How can societies progress towards sustainability under rapid demographic change? This was a key issue at the AGS Annual Meeting 2010. The demographic structure of most developed countries is changing dramatically as a result of people living longer but having fewer children. At the same time, these societies must make drastic changes in the use of energy and natural resources to move towards environmental sustainability.

Prof. Hiroko Akiyama presented the work of the Institute of Gerontology at The University of Tokyo

How do we design low carbon, sustainable cities for an ageing society? Will ageing societies have the capital to invest and the innovation necessary to achieve this with a declining population and a shrinking workforce? How can modern technologies be used to improve the quality of life of elderly people and allow them to continue as productive members of the workforce? How can pensions and health care be sustainably financed in an ageing society?

The talks and workshop at the AGS Annual Meeting 2010 have launched a discussion on how to relate the technological strengths of the AGS universities, and advances in research for sustainable urban futures, with gerontological and social research, to generate new insights and solutions.

Junichiro Okata of the UT Institute of Gerontology emphasised social sustainability at the centre of urban planning: there seems to be a consensus around a compact sustainable city model, characterized by high density but human-scale mixed-use streets and buildings (with homes designed to be flexible and affordable for different types of household), pedestrian-friendly streets and public spaces that encourage social interaction, and easy access to social services and infrastructure.

Prof. Sawako Shirahase of The University of Tokyo gave the keynote "Looking for a Sustainable Society: family change in a rapidly ageing population"

Ageing in place refers to a community environment where people can live with dignity throughout life. In Sweden today 95% of people over the age of 65 live at home, and in Japan in 2050 more than 40% of single households will be people over the age of 65. Inga Malmqvist from Chalmers explained how these communities need new designs for housing, mobility, services to the home, social participation, assistive information and robot technology, and health care services. For example, flats can be designed so that they can easily be reused in different ways, or converted from one four-room flat for a couple into two room flats for single residents.

New technologies could be very beneficial for meeting the needs of an ageing society. For example, robots could expand personal mobility in the neighbourhood and within the home, and provide assistance with household tasks, explained by Isao Shimoyama of the UT Information and Robot Technology Initiative and Masashi Koga of Hitachi Ltd. It is important that research investigates what motivates senior citizens of different ages to use new technologies, or what barriers prevent them from benefitting. Juliana Sutanto of ETH illustrated how aging is a creative process of continuous adaptation to declining physiological conditions, in which tasks are accomplished successfully in adapted ways, taking cues from the surroundings.

More information AM2010 website

Vision 2030: roadmap for a sustainable earth

From the book’s introduction:
“Can we humans continue to live and work as we have until now within the resource limits of the earth? And can we sustain the earth’s bountiful resources, including a clean and healthy environment, for generations to come? The goal of this book is to propose a concrete vision of a road to a sustainable future for humanity and the earth. This book shows how – by virtue of science and technology – we can create an infrastructure for conserving energy and recycling materials by the year 2050. Realizing this infrastructure will require that we establish a good relationship between society and technology. This relationship must be based on clear and honest communication between researchers in technology and stakeholders in society.”

“The book provides an easily accessible and lucid message unclouded by the hype that characterizes so much of the current debate on sustainability.”

Download the book chapters at Springer>>
http://www.springerlink.com/content/978-4-431-09430-2

For some, the Climate Summit in December 2009 was a success for achieving agreement on the Copenhagen Accord; for others it was a complete failure to agree on any basis for post-Kyoto negotiations. The end of the summit left deep uncertainty as to what the basis for international negotiations towards COP-16 was. At the AGS Annual Meeting, we had a panel discussion to evaluate the COP-15 and future options for action on climate change, chaired by Akimasa Sumi, IPCC AR4 Lead-author and professor of the University of Tokyo. The panel of climate change policy researchers gave perspectives from Japan, the US, Switzerland and the European Union, and China – together responsible for 60% of global carbon emissions.

Text by Akimasa Sumi translated by Yoshie Maeda

First, Stephen Connors of MIT described the political status of climate change in the US. The US political system is complex and divided – it is still uncertain whether the US Senate will pass the Climate Bill introducing domestic carbon reduction targets. However, cities, states and regions are setting their own targets and introducing regional cap-and-trade systems, and companies, NGOs and individuals are taking action. Further he emphasized that for the US federal government, COP-15’s failure to extend the Kyoto Protocol was good news, as it would never join Kyoto or agree to reduction commitments without matching commitments from China and India.

