1st Sustainable Tropical Urbanism Symposium: Tropical cities in a warming world

Event Synopsis

The world’s urban population surpassed the rural population for the first time in 2007, reflecting a global shift from agriculture to manufacturing, services, and finance. The urbanisation process is so intense that by 2050 two-third of the world’s population will live in cities. The growth of tropical cities is a key component in this shift. Indeed, tropical urbanisation grew from 31% in 1980 to 45% in 2010. In Southeast Asia alone, urban dwellers increased from 110 million to 360 million over the same period and almost 50% of people now live in urban environments.

While the future of tropical cities is diverse, malleable, and creative – reflecting an increasingly connected and global world – under-regulated urban growth can result in inefficient, inequitable and unsustainable urban environments. As we expect big changes in cities, we also need big changes in city planning, design, and urban lifestyles, along with changes that can address climatic, environmental, and socio-economic challenges.

James Cook University’s Tropical Urbanism and Design Lab (TUDLab) and Centre for International  Trade and Business in Asia (CITBA) welcome contributions to an interdisciplinary symposium on tropical cities which will take part at our Singapore campus on 27 September 2019.

Contributions are invited from academic researchers, practicing planners and architects, public artists, local government officers, students in urban planning and design and anyone interested in understanding tropical cities. Themes include but are not limited to:

How tropical cities respond to climate in an era of climate change

• Designing cities, towns and communities to cope with climate change
• Sustainable green and blue infrastructure in tropical cities
• Disaster management and resilience
• Transport and mobility in a tropical environment
• Urban farming

Creation/curation of tropical space and place

• Planning to include cultural diversity in rapid urbanising tropical cities
• Social and planning policy development
• Liveability and sustainability of public space in tropical cities
• Sport and well-being in tropical cities
• Sustainable heritage conservation in the tropics
• Sustainable urban tourism in tropical cities and its impact on the built environment
• Pop-up and temporary architecture as enablers of active public space
• The economic benefits of good design
• Healthy spaces

Methods for tropical urban research

• Field studies in tropical environments
• Participatory design techniques
• Urban photography and sketching