A Conference Organizing Urban Transects for a Sustainable Transformation of Economic Partnerships across the Lower Great Lakes (OUTSTEP-LGL)

该项目包括一个由研究学者和利益相关者组成的会议，该会议将解决下五大湖（LGL）地区城市系统可持续发展的需求，该地区包括伊利湖和安大略湖流域的美国部分。该地区的城市地区与农村地区相交，有着共同的环境沉淀和自然资源开发的历史，随后是工业化，然后是去工业化，人口几乎没有增长。环境的变化以及为其影响做好准备和适应的需要对该区域可持续发展所必需的城市系统提出了新的挑战。预计该地区不会像美国其他地区那样受到环境变化的严重影响，可能会成为相对稳定的走廊，可能导致移民和经济活动的增加，同时对自然资源产生新的压力，从而挑战可持续性。该区域的城市和农村系统需要对当前和未来的可持续性压力因素进行全面评估。该项目的智力价值在于创建一个网络，以发展学术研究和与利益相关者的跨学科交流，为城市系统的可持续和弹性战略提供基础。该项目的更广泛的社会影响将通过在可持续性领域的协调与合作来实现，这将加强该区域的基本基础设施和生活质量，有助于保障公众健康，并有助于提高经济竞争力。在学者和利益相关者日益认识到环境差异带来的可持续性挑战的背景下，该项目的科学重点将放在发展新的见解和方法上，以支持城市系统的新的可持续发展模式。组织和举办为期三天的out - step -LGL会议的目的是通过汇集来自不同学科和利益相关者的可持续性和弹性学者，为LGL地区的城市系统可持续发展战略提供科学基础。“人民”复原力框架将提供会议的组织原则。将有一场会议专门讨论系统功能的七个维度：1)人口和人口统计，2)生态系统服务，3)有组织的政府服务，4)物质基础设施和生命线，5)生活方式和社区能力，6)经济服务，7)社会文化服务。预计会议将启动一项区域范围的研究和社区参与工作，规划城市和农村系统的可持续发展，从而推进城市可持续系统领域的研究，增加参与教师的课程，并通过城市系统的可持续性增强使区域公民受益。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project consists of a conference of research scholars and stakeholders that will address the need for sustainable development of urban systems in the Lower Great Lakes (LGL) region, comprised of the U.S. portion of the watersheds of Lakes Erie and Ontario. The urban areas in this region, intersected by rural areas, share a common environmental settling and history of natural resource exploitation, followed by industrialization, then de-industrialization and little to no population growth. Environmental variability and the need to prepare for and adapt to its impacts pose a new challenge to the urban systems essential to the region's sustainable development. The region is not anticipated to be as severely impacted by environmental change as other parts of the U.S. and might become a corridor of relative stability possible resulting in in-migration and increased economic activities while renewing pressure on natural resources, thus challenging sustainability. The region's urban and rural systems require a holistic assessment of current and future sustainability stressors. The intellectual merit of the project lies in the creation of a network to develop scholarly research and interdisciplinary communication with stakeholders to provide the foundation for a sustainable and resilient strategy on urban systems. The broader social impact of the project will be realized through the resulting coordination and collaboration in the realm of sustainability that will enhance the region's essential infrastructure and quality of life, help safeguard public health, and contribute to economic competitiveness.Against the backdrop of a growing appreciation among scholars and stakeholders of the sustainability challenges arising from the differential environmental variability, the scientific focus of the project will be on the development of new insights and approaches to supporting new sustainable development modes of urban systems. The objective in organizing and hosting a three day OUTSTEP-LGL conference is to provide a scientific foundation for a sustainability strategy on urban systems for the LGL region by bringing together sustainability and resilience scholars from across academic disciplines and stakeholders. The 'PEOPLES' Resilience Framework will provide the organizing principle of the conference. A session will be devoted to each of the seven dimensions of systems' functionality: 1) Population and Demographics, 2) Ecosystem Services, 3) Organized Governmental Services, 4) Physical Infrastructure and Lifelines, 5) Lifestyle and Community Competence, 6) Economic Services, and 7) Socio-Cultural Services. The conference is expected to initiate a region-wide research and community engagement effort, plans for the sustainable development of urban and rural systems, and thus advance research in the field of urban sustainable systems, adding to the curriculum of participating faculty and benefit the regions' citizens through its sustainability enhancement of urban systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.