The aim of "Resilience, adaptation and transformation in turbulent times - preparing for change in social-ecological systems" is to bring together scientists working with the complex dynamics of interconnected social-ecological systems and to present, discuss, and if possible, summarise the current understanding of resilience, adaptability and pathways of transformation in such systems. Representatives from government, business and other major actors will be invited to discuss the challenges facing societal development, and together with scientists propose directions to go and pathways to avoid.

Centre for Cities director Dermot Finch argues: If the [UK] government focused its energies on creating denser, more carbon-friendly eco-quarters in existing cities, the economic benefits over the long term would outweigh the initial costs. It's the magic formula of higher density, good public transport links, and easy access to jobs that profits both city residents and the wider economy.

The Cochise County (Ariz.) Board of Supervisors has approved what is a first in the state - an amendment to the zoning regulations that stipulates water availability within any subdivision has to meet Arizona Department of Water Resources criteria for 100-year adequacy. Any proposed subdivision that cannot prove water adequacy will be denied.

Many communities want to foster economic growth, protect environmental resources, enhance public health, and plan for development, but may lack the tools, resources, and information to achieve their goals. In response to this demand, EPA developed the Smart Growth Implementation Assistance (SGIA) Program.

Energy-efficient houses are the law in Freiburg, Germany; new regulations may require that new houses waste no more than 40kWh/m2 per year. Residents cycle and recycle, and the designs of two eco-developments - Vauban and Rieselfeld - are meant to make personal automobiles unnecessary. Solar panels on roofs bring in income for residents - it's all part of a green ethic built on decades of political will and citizen involvement.

No city today can function efficiently without public transport. Indeed the development of public transport is a prerequisite for sustainable urban development. It is all the more critical in the light of growing urbanization, air quality concerns, peak oil, and climate change.

Clearly an across-the-board reduction in CO2 production will require a more carbon-efficient relationship between transportation and land use, and in the industry and infrastructure that support them. If 60 percent of new development were compact as opposed to conventional sprawl, the total aggregate reduction in national CO2 production over trend would be in the order of 10 percent. This change in the trend, in combination with stringent fuel economy standards, would be sufficient to lower aggregate GHG production attributable to cars and trucks to below 1990 levels. Perhaps of more importance, it would set in place an urban infrastructure far less dependent on the automobile and consequently more resilient to future disruptions in the energy supply.

The Brisbane (Australia) City Council's Climate Change and Energy Taskforce report, released on 12 March 2007, included 31 recommendations across eight strategy areas having to do with how this large, coastal, sub-tropical city can face the challenges of climate change and peak oil.

The compact, walkable neighborhood built around public transit rather than the private car has long been one of the ideals of new urbanism. Now significant new research confirms with hard numbers the advantage of transit-oriented development over conventional suburbia. With the United States in the midst of a light-rail building boom, it’s a great time to be finding this out.

A report by Edward J. Blakely for the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Urban Planning for Climate Change provides advice on planning for cities' uncertain futures as they are shaped by global climate change. His first-hand experience as the Executive Director of Recovery Management provides illuminating examples of the kinds of issues that today's cities face.