Highlights from the IoES Urban Sustainability in North American Cities Symposium

Decision-makers, researchers, and UCLA faculty and students participated in the conference held Feb. 26 at UCLA.

Speaker biographies, presentations, video and audio recordings of the afternoon panels are available at www.environment.ucla.edu/city-symposium

The IoES, Canadian Studies at UCLA, and California Center for Sustainable Communities hosted conference commenced with a stimulating panel discussion with L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former Mayor of Toronto David Miller revealing what a Mayor can do to green a city.  

Researchers, public officials, legislative representatives, nonprofit organizations, and business executives traded best practices and information about the latest studies on energy, water, mobility, and public health in urban areas across North America during the afternoon sessions. This knowledge-exchange created an opportunity to analyze what this research actually means for cities that want to implement the findings, improve sustainability, and reduce their carbon footprint.  

Much of the work highlighted was research conducted by the California Center for Sustainable Communities–a statewide University of California collaboration that is housed at the IoES and staffed by faculty and scientists at the Institute.  Researchers from California, Colorado, Arizona, and Canada participated, as did public officials from the City of Los Angeles, the California Air Resources Board, the State Water Resources Control Board, the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, and the Strategic Growth Council.  Thanks to sponsorship by the Canadian Studies Program, David Miller was able to join this portion of the event and present his efforts to improve transportation and reduce carbon emissions in Toronto as Chairman of the C40 Cities.  

Published: Wednesday, March 13, 2013