2025 APRU SCL Conference

The Eighth Annual APRU Sustainable Cities & Landscapes Conference and Student Symposium took place in Vancouver, BC in partnership with the Simon Fraser University. This event gathered over 130 registered participants from15 APRU member institutions, including 55 students, along with researchers, practitioners, and community partners from across the Pacific Rim. Guided by the theme “Living with Water across the Pacific Rim”, the conference explored water as a powerful connector across climate adaptation, energy systems, food security, ecosystems, and livelihoods - while emphasizing justice, equity, and Indigenous-led sustainability approaches.

• Six UO students participated in the conference, presenting their research.
• Three UO faculty members attended, with two leading working groups.
• Two UO staff member attended to support conference planning.

2025 Working Groups:

• Water and Wastewater, led by Dr. Kory Russel and Dr. Zafar Adeel
• Climate Justice & Community Resilience, led by Dr. Chingwen Cheng and Dr. Maya Gislason
• Smart Urban Technologies,
• Landscape & Human Health, led by Dr. Tzuhui Angie Tseng and Dr. Shih-Han Hung
• Civic Engagement & Community Design, led by Dr. Jeff Hou and Dr. Mari Fujita
• Urban Landscape Biodiversity, led by Dr. Fei Mo, Dr. Sohyun Park, and Dr. Chaeri Kim
• Regional Water Infrastructure, led by Dr. Anne Taufen and Dr. Meg Holden
• Renewable Energy Systems & Landscapes, led by Dr. Yekang Ko, Dr. Nicholas Pevzner, and Dr. Taco Niet
• Age Friendly Cities and Communities, led by Dr. Alex Li and Dr. Mei Lan Fang
• Future Regenerative & Differential Cities, led by Dr. Manfredo Manfredini

2024 APRU SCL Conference

The Seventh Annual APRU Sustainable Cities & Landscapes Conference and Student Symposium took place in Manila, Philippines, in partnership with the University of the Philippines Los Baños. This event gathered 219 registered participants from 10 economies, which helped build on our initiatives for international collaboration on sustainable urban development and environmental resilience.

• Three UO students participated in the conference, presenting their research.
• Three UO faculty members attended, with two leading working groups.
• One UO staff member attended to support conference planning.

2024 Working Groups:

• Future Energy Landscapes and Smart Cities, led by Dr. Alessandro Premier, Dr. Mohsen Mohammadzadeh, Dr. Edgar M. Reyes Jr., and Dr. Casper B. Agaton
• Civic Engagement and Community Design, led by Professor Jeff Hou and Dr. Efraim D. Roxas
• Urban Waterfronts, led by Dr. Anne Taufen Kyle Pierre R. Israel
• Urban-Rural Linkages, led by Dr. Yizhao Yhang Edwin R. Abucay
• Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Justice, led by Dr. Chingwen, Cheng Almira Geles L. De Mesa, and Dr. Joan Pauline P. Talubo
• Urban Landscape Biodiversity, led by Dr. Gail A. Langellotto and Dr. Ma. Catriona E. Devanadera
• Water and Waste Management, led by Dr. Samad Sepasgozar, Dr. Sheila B. Austero Janssen, and Andrew S. Calvelo
• Food and Nutrition Security, led Dr. Jennifer Marie S. and Amparo Dr. Aileen R. de Juras

2023 APRU SCL Conference

The Sixth Annual APRU Sustainable Cities & Landscapes Conference and Student Symposium was held in Quito, Ecuador, and San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos, in partnership with Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ). The event welcomed 65 participants from 17 economies. 

• Four UO students attended the conference to present their research.
• Three UO faculty members participated, with two leading working groups.
• One UO staff member attended to support conference planning.

2023 Working Groups:

• Energy and Climate Justice, led by Dr. Chingwen Cheng
• Sustainable Urban Design, led by Natalia Echeverri
• Urban Biodiversity, led by Bart Johnson and Fei Mo
• Water and Wastewater, led by Dr. Kory Russel and Dr. Valerie O. Herrera

2022 APRU SCL Conference 

The first in-person Annual Conference since COVID took place in beautiful Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, hosted by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. The event brought together 83 attendees from 11 countries.

• Five UO faculty members attended.

2022 Working Groups:

• Children, youth, and environments
• Civic engagement and community design
• Future energy landscapes
• Landscapes and human health
• Pandemics, humanitarian emergencies, and health
• Smart cities
• Sustainable urban design
• Urban landscape biodiversity
• Urban-rural linkages
• Vulnerable, resilient, and climate justice communities
• Water and wastewater

2020 APRU SCL Conference

The Fourth Annual Conference, hosted by the University of Auckland, was held entirely online due to COVID-19. A key highlight of the event was the student symposium, which featured presentations from 24 PhD students, showcasing their research and insights.

