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Positive Urban Futures: Research and Actions
From research to action, Fernandez will outline a trajectory for sustainable, circular and biodiverse cities. Beginning with insights from the MIT Urban Metabolism Group, Fernandez provide an overview of what we know about the resource intensity of cities and their impacts on and vulnerability to climate change and other global and local environmental challenges. The talk will then project into the future as cities become test beds for decarbonization and provide novel ecological spaces for biodiversity.
The Urban Metabolism Group at MIT has been working to guide the trajectory of cities toward achievable sustainability anchored by decarbonization and a reevaluation of urban systems for a more positive relation to biodiversity. Today, we know that actions cities take will substantially determine the rate of global decarbonization. What is less well known is the role of cities in tempering and potentially reversing the rate of biodiversity loss globally. In concrete and scientifically rigorous terms, Fernandez will detail the role of cities in contributing to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and substantially relieving the pressure on local and global biodiversity. Fernandez will provide an early view of a new analytical tool for assessing the contribution of cities to environmental degradation and their vulnerability to the local and global consequences. Fernandez will also detail the ongoing work to develop biodiverse cities promoted by the World Economic Forum and others.
The Urban Metabolism Group at MIT has been working to guide the trajectory of cities toward achievable sustainability anchored by decarbonization and a reevaluation of urban systems for a more positive relation to biodiversity. Today, we know that actions cities take will substantially determine the rate of global decarbonization. What is less well known is the role of cities in tempering and potentially reversing the rate of biodiversity loss globally. In concrete and scientifically rigorous terms, Fernandez will detail the role of cities in contributing to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 and substantially relieving the pressure on local and global biodiversity. Fernandez will provide an early view of a new analytical tool for assessing the contribution of cities to environmental degradation and their vulnerability to the local and global consequences. Fernandez will also detail the ongoing work to develop biodiverse cities promoted by the World Economic Forum and others.
Speakers
Key Takeaways
- How to understand major environmental challenges in an urban world.
- How to put into perspective the many recommendations for urban emissions reductions.
- How to relate ongoing policy developments, such as Berdo2.0 to local and global urbanization.
- How to connect high quality academic research to actions in real cities.
Presented by
