2018 APRU SCL Conference: Hosted by the University of Hong Kong
The 2018 APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Conference was held at the University of Hong Kong from September 6th through September 9th in 2018. The conference structure was designed around working group sessions with plenary talks, key note speakers, and informal discussion time. The conference offered local excursions early in the mornings and afternoons to bookend Working Group sessions. Coffee breaks, cocktail hours, luncheons, and a beautifully hosted conference dinner at the Hong Kong Royal Yacht Club inspired further discussion and networking for conference attendees. The conference attracted students and offered a concurrent Design Field School in Indonesia from August 27th through September 6th, 2018 to prepare students attending the conference to experience Working Groups topics first-hand.
Building on the success of the inaugural conference in Portland, Oregon in 2017, the 2018 conference hosted by the University of Hong Kong further established the working group frameworks and commitments to publications that addressed the issue of ‘agency’. The theme encompassed core sustainable practices such as anticipatory planning, action-oriented research and design, and advocacy. The conference maintained its emphasis on the integration across the working group themes through a “speed-dating” session between plenary talks and working group time. The working groups explored overlapping issues and generated new ideas that cross geopolitical backgrounds, disciplines, and paradigms of conference participants.
2018 APRU SCL Conference Working Groups:
Productive cities, infrastructural ecologies
City-landscape sustainability
Urban biodiversity
Urban renewable energy
Sustainable urban design
Urban water and sanitation
Urban-rural linkages
Transitions in urban waterfronts
Vulnerable communities
Landscape and human health
Waste
Smart Cities
The conference attracts researches, professionals, policymakers, and community leaders from around the world and is not limited to APRU member institutions.
“
I want to first thank the organizers for setting up such an interesting working conference. I really enjoyed the stimulating experience of intense discussions with the working group on a particular topic. The opportunity to connect and network with other universities in the pacific rim was highly valuable. We can see the similarities and differences in our approaches and the conference allow us to have an open mind. Discussions on teaching methods sparked interesting conversations.
— APRU SCL 2018 Conference participant
“
The working group session was really engaging and stimulating. The informal conversations over coffee breaks and dinner, and during the excursions, were really valuable – to establish relationships and enable meaningful exchanges.
— APRU SCL 2018 Conference participant
The Design Field School: East of Java
Thirteen selected international students from APRU’s member universities participated in a two-week design field school in Indonesia led by HKU faculty staff and local partners, from August 27 to September 9, prior to the commencement of 2018 APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Conference.
The school explored the uncertain landscape complexities caused by urbanization and rapid modernization of landscapes and communities in East Java. A group presentation was given by the students during the conference’s dinner, addressing topics on eco-tourism, the Gundih village in Surabaya, and marine debris in Indonesia.
More information on the APRU Design Field School.
