The aim of "Resilience, adaptation and transformation in turbulent times - preparing for change in social-ecological systems" is to bring together scientists working with the complex dynamics of interconnected social-ecological systems and to present, discuss, and if possible, summarise the current understanding of resilience, adaptability and pathways of transformation in such systems. Representatives from government, business and other major actors will be invited to discuss the challenges facing societal development, and together with scientists propose directions to go and pathways to avoid.

In June, 2008, a 5-day national training session will take place at Tufts University to increase citizen and planner leadership capacity in communities and their local governments to initiate and lead a change process to become a sustainable community. This sustainable communities approach has a substantial track record of successful implementation – possibly the most extensive in the world - in over 100 municipalities in Sweden, U.S., and around the world. The objective of the training is to prepare potential local leaders – including citizens, local officials, planners, or municipal staff – to be able to lead a process involving sustainability education, communication, and a strategic implementation process.

Many communities want to foster economic growth, protect environmental resources, enhance public health, and plan for development, but may lack the tools, resources, and information to achieve their goals. In response to this demand, EPA developed the Smart Growth Implementation Assistance (SGIA) Program.

No city today can function efficiently without public transport. Indeed the development of public transport is a prerequisite for sustainable urban development. It is all the more critical in the light of growing urbanization, air quality concerns, peak oil, and climate change.

Leading Your Community and Saving Money, Energy, and the Environment targets local government leaders, finance directors and building officials who are trying to figure out how to fit energy efficiency measures into tight budgets.

Louisville, KY and Albuquerque, NM have used the EPA's ENERGY STAR Challenge program to promote improved energy efficiency in public and privately owned buildings and achieve city-wide reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. This live webcast session will explain how they launched the program and got people involved.

Green roofs can significantly cut energy costs in buildings, reduce the urban heat island effect, cut down on stormwater problems, and as a bonus, make buildings more attractive and provide habitat. This conference is the place to learn more about them from all angles - from policy to installation and maintenance. Organized by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and the City of Baltimore.

The major challenge facing this and the next generation of architects, planners and builders is how to develop land use patterns that respond to the demands of the post-carbon age and provide a high quality of life for future generations. How our profession adapts to the need for reducing dependency on fossil fuels and contributes to the use of new technologies and approaches to planning and development that foster sustainability is critically important and will be the focus of this year’s Salzburg Congress on Urban Planning and Development.

"Inspired change-makers" from all over the world will come together at the seventh annual Ecocity World Summit to discuss and report on our progress toward ecological cities. Speakers include Richard Register, author of Ecocities, and Jaime Lerner, former mayor of Curitiba, Brazil.

As part of the Focus the Nation teach-in, the nonprofit group Architecture 2030 will be hosting a half-hour webcast about the role of design education in global warming. Part of their Reverberate campaign, Architecture 2030 aims to draw attention to the environmental impact of the built environment, and create greater awareness in the design community.