2017 APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Conference

U.S. Pacific Northwest in Pacific Rim Perspective

September 15-17, 2017
University of Oregon
Portland, Oregon

Management of the nexus between cities and their surrounding landscapes is central to most pressing sustainability issues, including the degree to which connections to regional landscapes provide health, vitality and a sense of place to urban residents. Numerous “sustainable” solutions have failed due to lack of understanding of the city-landscape system as a whole. Through cross-disciplinary collaboration, the Association of the Pacific Rim Universities’ Sustainable Cities and Landscape Hub will explore the synergies and tradeoffs among different approaches to enhancing landscape-level sustainability and resilience in the face of continued urban growth and global climate change. (For more details on APRU SCL Hub, see Our Approach)

The inaugural conference will focus on best practices from the US Pacific Northwest with cross-regional comparisons across the Pacific Rim. Our goal is to explore various ways to investigate the city-landscape interplay and the challenges and opportunities it creates through dialogue among researchers, policymakers, professionals, and community organizations. Field trips will highlight the Oregon model, which looks beyond city boundaries to situate urban environments in the landscapes that support urban life through its well-known urban growth boundaries and comprehensive statewide land use planning.

How to participate?
Conference participation is NOT limited to APRU institutions. We welcome all researchers, professionals, policymakers, and community leaders around the world.

2017 Thematic Working Groups
APRU SCL provides attendees unique opportunities to participate in thematic working groups (WG). Members of each WG will work intensively throughout the conference to craft a collaborative paper on their theme. The WG papers are intended for submission for the first volume of a book series or journal publication. Attendees who wish to join a working group should submit a 2-page CV including your recent publication record, accompanied by a one-page description of why you want to engage in the WG and your expertise in relation to it. WG applications will be reviewed by leader of each group.

From Urban Agriculture to New Urban Commons: Productive Landscapes and Infrastructural Ecologies
Jacques Abelman, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Oregon

The Chengdu Plain and Dujiangyan Irrigation District, Sichuan, China: A Case of City-Landscape Sustainability in Comparative Perspective
Dan Abramson, Associate Professor of Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington

Impacts of urban development patterns and climate change on habitat connectivity for Pacific salmon under future scenarios in the Pacific Northwest
Marina Alberti, Professor of Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington

Redrawing Our Urban Waters
Adell Amos, Clayton R. Hess Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, University of Oregon
Brook Muller, Professor of Architecture and Director of the UO Portland Architecture Program, University of Oregon

Resolving Conflicts of “Greens”:  Energy Planning for Sustainable Landscape Conservation
Yekang Ko, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Oregon

Sustainable Urban Design
Nico Larco, Associate Professor of Architecture, Co-Director of Sustainable Cities Initiative, University of Oregon

The Future of Urban Water and Sanitation
Kory Russel, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Studies, University of Oregon

Sustainable Transportation in an Era of Autonomous Vehicles
Marc Schlossberg, Professor of Planning, Public Policy and Management, Co-Director of Sustainable Cities Initiative, University of Oregon

Containing Urban Expansion Using “Boundaries” in the Era of Rapid Urbanization
Yizhao Yang, Associate Professor of Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon.

Transitions in Urban Waterfront Operations and Development
Ken Yocom, Associate Professor of Landscape Architecture, University of Washington-Seattle
Anne Taufen Wessells, Associate Professor of Urban Studies, University of Washington-Tacoma 
Nicole Faghin, Coastal Management Specialist, SEA Grant

Important Dates

Applications due: May 1, 2017

Acceptance notification and registration opens: June 1, 2017

Priority registration due: July 1, 2017

Tentative agenda available: August 1, 2017

Conference: September 15-17, 2017

Registration
APRU SCL requires no registration fee for attendees. Because the meeting is focused on engaging participants in collaborative, interdisciplinary scholarship toward publishable contributions to the literature, we have waived registration fees and will cover your meals and field trips in addition to all administrative and core facilities costs. Attendees will be responsible for their transportation and lodging. Registration and lodging information will be available soon.

For more information, contact Yekang Ko

Editorial Note: This story was originally published by School of Architecture and Allied Arts.

A Portland building with zero net energy consumption and water waste along with a neighborhood restoration project in North Minneapolis are the two University of Oregon student designs selected in a national competition led by the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on the Environment (AIA COTE) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.

“Regenerating Water Avenue,” a design from UO undergraduate architecture students Lacey Aley, Alex Collins, and Addison Estrada, and graduate student Tim Schneider’s thesis design “TETHER” are among the projects honored in the competition.

The 2016 AIA COTE Top Ten for Students design competition recognized ten projects that integrate innovative, sustainable strategies within their designs; the projects were submitted from architecture schools across the country. The designs will be exhibited during the national AIA convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 19-21), and at the 10^th Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture’ annual meeting in Detroit, Michigan (March 23-25, 2017).

This marks the second year that UO student designs have been selected for the AIA COTE competition. Last year, UO student projects also earned two honors from the inaugural AIA COTE competition. Students Gabrielle Steffel and Robert Larson won for their projects, “Centennial Mills recycled” and “Innovation Engine,” respectively.

Read the complete story in AAA.