Yasuko Kameyama from the Japan National Institute for Environmental Studies explained that before COP-15 started, countries already showed that they had very different positions on what kind of legal agreement they wanted. The negotiating process was complicated by the two clearly independent but parallel negotiating tracks – one track between the Annex I countries that have agreed to legally binding reductions under the Kyoto Protocol (not including the US and China), and another track between all UNFCC countries (including the US and China), negotiating under the terms of the Bali Action Plan, which did not include any kind of legal instrument. The non-Annex I countries were divided between the emerging economies (especially China) who strongly asserted the need for technological and financial aid in order to get the support of developing countries, and the small island countries and other developing countries who wanted to see the emerging economies commit to emissions reductions.

Japan took the position that a new legal agreement should replace the Kyoto Protocol (to include the US and the emerging economies in emissions reductions), and hoped that with its own ambitious reduction commitment it could take a lead in negotiations, both of which failed.

For the EU negotiators, COP-15 was a surprising and painful insight into the EU’s lack of weight vis-à-vis the US and China, and its failure to be a strong role model for other regions, and the EU now risks isolation. Malte Schneider of ETH Zurich emphasised that the EU must pursue its 30% target by building an improved EU emissions trading scheme, and by driving forward large-scale technology projects, demonstrating that climate action is economically competitive.

Prof.Minjun Shi of the Chinese Academy of Sciences explained China’s standpoint. For China, the most important outcome of COP-15 was the confirmation of the principle of common but differentiated responsibility of the Annex I countries and the developing countries, so that for China (and others) mitigation actions are voluntary, and Annex I countries are obliged to provide them with financial and technical support for mitigation and adaptation. China has set its’ target to 2020 based on reducing carbon emissions in relation to its economic growth, i.e. reducing energy intensity. He argues that China needs to make major efforts to improve energy technology to achieve this target without negative effects on economic growth. Constraints in energy supply and other environmental and resource constraints, especially water, are likely to have a significant influence on policy.

Kristina Sahleström, posing question to the Post COP15 panel

The speakers were challenged by two students who attended COP-15 with support from the AGS. Takako Ogimoto, a student at UT, asked how international negotiations can be effective when nothing can be decided without unanimous agreement, and countries have such unbalanced power. Kristina Sahleström, a student from Chalmers University of Technology, asked what can be done for COP-16. Will engineers and scientists be at the negotiating table? What are the steps that will lead forward?

Corresponding to these questions, panelists responded.

Kameyama made the point that though COP-16 might not reach an agreement, many activities outside the UNFCCC forum, such as the G20 or the Asia Pacific Partnership, or public-private partnerships, continue making progress in technology transfer and creation of carbon markets. All panelists agreed that action is driven by economic and political arguments for a low carbon economy, tying in issues such as increasing energy security, creating green jobs, and reducing energy poverty.

Connors pointed out that in order to meet the 2°C global target in the Copenhagen Accord, the US would have to reduce its carbon emissions by 80% (from 1990) by the year 2050. How do you actually get “substantial and sustained” GHG reductions of this magnitude? Markets are not enough: carbon trading markets may reach their limits of effectiveness well before this target is reached.

Schneider argued that developing countries need a much more comprehensive technology needs assessment, and the Clean Development Mechanism will not be sufficient to drive investments in technology in these countries. Alternative funding mechanisms are needed, together with policies that promote technology transfer. Technologies are owned by companies, not countries. Technology transfer does not mean Toyota selling more hybrid cars to China! Research institutions – especially the AGS universities – should lead the way with truly collaborative joint research and technology development projects that bring technological innovations to the market in developing countries, with viable business models.

Finally, as the convener, I would like to say that although the issue was complex and diverse, and the speakers could not give definite answers to the student’s questions, it was meaningful for the participants to see a glimpse of the diverse debates.

More information AM2010 website

The main themes of the AGS Annual Meeting 2010 were: Mitigation and adaptation strategy to climate change and demographic change; Sustainable city-regions; Energy pathways to the future: smart grid and smart infrastructure; Information exchange and communication between academia and society. The meeting included discussions of the post-COP 15 situation and CO2 reduction, venture capital, legal frameworks, energy pathways to the low carbon society, adaptation to climate change, food and water sustainability, and pathways to sustainable urban futures.

The president of the University of Tokyo, Junichi Hamada, gave a keynote on the right to sustainability from the point of view of his own field, constitutional law. He stated that sustainability is implemented through realization of individual rights.

George Hara, Group Chairman DEFTA Partners, Chairman of the Board of Alliance Forum Foundation, Ambassador to the UN Economic and Social Council, Advisor to the Japanese Ministry of Finance

George Hara is the group chairman of DEFTA Partners, and the Chairman of the Board of the Alliance Forum Foundation. He inspired the participants through his own experiences investing in technologies for sustainability in developing countries.

