Sharing Cities - A Case for Truly Smart and Sustainable Cities

Professor Julian Agyeman and PhD candidate Duncan McLaren will be speaking on the potential and challenges for cities in the race towards sustainability. They will consider
Copenhagen as one place where a new sharing paradigm is emerging, alongside cities such as Seoul, Medellin and San Francisco.

How could sharing shift values and norms, enable civic engagement and political activism, and rebuild a shared urban commons? This question is explored by Agyeman and McLaren in their upcoming book - and it will be a focal point at this lecture.

The event is moderated by Professor Jens Hoff from the Department of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen.

Julian Agyeman Ph.D. FRSA is a Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. He is the originator of the concept of ‘just sustainabilities,‘ the full integration of social justice and sustainability, defined as: the need to ensure a better quality of life for all, now and into the future, in a just and equitable manner, whilst living within the limits of supporting ecosystems. As an ecologist/biogeographer turned environmental social scientist, he has both a science and social science background.

Duncan McLaren, part-time PhD student at Lancaster University and part time freelance consultant and researcher, holds Masters level degrees in geography, environmental policy and business administration. Research interests include cities, climate change, energy and geo-engineering, with a particular focus on issues of justice arising in these areas and the consequences for policy. Previously he worked for many years in environmental research and advocacy in the UK and internationally, most recently as Chief Executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland from 2003 until 2011.

The lecture is hosted by the Sustainability Science Center in collaboration with COSI (Copenhagen Sustainability Initiative).