Overview

The 11th International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability addresses all aspects of the urban environment, aiming to provide solutions leading towards sustainability. The Sustainable City 2016 Conference follows a series of very successful meetings that started in Rio (2000), followed by Segovia (2002), Siena (2004), Tallinn (2006), Skiathos (2008), A Coruña (2010), Ancona (2012), Kuala Lumpur (2013), Siena (2014) and Medellin (2015).

The Conference addresses the multidisciplinary aspects of urban planning; a result of the increasing size of the cities; the amount of resources and services required and the complexity of modern society. Most of earth’s population now lives in cities and the process of urbanisation still continues generating many problems deriving from the drift of the population towards them. These problems can be resolved by cities becoming efficient habitats, saving resources in a way that improves the quality and standard of living. The process however, faces a number of major challenges, related to reducing pollution, improving main transportation and infrastructure systems. New urban solutions are required to optimise the use of space and energy resources leading to improvements in the environment, ie reduction in air, water and soil pollution as well as efficient ways to deal with waste generation. These challenges contribute to the development of socialand economic imbalances and require the development of new solutions. Large cities are probably the most complex mechanisms to manage. However, despite such complexity they represent a fertile ground for architects, engineers, city planners, social and political scientists, and other professionals able to conceive new ideas and time them according to technological advances and human requirements.

The challenge of planning sustainable cities lies in considering their dynamics, the exchange of energy and matter, and the function and maintenance of ordered structures directly or indirectly, supplied and maintained by natural systems.

Conference Topics:

The following list covers some of the topics to be presented at Sustainable City 2016. Papers on other subjects related to the objectives of the conference are also welcome.

Urban strategies
Urban planning and design
Urban development and management
Urban conservation and regeneration
The community and the city
Eco-town planning
Landscape planning and design
Environmental management
Sustainable energy and the city
Transportation
Quality of life
Socio-economic and political considerations
Cultural quarters and interventions
Waterfront development
Case studies – sustainable practices
Architectural issues
Cultural heritage issues
Appropriate technologies for smart cities
Planning for resilience
Disaster and emergency response
Urban safety and security
Waste management
Urban infrastructure
Urban metabolism