Sustainable Development and Planning 2018 - Post Conference Report

10th International Conference on Sustainable Development and Planning

4 - 6 September 2018
Siena, Italy

Overview

The 10th International Conference on Sustainable Development and Planning (SDP18) took place in Siena Italy. The Conference was organised by the Wessex Institute, UK, represented by Prof Giorgio Passerini, a member of the WIT Board of Directors, and the University of Siena, Italy, represented by Prof Nadia Marchettini.
The conference started in 2003 in Skiathos, Greece, followed by other meetings in Bologna (2005); Algarve (2007); Cyprus (2009); New Forest – home of the Wessex Institute (2011); Kos, Greece (2013); Penang (2016) and the University of the West of England in Bristol, UK (2017).

Planners, environmentalists, architects, engineers, policymakers and economists have to work together in order to ensure that planning and development can meet our present needs without comprising the ability of future generations. The conference discussed new academic findings, new case studies and their possible applications in planning and assessing development strategies during decision making processes.

Opening of the Conference

The Conference was opened by Giorgio Passerini who welcomed the delegates to the conference, before paying tribute to the founder of the Wessex Institute, the late Prof Carlos A Brebbia and the cofounder of Prigogine Award, the late Prof. Enzo Tiezzi.

Prigogine Award Ceremony

The Prigogine Medal was established in 2004 by the University of Siena and the Wessex Institute to honour the memory of Professor Ilya Prigogine, Nobel Prize Winner for Chemistry.
The 2018 Medal was awarded to Professor Stuart Kauffman, former Professor at the Universities of Chicago, Pennsylvania and Calgary, and currently Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Pennsylvania and affiliate faculty at the Institute for Systems Biology.
Professor Kauffman presented a special lecture entitled “A World Beyond Physics: The Emergence and Evolution of Life”.

Invited Presentations

There were a series of invited lectures on advanced topics, as follows:

• “Ranking of energy saving devices for smart homes according to their payback time”, by Roman Brandtweiner, Vienna University of Economics & Business, Austria.
• “Danger bells for cultural heritage in Istanbul”, by Sirma Turgut, Yildiz Technical University, Turkey.
• “Cultural heritage as a driver for urban regeneration. Two processes in comparison”, by Danila Longo, University of Bologna, Italy.
• “Livable and healthy design city”, by Marichela Sepe, University of Naples, Italy.
• “Tourist development and planning in Valencian Mediterranean coast: the case of La Devesa del Saler” by Jose Luis Miralles i Garcia, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain.
• “Tourism development of the Cyclades Islands: Economic, social and carrying capacity assessment of the consequences”, by Dimitris Prokopiou, University of Piraeus, Greece.

The papers presented during the Conference were classified under the following session headings:

• Energy resources and savings
• Regional planning
• Transportation
• Protection in Historical City Centres
• Cultural and architectural heritage
• Environmental management
• Sustainable solutions in emerging countries and rural developments
• City planning
• Sustainability and the built environment
• Community planning
• Livable and healthy city design
• Environmental policies and planning
• Sustainable development indicators
• Sustainable tourism

Conference Publication

Papers presented at this conference will appear in Vol 217 of the WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment (ISSN 1743-3541). All published papers from previous meetings are permanently archived in the WIT eLibrary (www.witpress.com/elibrary) where they are freely available to the international community.

A few papers have been selected for publication in the International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning. This Journal covers the subjects of environmental design and planning, environmental management, spatial planning and sustainable development in an integrated way, as well as in accordance with the principles of sustainability. The journal includes subjects ranging from social to technical environmental management issues, having always as an axis the concept of sustainable planning and development.

ISAC Dinner

The meeting of the International Scientific Advisory Committee (ISAC) of the Conference took place over dinner at “Cane e Gatto” restaurant. This meeting focused on discussing which new topics should be included in the Call for Papers, aiming for the continuous evolution of the conference. Other topics discussed were the organisation of the Committee and the location for the 2020 conference.

Conference Dinner

The Conference dinner took place at “Antica Trattoria Papei” one of the most renewed Siena restaurants located in Piazza Mercato, next to the famous Piazza del Campo. Through the twelve courses of the menu, the delegates tasted largest part of the most famous recipes of Siena and Tuscany. Delegates also enjoyed the famous Montepulciano wines and locally crafted beers.
During a brief speech, Prof. Passerini thanked again Prof. Marchettini for hosting the Conference at Siena University facilities and praised the delegates in the name of the Wessex Institute.

Closing of the Conference

The Conference was closed by Giorgio who thanked the delegates for attending and encouraged them to attend SDP 2020, as well as other WIT conferences. Giorgio stressed that the 2018 meeting had been particularly successful in terms of numbers and quality of the presentations and for the discussions that took place during the meeting.

Related Conferences

Urban Transport 2018, 19 - 21 September 2018
Waste Management 2018, 17 - 19 September 2018
Eco-Architecture 2018, 2 - 4 October 2018
Water Resources Management 2019, 7 - 9 May 2019
Urban Transport 2019, 25 - 27 Jun 2019
Energy and Sustainability 2019, 2 - 5 Jul 2019
Sustainable City 2019, 1 - 3 Oct 2019
STREMAH 2019, 7 - 9 Oct 2019