2020 Working Groups: 

• Children, youth, and environments
• Food nutrition security
• Future energy landscapes
• Indigenous knowledge and wisdom
• Landscape and human health
• Smart cities
• Sustainable urban design
• Transitions in urban waterfronts
• Urban-rural linkages (UO co-lead)
• Vulnerable, resilient, and climate-just communities
• Water and wastewater (UO lead)

2019 APRU SCL Conference

The Third Annual Conference, hosted by the University of New South Wales in August 2019, brought together representatives from 24 different universities.

• Four faculty members were from the University of Oregon.
• Four students from University of Oregon participated in this event.

APRU SCL launched a partnership with the Mayors Academy for Sustainable Urban Development in the Asia-Pacific. This initiative, led by the United Nations University Institute for Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) in collaboration with UNESCAP, UN-HABITAT, and United Cities and Local Governments-Asia Pacific (UCLG-ASPAC), aims to support sustainable urban development efforts. University of Oregon faculty member, SCL Working Group leader, and Steering Committee member Yizhao Yang has been actively involved in the Mayors Academy since its initial connection with the SCL program in 2019.

2019 Working Groups: 

• Sustainable urban design, led by Dr. Errol J Haarhoff and Dr. Paola Boarin
• Vulnerable communities, led by Dr. Chingwen Cheng
• Food and nutrition security, led by Dr. Robert Dyball
• Transitions in urban waterfronts, led by Dr. Anne Taufen, Dr. Ken Yocom, and Dr. Catherine Evans
• Landscape and human health, led by Dr. Chun-Yen Chang and Dr. Jiang Bin
• Urban renewable energy, led by Dr. Makena Coffman, Dr. Yekang Ko, and Dr. Kirk Dimond
• Infrastructure ecologies, led by Dr. Mathew Pryor
• Smart cities, led by Dr. Mohsen Mohammadzadeh
• Urban biodiversity, led by Dr. Caroline Dingle and Dr. Bart Johnson
• Urban-rural linkages, led by Dr. Yizhao Yang and Dr. Sara Padgett Kjaersgaard
• Water and wastewater (UO lead), led by Dr. Adam DeHeer

2018 APRU SCL Conference

The Second Annual Conference, hosted by the University of Hong Kong in September 2018, brought together over 110 attendees from across the Pacific Rim. 

• Four faculty members were from the University of Oregon.
• Six students from University of Oregon participated in this event. 

2018 Working Groups:

• Productive cities, infrastructural ecologies, led by Wang Ting and Assoc. Professor Mathew Pryor 
• City-landscape sustainability, led by Edwin Schmitt
• Urban biodiversity, led by Caroline Dingle
• Urban renewable energy, led by Professor Makena Coffman and Asst. Professor Yekang Ko 
• Sustainable urban design, led by Professor Errol J Haarhoff
• Urban water and sanitation, led by Asst. Professor Kory Russel
• Urban-rural linkages, led by Assoc. Professor Yizhao Yang and Lecturer Sara Padgett Kjaersgaard
• Transitions in urban waterfronts, led by Assoc. Professor Anne Taufen and Assoc. Professor Ken Yocom 
• Vulnerable communities, led by Professor Stephanie Pincetl, Asst. Professor Kian Goh, and Assoc. Vice Chancellor Mark Gold
• Landscape and human health, Asst. Professor Bin Jiang and Professor Chun-Yen Chang
• Smart Cities, led Dr. Mohsen Mohammadzadeh

2017 APRU SCL Conference

The First Annual Conference, held in Portland in September 2017, brought together over 120 attendees from 14 countries. Participants and delegates were welcomed by Michael H. Schill, President of the University of Oregon; Christoph Lindner, Dean of the UO College of Design; Christopher Tremewan, APRU Secretary General; and Bart Johnson, APRU SCL Steering Committee Chair and Head of the UO Department of Landscape Architecture. 

• 10 University of Oregon faculty attended.
• 12 UO students participate in the event and working groups. 

2017 Working Groups:

• Containing Urban Expansion Using “Boundaries” in the Era of Rapid Urbanization
• From Urban Agriculture to new Urban Commons: Productive Landscapes and Infrastructural Ecologies
• Redrawing Our Urban Waters
• Resolving Conflicts of “Greens”: Energy Planning for Sustainable Landscape Conservation
• Sustainable Transportation in an Era of Autonomous Vehicles
• Sustainable Urban Design
• The Chengdu Plain and Dujiangyan Irrigation District, Sichuan, China: A Case of City-Landscape Sustainability in Comparative Perspective
• The Future of Urban Water and Sanitation
• Transitions in Urban Waterfront Operation and Development
• Urban Biodiversity