The call for papers is out and registrants and sponsors are signing up to participate in the April 1-3 International Conference on Sustainable Urbanism at Texas A&M University’s Memorial Student Center. Themed “Squaring Off: A New Paradigm in Urban Change,” the event is expected to draw a diverse and international crowd, according to conference organizers with the hosting organizations, the Texas A&M College of Architecture and its Center for Housing and Urban Development (CHUD).

Focusing on interdisciplinary solutions to issues related to the built environment, conference topics will include land use and urban design, social and economic justice and accessibility, infrastructure and transportation networks, globalization and the changing world, to name but a few.

“An interdisciplinary approach is crucial to providing flexible and adaptive solutions to the complex problems facing our cities and the leaders who shape and govern them, said Jorge Vanegas, the director of the Center for Housing and Urban Development who is co-chairing the conference with Texas A&M urban planning professor Michael Neuman. “We anticipate diverse attendance from an international community because the issues have far-reaching affects around the world.”

The first day of the conference will focus on sustainability-related themes, including: transportation: modal mixes and pedestrian movement; efficient power production and network distribution; use of on-site resources such as water, wind and sun; conservation of  land, energy and materials; bio-diversity and ecological processes; self-sufficiency and on-site, off-grid methods; industrial ecology; social equity and environmental justice; and economic prosperity via sustainable production and practices.

The second-day sessions focus on urbanism, with themes including: placemaking, configuration and scale; interspersion of activities and mixes of use; processes that shape the built urban environment; density and form of the built urban environment; landscape urbanism and green infrastructures; infrastructures and utilities; urban agriculture and food security; eco-design, green architecture, and building technology; globalization and its effects on urban sustainability; and reciprocal relationship between global warming and urbanization.

For additional details or to register, visit the conference Web site at:
http://capso.tamu.edu/sustainable-urbanism/