The Third Annual Conference of LOUD and the Forum on Low-Carbon and Green Urban Development were successfully held

Source: Shanghai Securities News
Shanghai Securities News/China Securities Network (Reporter Zhen Deng) - To further promote academic exchanges in urban science and explore the development of low-carbon and green cities, the "Third Academic Annual Conference of Shanghai Key Laboratory of Urban Design and Urban Science （LOUD）and Forum on Low-Carbon and Green Urban Development" was held at New York University Shanghai on October 22. Attendees included Jincheng Wu, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Deputy Secretary of the Pudong New Area Party Committee and District Chief, Dajin Luo, Director of the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, Jun Shao, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Data Administration and Director of the Shanghai Big Data Center,Zhenrong Sun, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of the Shanghai Academy of Sciences,Xiongwen Lu, Dean of the School of Management, Fudan University, and leaders from New York University Shanghai including Shijun Tong, President, Zhou'an Wei, Provost,Shuzhe Ding, Vice President,Yuxin Chen, Director of the Business Division,Wei Guo, Executive Director of the Human Resources Department, and  Anqi Qian, Associate Provost for Research. The meeting was hosted by Ce Li, Director of the CCTV.com Shanghai Region.

Joint Directors of the Key Laboratory: Chenghe Guan and Ying Li

LOUD has taken shape after three years of development and has generated an international impact in the field of urban design and science. LOUD has published over 80 academic papers in SCI/SSCI core journals. In the 2023-2024 academic year, it published articles in flagship journals in the field of urban research such as Journal of Planning Education and Research, Landscape and Urban Planning, Land Use Policy, Cities, and Communications Earth & Environment, a Nature Portfolio sub-journal.

Joint Directors Chenghe Guan and Ying Li introduced LOUD's recent scientific research achievements. In the article "Coal mine closure substantially increases terrestrial water storage in China," they elaborated for the first time on the associated urban ecosystem impacts generated through the nexus effect in the typological study of resource-based cities during their transformation. LOUD has made breakthroughs in applying urban sensing technology to urban planning and design, exemplified by the integration of Mobility data and visual perception data in articles such as "Exploring environmental equity and visitation disparities in peri-urban parks: A mobile phone data-driven analysis in Tokyo."

Ying Li introduced in detail the LOUD's concept of "Climate City Park" against the backdrop of global climate change. Close cooperation has been established in multiple locations, including Lingang in Shanghai, Erdos in Inner Mongolia, Jingdezhen in Jiangxi, and Galveston Bay in the United States. Communication has also been conducted with professors from the MIT Senseable City Laboratory. Active participation in the 2025 Venice Biennale of Architecture will strive to promote Shanghai's and China's experiences in addressing climate change to the international community. Collaborations with UNITAR and Shanghai Climate Week are expected to jointly establish the influence of the "Climate City Park" system and evaluation criteria worldwide.

LOUD continues to advance international cooperation, establishing an exchange platform for joint doctoral and postdoctoral training with the University of Pennsylvania following the establishment of a postdoctoral exchange platform with the University of Oxford.

LOUD has undertaken multiple new projects from governments, enterprises, and foundations, including "Research on Digital Lifestyle Patterns in Pudong New Area Supported by Urban Big Data" and "Research on the Evaluation System of Digital City Innovation."

In his speech,Shijun Tong said that NYU Shanghai attaches great importance to urban science research in the context of global climate change. In 2022, LOUD was established to actively cultivate relevant talent and conduct interdisciplinary research.Zhou'an Wei said that relying on NYU Shanghai's research advantages, LOUD continuously strengthens international cooperation, promotes the integration of industry, academia, and research, and is committed to building an internationally cutting-edge urban shared platform. Jincheng Wu hoped that NYU Shanghai, especially LOUD, would contribute valuable wisdom to the construction of low-carbon and green cities by offering more good ideas and high-level strategies focusing on the low-carbon green transformation and digital transformation of cities.Dajin Luo expressed that the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission will continue to support the construction and development of the laboratory to make new and greater contributions to promoting the construction of Shanghai's science and innovation center and the transformational development of China's future cities.Xiongwen Lu said that NYU Shanghai and LOUD have unique advantages and can further play a bridging and tie-breaking role in building domestic and international exchange and cooperation platforms.

Shijun Tong, President of NYU Shanghai

Zhou'an Wei, Provost of NYU Shanghai

Jincheng Wu, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government, Deputy Secretary of the Pudong New Area Party Committee, and District Chief

Dajin Luo, Director of the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission

Xiongwen Lu, Dean of the School of Management, Fudan University

At the forum, LOUD signed cooperation agreements with Envision Energy Co., Ltd., Shanghai Digital Governance Research Institute Co., Ltd., the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) - Prosperity Alliance Shanghai Center, and Shanghai Climate Week & Urban Ecology Chain Committee.Jun Shao, Shijun Tong, and Ying Li witnessed the signing.

During the keynote speech session, Jie Sun, Chief Sustainable Development Officer of Envision AESC, and Rong Zou, Joint Director of the UNITAR Prosperity Alliance Shanghai Center and Co-chair of the Executive Committee of Shanghai Climate Week, delivered speeches on the themes of "Zero-Carbon Technology Partners, Building a Green Future Together" and "Shanghai Climate Week - Global Climate Park Climate Community Innovation Network," respectively. The two experts discussed the relationship between cities and low-carbon, green, and sustainable development from different perspectives, providing inspiring ideas and directions for the future development of cities.

Jie Sun, Chief Sustainable Development Officer of Envision AESC

Rong Zou, Joint Director of the UNITAR Prosperity Alliance Shanghai Center and Co-chair of the Executive Committee of Shanghai Climate Week

During the roundtable forum, hosted by Yuxin Chen, Director of the NYU Shanghai Business Division, He Tian, Senior Expert and Project Leader of the Sovereign Operations Bureau of the New Development Bank, Jie Liu, Vice President of UCloud Technology Co., Ltd.,Jisheng Chen, Vice President of CloudKnows Co., Ltd., and Wei Zhou, Head of the Low-Carbon City Research Project at LOUD and Chairman of Tongmu Construction Group, discussed how their respective fields can empower cities to transition towards low-carbon and green development.

Roundtable Forum

In her concluding remarks, Ying Li said that discussions and research on urban low-carbon construction and green development have increasingly become priority topics. Issues such as how cities can implement low-carbon and green transformations, achieve net-zero emissions, ensure sustainable economic and social development, and provide fair, inclusive, and livable living environments for urban residents are critical issues that cities need to address urgently. "We hope to address these issues through meaningful discussions, innovative approaches, and greener and more effective measures to improve urban efficiency, enhance urban health, and raise people's happiness index, turning our cities into beautiful homes where humans and nature coexist harmoniously," Ying Li said.