International Project Office for Urbanization: A Partnership with the International Human Dimension Programme

城市研究在社会科学、工程科学和规划领域有着悠久的传统。最近，自然科学和健康科学的贡献扩大了对城市问题的认识。迄今为止，还没有一个整合这些学科贡献的框架。一个跨学科的研究方法和一个连接全球研究人员的有效网络对于理解全球环境变化与城市过程之间复杂的相互作用至关重要。学术界和政策制定者之间还需要加强合作，以制定能够减轻这些互动后果的政策。全球环境变化国际人文维度计划（IHDP）科学指导委员会选择亚利桑那州立大学作为国际项目办公室（IPO），开展一个新的核心项目，重点关注城市化。城市化IPO将协助IHDP开发和管理该项目，以帮助建立一个扩大的学者和决策者国际网络，更好地了解城市化进程。IPO还旨在将研究与公共政策联系起来，包括与城市化和全球环境变化有关的理论、模型和方法、国家政策和地方举措。为了建立这一网络，IPO将组织国际研讨会和会议，并将使用诸如listserv、时事通讯和网站等通信工具，提醒参与的研究人员注意资助机会和其他重要信息。新的城市化IPO预计将确保IHDP科学指导委员会、IHDP的其他组成部分和更广泛的研究界之间的信息流动，并有望促进新一代的城市化研究。参与IHDP活动的科学家组成了一个由1000多名研究人员组成的网络。城镇化IPO应有助于确保美国研究城镇化的学者网络与国际同行保持联系。城市化项目应通过创新的概念和方法方法帮助创造新的跨学科知识。应该开展更多关于城市化的综合研究，特别是将社会科学与自然科学、工程、规划和金融联系起来的研究。IPO将成为理论、策略和方法发展的关键参与者，以有效地参与跨学科研究，并鼓励年轻科学家跨越社会和自然科学的鸿沟。城市化项目为解决富国和穷国城市化带来的社会、经济和环境影响提供了重大机遇。它的研究议程将涉及一个庞大的国际科学家网络，并将与其他新兴的研究计划相结合。城市化IPO最大的贡献应该是它帮助汇集了越来越多、越来越多样化的学者来研究紧迫的城市问题。此外，IPO将把这些综合研究成果传达给地方、国家和国际层面的决策者、从业者和其他最终用户，从而将前沿学术研究与公共政策联系起来。

Urban studies have a long tradition in the social sciences, engineering sciences, and planning. Contributions from the natural sciences and health sciences recently have expanded knowledge about urban issues. Absent thus far has been a framework that integrates these disciplinary contributions. An interdisciplinary approach and an effective network that links researchers from across the globe are essential to understanding the complex interactions among global environmental change and urban processes. A stronger collaboration among academics and policy makers also is needed to craft policies that can mitigate the consequences of those interactions. The Scientific Steering Committee of the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP) on Global Environmental Change has selected Arizona State University as the International Project Office (IPO) for a new core project that focuses on urbanization. The Urbanization IPO will assist the IHDP in developing and administering the project in order to help build an expanded international network of scholars and policy makers that better understand the urbanization process. The IPO also will aim to connect research to public policy with respect to theories, models and methods, state policies, and local initiatives related to urbanization and global environmental change. To build this network, the IPO will organize international workshops and conferences and will use communication tools like a listserv, newsletter, and web site to alert participating researchers to funding opportunities and other important kinds of information.The new Urbanization IPO is expected to ensure the flow of information among the IHDP Scientific Steering Committee, other components of the IHDP, and the wider research community, and it is expected to promote new generations of urbanization research. The scientists who participate in IHDP activities constitute a network of more than 1,000 researchers. The Urbanization IPO should help ensure that U.S.-based networks of scholars studying urbanization connect with their international counterparts. The Urbanization Project should help create new interdisciplinary knowledge through innovative conceptual and methodological approaches. More integrated research on urbanization should result, especially research that links social science with natural sciences, engineering, planning, and finance. The IPO will become a key player in the development of theories, strategies, and methods to effectively engage in interdisciplinary research and to encourage young scientists to reach across the social-natural science divide. The Urbanization Project represents a major opportunity for addressing the social, economic, and environmental consequences of urbanization in rich and poor countries. Its research agenda will reach a vast network of international scientists and will dovetail with other emerging research initiatives. The Urbanization IPO's greatest contribution should be its help in bringing together an ever-larger and more-diverse assemblage of scholars on pressing urban issues. In addition, the IPO will communicate these integrative research results to decision makers, practitioners, and other end-users at local, national, and international levels, thus linking cutting-edge academic research to public policy.