18 March 2009, Göteborg
The seminar started by introducing CSS, the World Student Community for Sustainable Development, the AGS, and Chalmers Energy Academy to the students at Chalmers. Then there were talks and debate on Sustainable Energy Futures with invited speakers talking about solar energy, wind power, biogas, alternative transport fuels and carbon capture and storage. CSS invited experts from the Swedish Gas Association on solar energy, Volvo AG and Volvo Aero, Vattenfall-Nuclear Power, and Chalmers and Uppsala universities.

More about CSS activities

23 February 2009

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

Keynote Speech:

• “The resilience and vulnerability of the extended urban spaces in Asia in the 21st century – policy research challenges for the futures of urban Asia”, by Terry McGee,  Institute of Asian Research, University of British Columbia.
• “Establishing sustainable community through the urban and rural fusion” by Kazuhiko Takeuchi, IR3S, The University of Tokyo.

Session 1: Urban-Rural Systems

• “Openness of private green and vacant spaces within exclusive subdivisions in the urban fringe of Asian large cities: some cases of Bangkok and Metro Manila”, by Yuji Hara, TIGS, The University of Tokyo.
• “Farmland conversion and sustainable city: a case of Yogyakarta, Indonesia”, by Irham, Agribusiness Graduate Study Program, Gadjah Mada University.
• “Spatial planning and urban rural relations in European Union”, by Kensuke Katayama, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo.
• “Vulnerable agricultural fringe: the challenge for sustainability of Bangkok”, by Niramon Kulsrisombat, Dept of Urban and Regional Planning, Chulalongkorn University.
• “Food and energy production from agriculture in urban rural systems of Japan”, by Shigenori Morita, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo.
• “Governing urbanisation for sustainability: an institutional analysis of government behaviour in China”, by Zhilin Liu, School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University.

Session 2: City Regional Form

• “Introduction to City Regional Form”, by Makoto Yokohari, Graduate School of Frontier Science, The University of Tokyo.
• “Sustainability and adaptation on climate change in German city regions”, Dietwalt Gruehn, School of Spatial Planning, Dortmund University of Technology.
• “Emerging urban governance in Southeast Asian countries: how can we control these rapidly expanding cities?”, by Norihisa Shima, Dept of Civil Engineering, The University of Tokyo.
• “Strategy analysis of urban/peri-urban agriculture in Asia: issues, potential and challenges”, by Peeyush Soni, Agricultural Systems and Engineering, Asian Institute of Technology.
• “A strategic planning from regional aspect – experience of the research work on development plan of Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone”, by Zongpo Tan, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University.
• “Tokyo; transportation network and city form”, by Hitoshi Ieda, Dept of Civil Engineering, The University of Tokyo.
• “Controlling the composition of population for suburban housing developments in Japan by selecting building types – a case study of Yukarigaoka New-Town in Chiba, Japan”, by Toshio Otsuki, Dept of Architecture, The University of Tokyo.

24 January 2009
“Introduction of the AGS – Supporting Urban Innovation”, by Sebastien Rauch, Water Environment Technology, Chalmers University of Technology.

Session 3: Water Management

• “Infectious risk assessment with exposure to pathogens in the flood water – assessment of vulnerability of urban area to climate change (case study of Manila)”, by Kensuke Fukushi, TIGS, The University of Tokyo.
• “Deconstructing the rural and the urban: lessons from recent desakota research in South Asia, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and China”, by Dipak Gyawali, Institute for Social and Environmental Transition, Nepal.
• “Long-term indirect impacts of land development on flood risk and water quality – a case study for the watershed of Lake Tega”, by Guangwei Huang, Dept of Socio-Cultural Environmental Studies, The University of Tokyo.
• “Waterborne health risks due to rapid urbanisation in Asia”, by Kumiko Oguma, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo.
• “Impact of land use and land cover on evapotranspiration in urban area based on remote sensing data”, by Guangheng Ni, Dept of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University.
• “A concept on integrated groundwater management to sustain cities of Indonesia using system interrelationship model”, by Priana Sudjono, Dept of Environmental Engineering, Bandung Institute of Technology.
• “The impact of Guam’s population growth on island water resources”, by Shahram Khosrowpanah, Water and Environment Research Institute of the Western Pacific, University of Guam.
• “Urban-rural interrelation in water resource management problems and factors affecting the sustainability of drinking water supply in the city of Bandung, Indonesia”, by Parikesit, Dept of Biology, Padjadjaran University.
• “Integration of flood control and environmental preservation in urban river”, by Takeyoshi Chibana, Dept of Civil Engineering, The University of Tokyo.
• “Catchment-scale water management of wastewater treatment in an urban sewage system considering CO2 emission assessment”, by Goro Mouri, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo.

