Cities in Future Earth conference starts today

With climate change and a growing urban population, what will our future cities look like? And how should we shape cities to better deal with our changing planet? These are just some of the big questions being discussed at a two-day conference being held at the Australian Academy of Science.

The Cities in Future Earth conference will bring together leaders in the fields of sustainability, environment, climate change and urban planning to explore the future of urbanisation on the planet.

Program highlights will include:

• Role of cities in global development, Professor Will Steffen, Climate Change Institute, ANU
• Urban responses to global change, Professor Jean Palutikof, Director, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Griffith University
• The future of cities: living within planetary boundaries, Professor Barbara Norman, Foundation Chair, Urban and Regional Planning, University of Canberra
• A presentation on the international Future Earth initiative, Dr Mark Stafford-Smith, Chair, Future Earth Science Committee

This is the third conference in the Australian Outlook series, part of the Australian strategic plan for Earth System Science.

You can follow the conference by following the Academy's twitter account: @science_academy or via #futurecities14. You can also watch the conference via the Academy’s livestream.

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