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攸关方组成的会议，会议将讨论下五大湖(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省分水岭的美国部分。这一区域的城市地区与农村地区相交，有着共同的环境定居和自然资源开采历史，随后是工业化，然后是非工业化，人口几乎没有增长。环境的多变性及其应对和适应其影响的必要性对对该区域可持续发展至关重要的城市系统构成了新的挑战。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，可能会成为一个相对稳定的走廊，可能导致移民迁入和经济活动增加，同时重新对自然资源构成压力，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源进行全面评估。该项目的学术价值在于创建了一个网络，以开展学术研究和与利益攸关方进行跨学科交流，为关于城市系统的可持续和有弹性的战略奠定基础。该项目的更广泛的社会影响将通过在可持续发展领域产生的协调和合作来实现，这将增强该地区的基本基础设施和生活质量，帮助保障公共健康，并有助于提高经济竞争力。在学者和利益攸关方越来越多地认识到不同环境变异性带来的可持续挑战的背景下，该项目的科学重点将是开发新的见解和方法，以支持城市系统的新的可持续发展模式。组织和主办为期三天的城市系统可持续发展会议的目的是，通过汇聚来自不同学科和利益攸关方的可持续发展和复原力学者，为可持续发展区域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。会议将专门讨论系统功能的七个维度中的每一个：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)有形基础设施和生命线，5)生活方式和社区能力，6)经济服务，7)社会文化服务。会议预计将启动整个地区的研究和社区参与努力，制定城市和农村系统可持续发展的计划，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，并通过增强城市系统的可持续性使地区公民受益。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.