Designing sustainable urban-rural systems is key to sustainability in our urban future. The ETH research investment in a simulation platform that facilitates management of stocks and flows of people, energy, water, materials, capital, space and time in such systems was explained by Gerhard Schmitt.

Researchers from the US, Europe, China and Japan discussed the implications of the failure of COP-15 to produce a post-Kyoto framework. The panel suggested limitations of UN-style agreements and pointed out the need for other schemes. Promotion of technology transfer could contribute to achieve global progress on carbon emissions.

Former University of Tokyo president Hiroshi Komiyama presented his vision of how Japan can achieve the low carbon society, demonstrating for example that air conditioners already use half as much energy as before 1990, but that four times less energy use is easily achievable by 2050.

Japan’s International Cooperation Agency works with Asian countries to improve climate change adaptation strategies, as explained by Hiroto Arakawa, senior special advisor. The JICA has benefitted greatly from collaboration with sustainability science experts at the University of Tokyo.

Water is key to climate change adaptation. The Stockholm Water Prize is the world’s most prestigious prize for outstanding achievement in water-related activities, and the prize and its winners were described by Per-Arne Malmqvist from Chalmers University of Technology.

ETH president Ralph Eichler challenged the AGS to address the implications of the ageing society for sustainable development, and a panel discussion chaired by Hiroko Akiyama of the University of Tokyo Institute of Gerontology explored the issues. Sawako Shirahase, a sociologist at the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, illustrated the consequences of Japan’s rapid demographic change for families.

The AGS AM 2010 included eight afternoon workshops focusing on sustainability themes:

Two workshops addressed the key role of universities to educate students to address sustainability challenges and to generate innovation for positive social change. The first illustrated forward-thinking models of transformative learning, and the second highlighted effective approaches to teaching, creating, and disseminating design and technological innovation for sustainable development at the AGS universities and in industry.

Energy pathways to the low carbon society was the theme of two workshops, including a discussion of the smart grid – technologies for more sophisticated management of supply-and-demand dynamics in the electricity grid – and the huge potential to improve energy efficiency and integrate renewable energy sources.

In the workshop of “Pathways to sustainable urban futures”, researchers from different regions of the world discussed the challenges and opportunities of urban growth. The session of environmental problems in South Asian cities focused on some case studies of environmental issues in the urban areas in the region.

The food and water workshop discussed emerging subjects on food production and distribution, water resources and environment, climate change impacts on water and food, and development-environment conflicts.

The workshop on sustainability under rapid demographic change expanded the discussion on how to relate the technological strengths of the AGS universities, and advances in research for sustainable urban futures, with gerontological and social research, to generate new insights and solutions for an ageing – but more sustainable – society.

More information:

• Conference sessions on demographic change
• Post COP15 panel discussion
• Program and presentations
• AGS AM2010 poster prizes
• Hiroshi Komiyama’s book “Vision 2050″

Text by Yoshimasa Takahashi and Susanne Droescher

The AGS-UT Student Community hosted an international student workshop in Tokyo in March 2010. Our goal was to discuss and propose solutions for sustainability problems in Asia and to launch a sustainability network among Asian students. 50 students from Bhutan, China, India, Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and other Asian countries, as well as Japan, were joined by students from the other AGS universities (ETH, MIT and Chalmers).

Our main motive was to focus on sustainability issues in Asian countries, so we focused on the theme “Growing Asian Cities: Structuring Sustainability Problems”. Asia has some of the world’s fastest growing economies, and global sustainability discussions often neglect the problems that accompany this growth.

We achieved our goals at the meeting through the group work. Each group of six students represented an Asian country and tackled an issue the group decided was important for this country. For example, groups addressed solid waste management in Malaysian cities, and the Bhutan government climate change strategy. We used methods introduced by Marc Neff from Arizona State University, who showed us interactively how to structure a problem and identify its causes and effects. This gave us a broad picture of the situation, which then allowed us to analyze possible points for intervention. This stage of identifying pros and cons of different ideas for solutions raised very interesting discussions that lasted whole nights. In a final session all groups presented their work and were given feedback from the other groups and from representatives of the AGS universities and industry. We also had welcome and closing parties and a field trip to Toyosu, Tokyo, as a case study for the urban remodeling project.

