Deadline for call for papers: Feb 28. Read call here.

The major challenge facing this and the next generation of architects, planners and builders is how to develop land use patterns that respond to the demands of the post-carbon age and provide a high quality of life for future generations. How our profession adapts to the need for reducing dependency on fossil fuels and contributes to the use of new technologies and approaches to planning and development that foster sustainability is critically important and will be the focus of this year’s SCUPAD Congress.

To date, much has been learned about how global warming will adversely affect our present way of life and many strategies have been developed on how to reduce our ecological footprint. Specifically, many examples exist on how cities and regions can adjust patterns of consumption, eliminate waste, become more energy-efficient and become independent of fossil fuels. As well, many have been exploring alternative energy sources, ranging from tapping geo-thermal sources of energy to harnessing the ebb and flow of tidal changes, wind and solar energy. Some corporations have begun to adapt techniques of production and the design of products that both reduce the consumption of natural resources and eliminate the production of waste. We have the knowledge of how to change, but the challenge lies in stimulating political leadership to implement these changes rapidly.

Recognizing the fact that planning and development has a profound impact on our environment, the SCUPAD 2008 Congress will explore the following issues and their synergistic interrelationships:

• Developing planning strategies that recognize and adapt to rising temperatures, higher sea levels and more erratic weather conditions
• Developing transportation and circulation strategies that reduce the dependence on fossil fuels yet move people and goods efficiently
• Developing land use strategies that respond to new cradle-to-cradle production methodologies, providing needed goods and services without depleting our natural capital
• Planning, designing and developing green buildings and green communities that reflect new patterns of production and consumption.

Maintaining the quality of life achieved by some, while enabling others to achieve a comparable lifestyle without contributing to a further deterioration of our natural environment is a key challenge. In doing so, it is important to consider how to:

• Dramatically reduce poverty and hunger
• Adapt to changes in consumption and production patterns
• Reduce and/or accommodate increasingly larger numbers of environmental refugees displaced by famine, floods and/or the need for food, water and employment
• Engage the affected populations in the process of change and adaptation

SCUPAD will draw on the broad knowledge and experiences of Congress participants to debate and examine the strategies used by governments and communities to address the opportunities and challenges we face. In addition to a prominent keynoter, participants will be exposed to several case studies from diverse regions and cities that have started to implement plans/projects for the carbon neutral age. The Congress will also convene three working groups focusing on changes in urban economies, mobility and justice, and multifunctional development patterns as they relate to the post-carbon world. Congress participants will be asked to develop an agenda to better equip our profession to adapt to a post-carbon society.