DRIFT-Symposium: Addressing climate change in the era of urban transformations

 
How can we enhance cities’ resilience against climate change impacts – and how can this resilience contribute to broader urban transformations towards sustainability and resilience? On September 6, we organise a DRIFT-symposium to address and discuss these topics. Join the dialogue and register now!
 
The symposium aims to bring different perspectives on urban transformations and climate change together up for discussion. We will have the opportunity to discuss how these two macro-level developments connect, and shape the future of cities: climate change that impacts infrastructures, services, people and ecosystems in unprecedented ways and transformations in socio-economic and ecological functions and flows that radically change the ways of living and organizing cities.
 
Cities provide opportunities for delivering effective climate action that directly ​responds to the sources of emissions and climate-related vulnerabilities, while decreasing air pollution, strengthening local communities and polishing public spaces. At the same time, cities provide the place and space for urban agents of change to take action, to link and find ways to trial with new solutions and new approaches that alter the ways of organizing, governing, planning, living and working. In this way, enhancing cities’ resilience against climate change impacts can contribute to broader urban transformations towards sustainability and resilience.
 
Line-up
During the DRIFT-symposium, scientific and policy experts give impulses about how they approach resilience against climate change in the context of urban transformations.
 
Niki Frantzeskaki is Professor of Urban Sustainability Transitions at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. She researches contemporary sustainability transitions in cities and their governance across Europe, USA, Brazil and in developing countries like Vanuatu, and Ghana. Timon McPhearson is Associate Professor of Urban Ecology and Director of the Urban Systems Lab at The New School in New York City. His work focuses urban resilience and the role of ecosystems as nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation in cities. Arnould Molenaar is the City of Rotterdam’s Chief Resilience Officer. His work revolves around the formulation and implementation of the city’s integrative and long-term resilience strategy, for example by pushing for international knowledge transfer and opening up opportunities for experimentation.
 
The symposium will offer the opportunity for open dialogue on these pressing issues while engaging with state-of-the-art research on the issues of climate change and urban transformations.
 
Programme
 
9:00 – 9:30 Walk-in
 
9:30 – 9:40 Setting the scene: a transformation perspective on climate change and climate governance
 
Niki Frantzeskaki, Swinburg University of Melbourne, Melbourne (Australia)
 
9:40 – 09:55 Impulse 1: Climate change resilience: Getting realistic about what is needed for urban transformations
 
Timon McPhearson, Urban Systems Lab, The New School, New York City (USA)
 
09:55 – 10:10 Impulse 2: Getting everyone on board: resilience from a policy officers perspective.
 
Arnoud Molenaar, Chief Resilience Officer, City of Rotterdam (The Netherlands) (tbc)
 
10:10 – 11:00 Discussion: What do we need for facilitating urban transformations under climate change?
 
Chair: Niki Frantzeskaki
 
More information
The DRIFT-symposium takes place on September 6, 2019 from 9:30 until 11.00 in the Erasmus Education Lab (Ground Floor Polak Building – Erasmus University Rotterdam). Please note that the room has 35 seating places, but has plenty of spaces to stand! If you want to secure a seat, please be in time.
 
Participation to the DRIFT-symposium is free of charge, but we kindly ask you to register here.