“The most difficult challenge was reaching consensus in group work, not only because group members were very diverse in nationalities and academic backgrounds but also the sustainability issues themselves were diverse, complex and ambiguous. The most memorable experience, though, was sharing each group’s ideas and solutions in the presentation session. Though it was a big challenge to discuss and reach consensus, we were able to unite and propose innovative ideas together and this gives us hope for the future. Now our network has been launched, and we look forward to cooperating and initiating sustainability events with the friends we have made.”
Yoshimasa Takahashi, AGS-UT Student Community, The University of Tokyo

“The most impressive experience for me was the intensity with which every participant was drawn into the group work. Our different backgrounds provided a large number of viewpoints onto our chosen issue, which was later displayed in the (sometimes) unconventional proposals for solutions. Besides learning about “Coal mining in the province Jiangxi in China” I learned a lot about social systems and the economic situation in the countries of the other group members, and about their concerns.”
Susanne Droescher, president of [project21] students for sustainability at ETH Zurich.

Oscar Modin and Kensuke Fukushi The University of Tokyo
“Reducing chemical usage at wastewater treatment plants with microbial fuel cells”

Sunhee Suk and Toshizo Maeda, Chulalongkorn University and Institution of Global Environmental Strategy Kitakyushu (IGES)
“Study on the low-cost and simple decentralized wastewater management system model in the Southeast Asia: Case studies of Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand”

Andreas Hanning and Anna Priem Chalmers University of Technology
“Market analysis of need of engineering competences in sustainability”

Keisuke Miyauchi, Ryozo Ooka, Toshiyuki Hino, Yujin Nam and Yusuke Harada, The University of Tokyo, Kajima Technical Research Institute, Keio University
“Development of an advanced heat pump system with multiple sources and multiple uses for sustainable building“

Jennica Broman, Chalmers University of Technology
“Bio-energy from Enköping to Shanxian“

Nissan Workshop 2009

Most of the students of the summer IPoS course came back to strengthen their friendships, collaboration, and understanding at the Nissan Workshop in December in Yokosuka, Japan. The theme “Sustainable mobility with zero emission vehicles” challenged the students to think about best scenarios and design proposals for how zero emission vehicles could create sustainable mobility in different kinds of city – under different levels of density, compactness, and transport nodes.

More information at Intensive Program on Sustainability (IPoS) website

International workshop, 24-25 February 2010, Tainan, Taiwan

This international workshop brought together researchers and students from Asian countries and focused on three themes: 1) urban metabolism (food, water, energy, waste); 2) designing rural-urban systems in Asia (food production, landscape, rural and urban planning); and 3) culture, economy and governance.

The AGS at the University of Tokyo and the Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S) is focusing on city-regions as models for sustainable urban development in Asia. The fringes of Asian cities are traditionally characterized by a mix of urban and rural land uses, and researchers argue that these multi-functional areas offer many opportunities for more sustainable urban development, compared to conventional urban planning that tries to separate urban and rural areas and functions.

Urban agriculture can offer benefits such as a supply of agricultural products within the urban area, a reduction of the heat island effect, the integration of urban and rural social networks, and the support of an important informal sector. Most importantly, peri-urban areas can sustain the development of a resilient and adaptive society. However, peri-urban farmland is threatened by urbanization, and new policies, including new land tax systems, and strong local governance with local participation are needed to maintain urban agriculture. A strong point coming out of the workshop discussions is the importance of participatory approaches in the development of future cities and city fringes. Researchers need to engage local residents, municipalities, and the private sector to support the development of resilient and adaptive cities.

The proceedings of the two sustainable city-regions workshops will be published together as a book.

“Opening remarks”, by Akimasa Sumi, TIGS, The University of Tokyo

Keynote speech:

“Disaster information management system in Taiwan”, Fengtian LIN, National Cheng Kung University

Session: Urban Metabolism – Energy and Resources

• “Towards a transparent land-use design tool for sustainable urban metabolisms focusing on energy, food and water”, Yasuhiro Fukushima, National Cheng Kung University
• “Empirical analysis of price transmission in palm oil crushing industry – the case of the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia”, Hirotaka Matsuda, IR3S, The University of Tokyo

Session: Food and Agriculture

• “Conflict of agriculture and development in peri-urban region”, Hirokazu Ozaki, IR3S, The University of Tokyo

Session: Water

• “Urban water metabolism”, Toshiya Aramaki, Faculty of Regional Development Studies, Toyo University
• “Water health issue in urban area”, Hiroyuki Katayama, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo
• “Urban traces in the environment”, Sebastien Rauch, Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology
• “Can participation mitigate water conflict?”, Mihoko Matsuyuki, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo

25 February 2010

Keynote speech:

“Topics in sustainability science and co-living philosophy, and conditions for the realisation of a sustainable society”, Tomonori Matsuo, Toyo University

