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Our Mission

Our mission is to drive place-based innovation and collaboration in sustainable cities and landscapes through education, research, policy impact to create resilient, equitable, and vibrant communities.

Program Overview

The University of Oregon is home to the APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes (APRU SCL) Program. It is one of the APRU Pacific Challenges working to tackle issues related to sustainable development. UO is an international leader in sustainable urban design and landscape planning through the renowned Sustainable Cities Initiative and its Landscape Architecture and Planning, Public Policy and Management programs. APRU SCL exists under the umbrella of the the Association of Pacific Rim Universities, a network of leading research universities from around the Pacific Rim. Through this global network and related events, the SCL Program works to engage with cross-disciplinary experts, government officials and non-governmental organizations to consider cities in the context of their many landscape interdependencies, including services, networks and systems within and beyond the urban periphery. We leverage collective education and research capabilities of our members into the international public policy process. Our primary research areas include natural hazards & disaster risk reduction, women in leadership, population aging, global health, sustainable cities, artificial intelligence & the future of work, the Pacific Ocean, and labor mobility.

Why SCL was Created

The APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscape Research Program has been set up in response to increasing concerns about the sustainability of cities due to rapid urbanization and population growth worldwide. As a consequence, sustainability is becoming a key issue for urban planners, civil engineers, and design professionals. The demand for more environmentally responsive cities grows while modern society becomes increasingly dependent on the use of energy and new technologies in nearly every aspect of life. Urbanization significantly impacts the environment, influencing landscapes far beyond city boundaries by increasing air temperatures, shifting water cycles, and altering ecological processes. Urban and landscape sustainability go hand-in-hand, and it is not possible to understand one without understanding the interdependencies between cities and their surroundings.

The cross-disciplinary experts, government officials, and external organizations consider Asia-Pacific cities in the context of their many landscape interdependencies. This includes examining services, networks, and systems within and beyond the urban periphery, comparing existing practices and models of city-landscape interactions across the region, and initiating solutions and policy interventions to make entire city-landscape metabolic processes more sustainable.


Highlighted Resources and Programs

 

Annual Conference 

The APRU-SCL 2025 Conference is hosted and organized by Simon Fraser University. We hope to see you in Vancouver, BC, June 17-20, 2025. 

Visiting Scholar Program 

Scholars and professionals in fields of city and regional planning, landscape architecture, architecture, geography, environmental science, and relevant professions are invited for a two week workshop which culminates in participation in the 2025 Association of Pacific Rim Universities Sustainable Cities and Landscapes annual conference held at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 

Learn more about our approach in the Routlege Handbook.