We are facing a new world in which change is to be expected, yet it may come in unexpected forms and at speeds of which we are not accustomed. Sustainability, especially in the context of international development, has been a commonly used concept for a generation, yet today it is gaining widespread acceptance and is addressing a far broader agenda. This presentation will outline some of the basic issues as we see sustainability in 2010 and how it can become a central organizing principle in transforming research, problem solving, and education. Special consideration is given to the essential coupling of human and natural systems, the challenge of rapid global urbanization, and the importance of real world learning experiences in today's education.
Charles L. Redman is the founding director of the School of Sustainability, Arizona State University (ASU), the largest university in the US. He is also a professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. An anthropologist (Ph.D. University of Chicago) by training, he has conducted archaeological research with botanists, zoologists, geologists, art historians, and ethnographers. He has written widely on sustainability, urban ecology, environmental education, archaeological methodologies, and long-term landscape and environmental change.
Please see his bio at: https://webapp4.asu.edu/directory/person/42907
