This grant funds a conference to be held August 7-8, 2019 in Greensboro, North Carolina, titled the Southeast Urban Sustainability Summit (SEUSS). The objective of the conference is to develop a collaborative group comprised of academics, municipalities, industries, and advocacy groups who share the vision of advancing research in urban sustainability specific to the state of North Carolina. The resulting research agenda for the group developed at the conference will have implications for the entire southeast region due to similarities of cities and towns in North Carolina to those across the greater region. This scientific research contribution thus supports NSF's mission to promote the progress of science and to advance our national welfare. In this case, the benefits will be insights to improve urban sustainability which will save lives and economic losses.
SEUSS will form a diverse network of stakeholders across the state committed to identifying and addressing the state's most pressing sustainability and resilience issues associated with: energy, water, waste, transportation, housing, health/safety, and food/agriculture. SEUSS will be led by North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, in collaboration with leadership from University of North Carolina Greensboro, Appalachian State University, and North Carolina State University.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
