Ecological Urbanism @ Harvard

ECOLOGICAL URBANISM: Alternative and Sustainable Cities of the Future
Conference at Harvard University Graduate School of Design
April 3 - 5, 2009

With the aim of projecting alternative and sustainable forms of urbanism, the forthcoming conference will ask: What are the key principles of an ecological urbanism? How might they be organized? And what role might design and planning play in the process?

While climate change, sustainable architecture, and green technologies have become
increasingly topical, issues surrounding the sustainability of the city are much less
developed. The conference is organized around the premise that an ecological approach
is urgently needed both as a remedial device for the contemporary city and an organizing
principle for new cities. An ecological urbanism represents a more holistic approach than
is generally the case with urbanism today, demanding alternative ways of thinking and
designing.

The conference will bring together design practitioners and theorists, economists,
engineers, environmental scientists, politicians and public health specialists, with the goal
of reaching a more robust understanding of ecological urbanism and what it might be in
the future.

The keynote talk will be Rem Koolhaas and Homi Bhabha in conversation, moderated by Sanford Kwinter. More infos at http://ecologicalurbanism.gsd.harvard.edu/