Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

This page intentionally left blank.

This page intentionally left blank.

Transitioning to sustainability will be a collective, adaptive, and uncertain endeavor. In order to identify “problem-driven research” topics critical to sustainability, the National Academies Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability (see Appendix C) has regularly helped organize workshops to convene diverse stakeholders and discuss the role that science and technology can play in addressing these challenges.

In 2007, the National Academies hosted the first Federal Sustainability Research and Development (R&D) Forum, which focused on federal R&D on ecosystem services and biofuels. Based on the success of this initial event and input from various stakeholders, a second forum was organized to again engage federal researchers, this time focusing on urbanization, with the additional goal of engaging leading academic and private researchers to be part of the conversation. The rationale was that metropolitan regions are playing, and will continue to play, an important role in addressing climate change and many other sustainability challenges. The federal government can support these place-based efforts, but sub-national actors will necessarily lead the way in making communities more sustainable.

A committee was appointed by the National Research Council to organize a one-day workshop on September 22, 2009 in Washington, D.C. titled “Transitioning to Sustainability: The Challenge of Developing Sustainable Urban Systems.” The committee identified panel topics, invited speakers from throughout the research and development “chain”, and developed the agenda. Prior to the workshop, National Academies’ staff solicited brief descriptions of notable urban sustainability R&D programs within academia and the federal government (Appendix D).

The workshop was not designed to be a standalone, singular activity, but the beginning of a more sustained conversation between federal agencies, the research enterprise (broadly defined), and decision makers dealing with on-the-ground sustainability challenges in metropolitan regions of the United States. As a new domestic urban agenda begins to unfold in the months and years ahead, it will be critical to learn not only from our own experience but also from the urban experience in other countries and to understand the trends and challenges posed by urbanization on a global scale. We not only live in an urban nation, but we also live in an urban world. That is why the

organizers of this workshop hoped that this event would set the stage for an international workshop on urban systems in 2010. That being said, the agenda was structured in the hopes of using this initial workshop to identify opportunities for deeper collaboration, more effective dissemination, and assessing gaps in our current knowledge of urban systems.

In addition to the planning committee, the workshop benefitted from the input of many federal agency representatives, through phone conversations and e-mails. Jack Kaye and Teresa Fryberger (NASA), Chuck Kent and Danielle Arigoni (EPA), Jerry Dion (DOE), Rich Pouyat and Rob Doudrick (USFS), and several others provided timely feedback leading up to the workshop. The workshop and report could not have come together without the help of many dedicated staff members as well. Pat Koshel and Kathleen McAllister were especially helpful in engaging federal agency representatives, and sharing their experiences from the 2007 Federal Sustainability R&D Forum, precursor to the 2009 workshop summarized in this report.

This summary has been prepared by the rapporteurs as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop. The planning committee’s role was limited to planning and convening the workshop. The statements made in this volume do not necessarily represent positions of the workshop participants, the Roundtable, or the National Academies.

This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies’ Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for quality and objectivity. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.

We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Lawrence Baker, University of Minnesota; Nancy Cantor, Syracuse University; Margaret Davidson, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Bruce Hamilton, National Science Foundation; and Carl Shapiro, U.S. Geological Survey.

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the report, nor did they see the final draft before its release. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authors and the institution.

Daniel Schaffer and Derek Vollmer, Rapporteurs

This page intentionally left blank.