Session: Designing Rural System in Asia

• “Sustainable urban structure and transport policy in metropolitan region”, Noboru Harata, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo
• “Impact of road network upon flood inundation”, Guangwei HUANG, Graduate School of Frontier Science, The University of Tokyo
• “Special feature of urbanisation and changes in thermal environment in Jakarta, Indonesia”, Akinobu Murakami, Graduate School of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba
• “Housing supply, affordability and land use in the Mumbai Metropolitant region”, Rajiv R. Mishra, Principal Sir JJ College of Architecture, University of Mumbai
• “Regional planning and projects in the Ruhr region, Germany”, Dietwald Gruehn, School of Spatial Planning, Dortmund Technical University

Session: Designing Rural System in Asia

• “Scaling-up: an overview of urban agriculture in North America”, Matthew Potteiger, Dept of Landscape Architecture, State University of New York
• “Restoring agricultural landscapes in shrinking cities: Reinventing traditional concepts in Japanese planning”, Makoto Yokohari, Graduate School of Frontier Science, The University of Tokyo

Session: City, Region and Governance

• “Sustainable city-regions and the formation of regional governance”, Tetsuo Kidokoro, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo
• “Regulatory and governance issues in controlling urban development in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region”, Apiwat Ratanawaraha, Dept of Urban and Regional Planning, Chulalongkorn University
• “Lusaka, from Garden City to Metropolitan: toward sustainable African City Region”, Norihisa Shima, Dept of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
• “Informal collaborative network: Meinung Cultural Mobilisation in Soutern city region, Taiwan”, Peipeng LI, Dept of Bio-industry Communication and Development, National Taiwan University
• “Urban sustainability and vulnerability indicators: how do we evaluate our sustainability and vulnerability?”, Naesun Park, cSUR-GCOE, The University of Tokyo
• Presentation to second session by Hideki Koizumi, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo
• “The circulative dwelling in a town escaping from the legend of one family in one house on one site”, Otsuki Toshio, Dept of Architecture, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
• Presentation by Daisuke Abe, cSUR-GCOE, The University of Tokyo
• “The village inside: from Mumbai to Tokyo and back”, Matias Sendoa Echanove, URBZ
• “To build city-regions anew: space for citizens’ participation and initiatives”, Marco Kusumawijaya, Jakarta Arts Council, Taman Ismail Marzuki

Closing

“The management of urbanisation, development and environmental change in the 21st century”, Terry McGee, University of British Columbia

Student Session:

• “A re-evaluation of green space planning in peri-urban Tokyo transformation processes of land use in the Shimousa Plateau”, Mariko Miyamoto, Graduate School of Frontier Science, The University of Tokyo
• “Tragedy of the commons or tragedy of privatism? a triangulation of peri-urban community forestry in England, the United States and Japan”, Gerald Bolthouse, Graduate School of Frontier Science, The University of Tokyo
• “Wood energy and sustainable satoyama management: using urban waste wood to enhance economic viability”, Terada Toru, Graduate School of Frontier Science, The University of Tokyo
• “Transformation of peri-urban agricultural lands in Bangkok Metropolitan region: case studies of Nonthaburi and Rangsit”, Davivong Vudipong, Graduate of Frontier Science, The University of Tokyo
• “Conservation strategies of different municipalities for satoyama woodland in the urban fringe of the Tokyo metropolitan area”, Kazuaki Tsuchiya, Graduate School of Agricultural Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo
• “Agricultural process and agricultural land use change in Tianjin”, Dingyang ZHOU, Dept of Ecosystem Studies, The University of Tokyo
• “”The tree protection ordinance on private lot and the implementation in Seattle city, Washington, USA”, Hirofumi Hori, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo
• “The transition of common spaces in high density housings and of facilities for children”, Saori Imoto, Dept of Architecture, The University of Tokyo
• “The living environment in a depopulating mountanous village: a case of Niyodogawa-cho Kochi, Japan”, Haruka Tsukuda, Dept of Architecture, The University of Tokyo
• “Toxicity characterization of urban river sediments using two benthic crustaceans”, Haruna Watanabe, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo
• “Evaluation by environmental burden and value of products for plastic cascade recycling”, Asako Okuno, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo
• “Virtual water flows and national water footprint of Taiwan”, Yenchi CHEN, Dept of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University
• “Biomass utilisation towards sustainability: a case study – GHG emissions from cassava derived starch and ethanol”, Tingting KUO, Dept of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University
• “Metabolism of energy self sufficient village in Indonesia,  a case study: Desa Haurngombong West Java”, Badariah Yosiyana, Dept of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University