NEXT ECO-CITY // Emergent Urban Symposium

The University of Washington's Landscape Architecture Department is hosting the "Emergent Urban Symposium" this Thursday. Much of what will be discussed is at the heart of today's discourse on urban sustainability, particularly the symposium's emphasis on interconnectedness, contingency (as a response to complexity and uncertainty), the importance of planning at multiple scales and environmental resilience. Below is the description from their website.

Urban environments worldwide are in the midst of multiple shifts, driven by interconnected flows in capital, people, and resources at local, regional and global scales. It impacts not only cities but also the network of social and ecological systems well beyond their borders. In contrast to the complexity of today's urbanization, the concept of the "Eco-City", arguably dating back to the ideal of the 19th Century Garden City, seems like an overly simplistic and utopian vision. Yet, the imagery and language of an idealized "Eco-City" continue to shape the planning and design of contemporary cities while disregarding the vital complexity of contemporary urban conditions and issues. This symposium will examine today's multifaceted urban environment in order to explore emerging theories and practices that will enable us to address these critical issues. Specifically, it investigates three areas of knowledge and practices: emergent ecologies, emergent cities, and emergent tactics.

Emerging Ecologies
While early attempts to conceptualize urban ecological conditions primarily focused on traditional ecological methods and subjects, a new paradigm is emerging that embraces the complexity and uncertainty associated with coupled human/natural systems. This session explores the relationships between environment, equity, economy, and design in our rapidly urbanizing world.

Emerging CitiesThis session examines the dynamics and implications of rapid urban growth in the emerging mega-cities of the global south. Critically engaging issues of environmental resilience and social equity as they relate to urban form at multiples scales, it explores the present and potential evolution of design, technology, policy and practice in these contexts.

Emerging TacticsThis session focuses on new approaches to remaking the urban environment that are distinct from the paradigm of master planning and conventional practice of design. It examines how seeing the urban landscape as a set of systemic and interactive matrices with interconnected and spontaneous possibilities can inspire new approaches and methods in design and implementation.