Session 4: Culture and Settlements

• “Introduction to the session”, by Tetsuo Kidokoro, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo.
• “Daoism and environmental sustainability – a completely different way of thinking”, by Qiang Charles Lou, Water and Environmental Research Institute of the Western Pacific, University of Guam.
• “The landscape of Bangkok’s agricultural fringe and city region sustainability: an ecological and cultural co-evolution”, by Danai Taitakoo, Dept of Landscape Architecture, Chulalongkorn University.
• “Cultural-natural expressions and community movement on the saujana heritage conservation”, by Sita Adishakti, Gadjah Mada University.
• “Damage investigation of timber structures by the 2007 Noto Peninsula earthquake”, by Kaori Fujita, Dept of Architecture, The University of Tokyo.

Poster Sessions 23 February 2009 (pdf)

1. “Energetic analysis of various production systems in West Javan agricultural landscape: looking for sustainable system”, Dendi Mohamad, Institute of Ecology, Padjadjaran University.
2. “Conceptual framework for agricultural landscape conservation and flood system for sustainable city region in China”, Dingyang Zhou, Dept of ecosystem studies, The University of Tokyo
3. “Assessing policy implementation and social networks for agricultural landscape conservation in a Japanese urban region”, Kazuaki Tsuchiya, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo.
4. “A place for “commons” in extended urban spaces? Community forestry networks and working woodlands in peri-urban Tokyo, by Gerald Bolthouse, Natural Environment, The University of Tokyo.
5. “Transformation of pastures landscapes on the Shimousa Plateau 1572-1862″, Mariko Miyamoto, Dept of Natural Environmental Studies, The University of Tokyo.
6. “Woody biomass utilisation in urban-rural mixed land-use areas: Strategies to sustainably managed satoyama woodlands”, Toru Terada, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo.
7. “Evaluation of environmental burden in cascade recycling of plastic containers and packaging wastes in Japan”, Asako Okuno, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo.
8. “Toxicity characterization of road dust and urban river sediments using bioassay with ostracod”, Haruna Watanabe, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo.
9. “Examination of maintaining method of the gravel bed river channel”, Hiroaki Fujimori, Civil Engineering Course, The University of Tokyo.
10. “Industrial solid waste flows and recycling patterns of China: a case study in Suzhou”, Mo Hongpin, Division of Environmental System Analysis, Tsinghua University.
11. “Analysis of climate change impact for sustainable development on Citarum river basin, Indonesia”, Yutaka Araki, Civil Engineering Course, The University of Tokyo.
12. “The comprehensive concept planning of urban greening: cast study Bangkok Metropolis, Thailand”, Arthit Limpiyakorn, Graduate School of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo.
13. “The development review system and the application in the inner city area – the case studies on the design review in North America”, Hirofumi Hori, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo.
14. “Build back better, safer and greener: lesson from Aceh post-disaster recovery”, Togu Pardede, Dept of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo.

23-24 February 2009, Denpasar – Bali, Indonesia
International Workshop on Sustainable City Region

An international workshop was convened by the AGS at The University of Tokyo, by the Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science (IR3S), and Udayana University in Bali, concluded the AGS series of seminars on the Urban Futures initiative. The meeting brought together for the first time researchers in Asia interested in the interaction between urban and rural areas. (more…)

Hillary Clinton visited UT

17 February 2009, Tokyo

When US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited The University of Tokyo, she wanted to meet students who could tell her about sustainability and about the challenges of becoming a woman leader in male-dominated Japan. A student from the AGS-UT Student Community relates her experience:

“We shook hands, introduced ourselves to her one by one, and then I explained to her what I do in our AGS student community, for example I was one of the organizers of the Student Summit for Sustainability 2007. In her speech, she talked about gender equality, her alarm for the present state of world affairs, and the abduction issue with North Korea. We all were touched by her powerful performance. The most impressive part was when somebody asked, ‘How can I work as strong as you?’ She answered, ‘The most important advice is to be true to yourself, to do what you believe is important and meaningful in your own life.”

