The Integrated Network for Social Sustainability is pleased to
announce our 2017 conference on
June 5-7, 2017
will have the theme
Smart, Connected Communities
and Keynote Speaker David Ludlow
Associate Professor: European Smart Cities
at the University of the West of England
The conference will be held across the following sites:
Charlotte, NC | Atlanta, GA | Baltimore, MD | Lima, Peru
If you cannot attend in person, remote participation online will be available
Registration
There is no cost to attend. Please register here.
*Registration is full in Atlanta; all those who register will be added to the waiting list*
Agendas
Select a site below to view its conference schedule. Agendas may change. Some sites’ agendas TBA. Check back for updates.
Atlanta, GA
Baltimore, MD
Charlotte, NC
Lima, Peru
Conference Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Symposium
We’re excited to add a new element to our 2017 INSS conference – an opportunity to work with other graduate students on your sustainability research questions and ideas in person. This will take place at the Charlotte location on Monday, June 5. We will have funding for travel, if needed, as student participants are expected to attend the conference as well. We hope they will also present a poster on their research. Please send any questions to socialsustainabilitynetwork@gmail.com. Students will discuss pre-determined readings and discuss their own research.
More details and application form here.
Background on Theme
An international trend in the program strategies of governmental and non-governmental organizations has focused on community-level solutions to a host of issues including mobility, resilience, opportunity, justice, innovation and health. Such solutions are illustrated in the US by the White House “Smart Cities” initiative, by targeted funding administered by the National Science Foundation and National Institute of Standards and Technology, and by Departments of Homeland Security and Transportation. While these approaches are promising, the emphasis on the creation, implementation, and access of new technologies has the potential to displace societal consideration of inherently complex social issues that will not be solved by technologies alone.
During the 2017 INSS Conference we will explore the notion that while smartness and connectedness are both the product of emerging technological applications, they are also bound up in social relationships, institutions, and practices with specific historical contexts. These contexts need to be examined if emerging technological innovations are to address challenges to inclusion and equity. We consider the ways that technology can be integrated into and enhance social change for sustainability; at the same time, we aim to challenge the preference for technological solutions by identifying problems that exist outside of the sociotechnical system, or those for which the best solution does not depend on improved technology.
