Cary Conference 2007 to be held on May 1 - May 3, 2007 at IES: Advances in Urban Ecological Heterogeneity and Its Application to Resilient Urban Design

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Intellectual MeritSpatial heterogeneity is an important organizing concept in ecology. However,studies of ecological heterogeneity have often focused on small scale, wild, oruninhabited landscapes. As ecology turns increasing attention to urban areas,additional aspects of heterogeneity must be better understood. New frameworksfor spatial heterogeneity are required to support new models of resilient urbanecosystems as coupled ecological, social, and built systems.Because much of the spatial heterogeneity in urban systems is anthropogenic,the urban design and ecology must be better linked. We propose a CaryConference to explore common frameworks for ecology and urban design. Thiswould be the 12th biennial Cary Conference at the Institute of EcosystemStudies. These conferences are known as milestones in the development ofecology due to their synthetic, interdisciplinary, and fundamental nature.The 2007 Cary Conference will advance the fundamental ecological theory andsynthesis of data on urban spatial heterogeneity, as well as articulate the theoryand practice of urban design in an ecological context. For ecology, advanceswould include 1) development of integrated frameworks for urban spatialheterogeneity, 2) better integration with social processes and the hazardsassociated with infrastructural and designed components of urban systems, 3)exploration of new models of urban spatial heterogeneity; and 4) refinement ofecological models of urban systems. For the fields of urban design, advanceswill include 1) summarizing contemporary ecological insights to support newstrategies for resilient urban design, and 2) understanding ecological functions ofurban designs in their larger contexts. Utilization of insights from environmentalhazard analysis and feedback from ecological urban design to social science willalso be explored.Broader ImpactsThrough the building of professional networks, the publication of a crossdisciplinarybook, and the construction of a website on ecological urban design,the Conference will promote the development of more ecologically motivateddesigns in cities, suburbs, and the urban fringe. It is crucial to make the bestcontemporary ecology available to urban design. The growth of global and USurban population and land conversion confirms that urbanization is a pressingissue for the 21st century. This Conference will help incorporate contemporaryecological knowledge into design practice by 1) communicating ecologicalconcepts and principles to design theorists, educators, and practitioners, and 2)demonstrating how basic ecological science can be applied in an urban setting.In addition, encouraging an experimental aspect to design and development canencourage more ecological research in urban systems.