, properly managed, can be transformative arenas in which natural resources are used more efficiently and economically, contributing to a high quality of life for everyone;
- that reinventing cities offers one of the most effective ways of reducing human impacts upon the environment and achieving greater sustainability.
The goal of the meeting is to develop a research strategy to help achieve these outcomes.
The AGS recognizes the educational, practical and symbolic value of universities setting an example as models for a sustainable society. The Annual Meeting highlights this commitment in the programme, and through the sustainability pledge of the conference organisation.
The programme includes keynotes, panel discussions, workshops, posters and demonstrations.
The AGS AM 2009 kicks off on Monday 26 January with the Student Summit for Sustainability S3, organised by the World Student Community for Sustainable Development (WSC-SD), and the AGSME 2009 workshop on global modeling.
Information on participating / attending:
The conference fee of CHF 300 (about Euro 190 or USD 270) / CHF 120 for students (about Euro 75 or USD 110) includes attendance at the Student Summit for Sustainability on Monday, 26 January and the AGS AM 2009 from Tuesday, 27 January to Thursday, 29 January. It also covers all catering, the reception, the conference dinner, conference materials, a Zurich travel pass as well as VAT and credit card fees. You can pay by credit card or bank transfer.
Date:
01/26/2009 - 01/29/2009
Event venue:
ETH Zürich
Main building
Auditorium Maximum (F30)
Rämistrasse 101
8092 Zurich
Zürich
Switzerland
Target group:
Scientists and scholars, Students
Email address:
Relevance:
international
Subject areas:
Energy, Environment / ecology, Oceanology / climate
Types of events:
Entry:
10/08/2008
Sender/author:
Franziska Schmid
Department:
Corporate Communications
Event is free:
no
Language of the text:
English
URL of this event: http://idw-online.de/en/event24836
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