Travel, Leisure and Tourism North 2012. Chester, 24 May 2012

Posted on: 27 June 2012
By: mackene
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This event explored key issues, trends and opportunities for the visitor economy of the North of England. Presentations are available online.

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3rd European Water Conference. Brussels, 24-25 May 2012

Posted on: 27 June 2012
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This conference aimed to contribute to the preparation of the Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources (see http://www.ec.europa.eu/environment/water/blueprint). IThe event provided a platform for consultation and debate on the Blueprint policy options to deliver better implementation, integration, and completion of EU water policy, also addressing the impact assessment that will accompany the Blueprint. Videos of the proceedings are available online.

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7th ITU Symposium on ICTs, the environment and climate change. Montreal, 29-31 May 2012

Posted on: 27 June 2012
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The symposium focused on the issue of ICTs, the environment and climate change in the world and the needs for the use of ICTs to promote environmental sustainability. Topics discussed included mitigation and adaptation to climate change, e-waste management, disaster preparedness and emergency communications, cost-effective ICT technologies, methodologies for the environmental impact assessment of ICTs, challenges and opportunities in the transition to a green and resource efficient economy, among others. The symposium concluded with the Montreal Declaration which identifies possible goals, commitments and modalities of ICT sector commitments to be developed in the process leading to the 2012 ITU World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-12) and United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD 2012 or Rio+20), strengthening at the same time the collaboration between the ICT and environmental communities.

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Are zero energy buildings really zero? From operational efficiency to embodied energy and carbon. Brussels, 21 June 2012

Posted on: 27 June 2012
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This RICS half-day conference, with guest speakers and experts from the construction and building sector, real estate, policy and academia, highlighted the importance of embodied energy and carbon in the built environment and their relative importance to achieving the EU’s energy saving and carbon reduction targets.

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Resilient Cities: 3rd Global Forum on Urban Resilience & Adaptation. Bonn, 12-15 May 2012

Posted on: 21 June 2012
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This event is the global platform for learning, cooperation and networking on all aspects of urban resilience and adaptation to climate change. It is convened by ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the City of Bonn, and the World Mayors Council on Climate Change. The main themes covered were: Urban risk; Resilient building and construction; Resilient urban logistics; Financing the resilient city. A report is scheduled for release in August 2012 on the progress that has been made in key thematic areas at Resilient Cities 2012, and on the way forward towards Resilient Cities 2013. Presentations from the event are available online.

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Networked regions and cities in times of fragmentation: developing smart, sustainable and inclusive places. Delft, The Netherlands, 13-16 May 2012

Posted on: 21 June 2012
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Regions and cities are increasingly interdependent; economically, socially and environmentally. Patterns of interactions between regions are experiencing rapid changes as a result of dramatic shifts in production and consumption patterns, advances in communication technologies and the development of transport infrastructure. These changes pose many challenges for the analysis and management of regions. At the same time, regions are becoming increasingly fragmented in many ways. Classic forms of government based on clear-cut arrangements between administrative levels, policy sectors and the public and private domain are no longer sufficient. The result is a complex pattern of overlapping governance and fuzzy boundaries, not just in a territorial sense but also in terms of the role of both public and private actors. The 2012 RSA conference provided a timely opportunity for participants to come together and reflect on the various strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities of networked cities and regions within these different contexts of fragmentation. Papers presented at the conference are available online.

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Re-mixing the city: Towards sustainability and resilience. Vienna, 14-16 May 2012

Posted on: 21 June 2012
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REAL CORP conferences are held annually since 1996. About 500 experts from around the world from the fields of urban planning, transport planning, information and communication technologies, architecture, social and environmental sciences, real estate, GIS, surveying and remote sensing and more meet to discuss current tasks and topics on urban planning, regional development and information society in an international and extremely interdisciplinary conference. It is possible to research the archive of all papers presented since 1996 here.

Cities worldwide are facing rapid social, economic, environmental, technological and cultural changes such as: rapid urbanisation, aging of society, security issues, housing emergency, new solutions on mobility, integration of immigrants, food and water shortage, etc. Especially in times of economic crisis and demographic changes in cities, it is necessary to think about how to best handle what we have, and therefore “RE-MIXING THE CITY” is a challenge to manage and re-combine the elements which make our modern cities in order to better respond to change. This event offered the possibility to collectively discuss a wide range of topics in different panel groups and workshops. Questions considered included:

Can “mixed cities” be more sustainable and resilient?

Time-space patterns of the 24/7 city?

Is it the purpose of spatial planning to “sort land uses in space”?

Do the urban patterns and structure of our cities still meet the needs of the people in their everyday life?

How do urban, transport and environmental technologies and solutions shape our cities?

Does and can migration re-mix the city?

What is the role of urban planning in these processes?

A large number of presentations and papers are available online.

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Summit for Sustainability in Africa. Gabarone, Botswana, 24-25 May 2012

Posted on: 20 June 2012
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The aim of this event was to demonstrate how African nations and their investment partners understand, manage and value natural capital. The Summit saw the endorsement of the Gaborone Declaration by ten African countries and numerous public and private sector partners from within and outside Africa. The Declaration presents a set of concrete principles and development goals that soundly move the value of natural capital from the periphery to the center of development planning. This document and videos of speeches are available online.

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20th International Annual Conference of Climate Alliance. St.Gallen, Switzerland, 23-26 May 2012

Posted on: 20 June 2012
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This event considered measures and projects for climate protection at the local level. Presentations are available online.

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Rio+20 Conference. Rio, 20-22 June 2012

Posted on: 19 June 2012
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The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) was held to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), in Rio de Janeiro, and the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg.  The Rio+20 Conference is envisaged as a Conference at the highest possible level, including Heads of State and Government or other representatives. The Conference will result in a focused political document. The preparations for Rio+20 have highlighted seven areas which need priority attention; these include decent jobs, energy, sustainable cities, food security and sustainable agriculture, water, oceans and disaster readiness.

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