Urbanization and Global Environmental Changes (UGEC) Project

Urbanization and Global Environmental Changes (UGEC) Project International Project Office for the Urbanization and Global Environmental Changes (UGEC) Project The Urbanization and Global Environmental Change (UGEC) project was launched by International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP) on Global Environmental Change in 2005. The following year, the International Project Office (IPO) was established at Arizona State University to coordinate and facilitate the work of the project. For the last three years, the UGEC project IPO has been building an expanded international network of scholars and practitioners that work at the interface of urban areas and global environmental change. The interdisciplinary approach adopted by the project has been essential for an increased understanding of the complex interactions between global environmental change and urban processes, promoting collaboration among academics and policymakers as urban areas prepare to respond to global environmental change. With the assistance of the IPO, knowledge originally developed within disciplinary boundaries of social sciences, engineering sciences, planning, natural and health sciences has begun to successfully integrate into a new Urbanization and Global Environmental Change field. This proposal asks the National Science Foundation to partner with ASU and the IHDP to help support these activities. UGEC has benefited significantly from its collaborative relationship with the Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS) at ASU, host of the IPO for the last three years. Continuing this relationship will allow an already dynamic IPO to proceed in the task of promoting a new generation of urbanization and global environmental change research by connecting research to public policy. Guided by the UGEC Scientific Steering Committee (SSC), its Projects Associates and GIOS, the IPO will continue to promote and coordinate the discussion and dissemination of research outcomes seeking to improve our current conceptual and methodological frameworks to better understand the interactions between urban areas and global environmental processes. In addition to further developing the scientific agenda of the project, the IPO will continue to facilitate connections between research and public policy by organizing international workshops and conferences and using communication tools such as a listserv, newsletter, and website. The associated ASU researchsupport group will assist in increasing the connections between US-based networks of UGEC scholars and practitioners with their international counterparts. By engaging urban practitioners, decision makers, and stakeholders, the IPO will generate an active, collaborative dialogue among members of the UGEC network on both a national and international scale. Intellectual Merit. Building on strong institutional support and a history of fostering collaboration between the research and policy communities, the Project is well positioned to make significant contributions to UGEC science and policy. UGEC will specifically contribute to the process of creating new interdisciplinary knowledge by encouraging innovative conceptual and methodological approaches that link social sciences with natural science, engineering, planning, and finance. The IPO will communicate these integrative research results to decision-makers, practitioners, and other end-users at local, national, and international levels, thus linking cutting-edge academic research to public policy. Broader Impacts. This important research agenda will reach a vast network of international scientists through the outreach capabilities and networks already established by the IPO. By bringing together an everlarger and more diverse group of scholars on GEC issues, the IPO will be a key player in developing theories, strategies, and methods that effectively engage in interdisciplinary research and encourage young scientists to reach across the social-natural science divide. The Urbanization Project continues to represent an unrivalled opportunity for addressing the social, economic, and environmental