Urban System Dynamics, Experiments, and Sustainability Transition

Urbanization is one of the most significant societal transformations unfolding today. By 2050, more than 70% of the world population will be living in cities, with the vast majority of the world population growth to be added to cities in developing regions, where cities are rapidly expanding and many new cities are yet to be built.

Urbanization is a multi-facetted process with profound social, economic and environmental changes, but at the same time presents unique window of opportunity for achieving sustainability.

Focusing on Asia, and China in particular, this talk will explore the drivers and impacts of urbanization, the temporal and spatial dynamics of cities as complex socio-ecological systems, the notion of rapid urbanization and innovative urban practices as experimentations, and their roles in sustainability transition.

About Xuemei Bai
Xuemei Bai is a Professor of Urban Environment and Human Ecology at Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University. With background in science and engineering, and working experience in ecological and environmental research institutes, her current research focuses on understanding the structure, function and processes of urban social ecological systems; the social, environmental and ecosystem consequences and drivers of urbanization; urban material and energy flows; urban governance in a global environment; urban system innovation, and sustainability transition and transformation.

She served as the Vice Chair of IHDP (International Human Dimensional Program of Global Environmental Change) Science Committee, and is a member of Science Committee of Future Earth. 

Read Xuemei's post on Future Earth Blog here