How research can help build cleaner, greener cities
What does the drinking water crisis in Flint Michigan tell us about our own urban water security? How can we create low carbon, climate resilient cities? How will electric vehicles transform our everyday lives and economic activities?
The McMaster and Hamilton communities are invited to explore these questions and more at Climate Change and Environment: Navigating from Risk to Resilience, the final event in the Big Ideas, Better Cities series.
From April 18-22, 2016, join McMaster, local and international experts for a range of conferences and activities that explore how research can help cities respond to the threat of climate change and help build greener, more sustainable communities locally and around the world.
Events include conferences and talks on a range of climate-related issues by McMaster researchers and leading experts, an Environmental Crawl featuring tours and demonstrations in labs across campus, a bike tour with community leaders and researchers that explores some of the environmentally significant sites across Hamilton, and a discussion on the future of Hamilton’s waterfront.
LEARN MORE OR REGISTER FOR EVENTS
*Big Ideas, Better Cities is a year-long series of public and community-based events featuring renowned McMaster and international experts from a wide range of disciplines coming together to explore ways to build smart, healthy, creative cities.
This series of events is funded through Forward with Integrity and involves more than 60 McMaster researchers campus-wide. Each event is being organized by a team of interdisciplinary researchers and is the result of consultations within the University community and with City of Hamilton officials.
Events include:
Conferences:
Spring Water Forum
Monday April 18, 2016 @ 12:00 p.m.
The water crisis in Flint, Michigan– Hamilton’s sister city – highlights the impacts of drinking water uncertainty on public health.
McMaster and international experts will discuss this issue and more at the 3rd Annual Spring Water Forum: Navigating from Risk to Resilience. Explore some of the most pressing water-related challenges facing cities today and learn more about how the latest research is helping communities develop paths to urban water security.
This event features Yana Lambrinidou (Affiliate faculty in Science and Technology at Virginia Tech) who will share insights from the prize-winning Virginia Tech research team that uncovered the drinking water crisis in Flint Michigan and Patrick Ray (Research Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Massachusetts) who will discuss how advances in sustainable water resource development can help communities manage water security risks presented by climate change.
Low Carbon, Climate Resilient Cities
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Increasingly, cities are developing ways to respond to and adapt to the threat of climate change.
“Low Carbon, Climate Resilient Cities” will bring together researchers, city managers, the businesses community, government and non-governmental organizations to explore this issue and build collaborations aimed at transforming cities into smart, low carbon communities.
The keynote speaker for this event will be the Glen Murray, Ontario Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, who will talk about initiatives related to climate change currently underway at the Province.
The Critical Role for Electric Mobility
Wednesday April 20, 2016
How are advances in electric vehicles helping to build clean, sustainable and more livable cities?
Join leading McMaster, national and international experts for “The Critical Role for Electric Mobility,” a one-day conference aimed at exploring how electric vehicles are poised to transform our everyday lives, impact our economic activities and help re-shape our cities locally and around the world.
Big Ideas, Better Waterfront
Friday, April 22, 2016
McMaster and the City of Hamilton, will host a day-long discussion on the future of Hamilton’s waterfront. Join leading experts from Hamilton and beyond to explore McMaster’s role in the planning and the boundaries of the waterfront.
Activities:
Hamilton Bike Tour: The Rolling Green Seminar
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Spend an afternoon cycling the city with community leaders and McMaster experts to explore some of the environmentally significant sites across the city and learn more about the initiatives currently underway to help preserve and restore Hamilton’s natural environment.
During the tour, participants will hear from community and municipal leaders, including Ward 3 Councillor, Mathew Green, on a variety of issues and will make a number of stops including selected sites in East Hamilton, the Hamilton Bayfront, McMaster’s Lot Mand the Dundas EcoPark.
McMaster Environmental Crawl
Thursday April 21, 2016
Go behind the scenes and see first-hand how McMaster researchers are making the discoveries that are helping to build more environmentally sustainable cities.
Join us for the McMaster Environmental Crawl and tour some of the labs and research spaces on campus where environmental and climate change research is taking place.
The crawl will begin at the McMaster University Student Centre (MUSC) and will include demonstrations, short presentations and posters featuring some of the groundbreaking climate and environment-related research currently underway at McMaster.
