Print

Print


Dear all

We have now finalised the programme for our conference on 12 June (available as a pdf here: goo.gl/wI2qJ1).  There are still some tickets left - it's free, we have a great list of speakers (if the subject matter is of interest to you) and all are welcome.  Hope some of you can make it.


Tomorrow’s City Today: Prospects for Standardising Sustainable Urban Development

A one-day conference hosted by the International Eco-Cities Initiative, University of Westminster.

Date: 12 June 2015
Time: 10:00 – 16:30 hrs
Venue: Fyvie Hall, University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2HW

Although sustainability principles are now firmly entrenched in urban policy making around the world, we seem to be further than ever away from the goal of building a sustainable future. What, then, does the future hold for the idea and practices of sustainable urban development?

The evidence suggests that a process of standardisation of related policies and practices may currently be taking place. But should we welcome this trend as a basis for future policy and practice development? And how might this work? Should different types of standards apply at different scales? Can standards be flexible enough to reflect local conditions? Or does this miss the point? Perhaps it is impossible, and undesirable, to standardise urban sustainable development. Some would argue that any form of standardisation serves to stifle innovation in what should ideally be an open-ended process of real-world experimentation and ongoing critical reflection.

This international conference will review the recent proliferation of different types of ‘eco-city’ frameworks around the world. It will include the launch of a report drawing on a three-year multi-centre programme of Leverhulme Trust-funded research, and presentations from a series of leading international policy-makers and practitioners.

The event is open to all, and free of charge, so please feel free to circulate to any colleagues who you think may be interested in attending.

To see the final programme and book a place, please visit our Eventbrite page at: goo.gl/LdN34e