UF to host national sustainability symposium of designers, engineers

February 10, 2009

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning will host the National Academy of Environmental Design’s Water and Sustainability Symposium Feb. 16-17. The symposium will bring academics and professionals in the design field together with scientists and engineers to identify needed legislation and other action for reducing water demand and improving water flow and quality.

The National Academy of Environmental Design (www.naedonline.org) was initiated to complement the work of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. The National Academy of Environmental Design gathers experts in the environmental design disciplines — architecture, communications design, engineering, industrial design, interior design, landscape architecture and planning — to discuss critical sustainability issues and, ultimately, give advice to government and to the public.

The UF symposium is part of a series of symposia the academy has planned for 2009 at major research universities to identify the country’s key sustainability issues and make recommendations for further research and Congressional action. The first symposium on sustainable materials was held in January at the University of Minnesota, and a symposium on sustainable sites will be held Feb. 13-14 at the University of Texas – Austin.

At UF, participants will include academics from UF, MIT, Rutgers, Iowa State University, University of Georgia and University of Houston as well as professionals from across the country. The two days of discussions will address how patterns of human settlement, cities and their infrastructure and buildings and their plumbing, have changed the historic quantity and quality of water flow.

The Apalachicola watershed will be used as an exemplary case study. This watershed and its rivers extend from North Georgia and eastern Alabama into Florida and discharge into the Gulf of Mexico. Rapidly growing urban areas in the watershed, including the Atlanta metropolitan area, are placing increased pressure on the finite available water supply and diminishing water quality. The result is increased competition among the region’s human populations, natural systems, and energy and agricultural interests.

“We are privileged to sponsor this national gathering of experts from academic and professional backgrounds focusing on the critical issue of water use,” said Peggy Carr, the college’s associate dean for undergraduate students and academic affairs. “All the decisions we make in the built environment from land use to plumbing fixtures affects the quality of human life and the health of natural systems. It’s time for the design community to become a major contributor in determining responsible strategies for water use.”