More about the AGS-UT Student Community

25 January – 1 February 2009, Zurich
“The Realistic Side of the World – Sustainable Development and the Role of Economic and Political Institutions”

The World Student Community for Sustainable Development held its third Student Summit for Sustainability (S³) at the ETH in January 2009, jointly with the AGS Annual Meeting, titled “The Realistic Side of the World – Sustainable Development and the Role of Economic and Political Institutions.”

The S³ asked fascinating and timely questions that are not yet part of the mainstream debate on sustainable development: what drives countries and powers to compete for increasingly scarce resources, and what are the consequences? How does the international financial system hinder the anticipation of natural limits? What incentives other than money steer people’s behavior towards sustainability? How can open source publishing contribute to sustainable development?

Over 90 students from all over the world met in Switzerland – many of them thanks to funds raised by the organizing team from [project 21] students for sustainability of the ETH and University of Zurich – and discussed intensively with their selected experts, as well as having a good time.

More about the Student Summit for Sustainability 2009

Videos of the keynote talks, including Andrea K. Riemer, Bernard Lietaer, Colin Campbell, and Daniele Ganser, at http://www.sss2009.blip.tv/#1910009

AGS Newsletter 2009:1 is available.

Download pdf: AGS Newsletter 2009:1

21 November 2008, Cambridge, USA
MIT workshop on regional sustainability

A group of MIT faculty members from across the institute met to discuss the multi-disciplinary research projects on regional sustainability being developed at MIT. The objective was twofold:

1. To develop a broader understanding of the regional sustainability projects at MIT
2. To see if there is a synergy among the different projects that can be further explored or harnessed for the development of new initiatives

Contact person: Mr. Steven Connors

Capetown, 16-17 November 2008

An interactive workshop held under the auspices of the Alliance of Global Sustainability and hosted by Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Cities, properly managed, can be transformative arenas in which natural resources are used efficiently and economically to provide a high quality of life for everyone. And by doing so, cities offer our best hope of reducing human impacts upon the environment and achieving global sustainability. It can be argued that there is no one model for urban futures because of the underlying history and cultural diversity of our urban areas. However, the challenge of urban futures is clear – we have exceeded 50% by 2030. The resultant pressure on infrastructure, services, safety and security, political stability and social services is immense.

Selected experts have been invited to present and discuss their views on African Urban Futures, thereby raising regional-level awareness and providing an important contribution to the global research agenda

Facilitator:
Peter Willis, University of Cambridge Programme for Industry, South Africa

Keynote address:
“Putting people first in urban development” by Mamphela Ramphele, Circle Capital Ventures, South Africa.

Presentations:

• “African urban innovation” by Edgar Pieterse, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
• “An overview of some of the challenges facing the city of Johannesburg” by Lael Betlehem, Johannesburg Development Agency, South Africa.
• “Future urban transport challenges in selected African cities” by Roger Behrens, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
• “Sustainable urban design” by Mokena Makeka, Makeka Design Lab, South Africa.
• “Social dimension of urban development” by Alan Mabin, University of Witwatetsrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
• “Finance and governance models for urban development” by David Savage, Independant Consultant, South Africa.
• “The Lake Victoria higher education initiative”, by Stephen Agong, Maseno University, Kenya.
• “Toward sustainable water use in cities” by Rolfe Eberhard, Palmer Development Group, South Africa.
• “Renewable energy for sustainable urban development” by Harro von Blottnitz, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
• “Capacity building for sustainable urban development” by Björn Malbert, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden.
• Innovation exercise – “Looking at wants and aspirations, strategies to achieve these and interventions by key sectors”
• Best posters presentation

Executive committee:

• Dr. Sebastien Rauch, Chalmers
• Prof. Olalekan Fatoki, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
• Prof. Jim Petrie, University of Cape Town
• Dr. Yvonne Hansen, University of Cape Town

Contact:

Dr. Sebastien Rauch
Water Environment Technology, Chalmers
sebastien.rauch@chalmers.se

14 November 2008, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Urban Futures Research: Tackling Complex Reality

This seminar illustrated the dimensions of research that tackles the complex reality of urban futures, and aimed to achieve a better understanding of how interdisciplinary research must be designed and carried out, using examples from the ETH domain. It also reported on the results of the AGS workshop Interdisciplinary Dialogue on Urban Futures.

Link to webcasts and presentations
Contact person: Ms. Evelyn Underwood

17 November 2008, Cape Town, South Africa
Integrating Sustainability into African Urban Growth

The AGS is keen to elicit views on sustainable urban futures. This seminar aimed at providing an African-focused view on urban futures.

Link to webcasts

Contact person: Dr. Sebastien Rauch