On November 20, the LMU Center for Urban Resilience welcomed over 125 attendees and presenters to the inaugural Cities and the Environment (CATE) symposium, with support from Edison International and TreePeople. For 18 years, the CATE Journal has provided an international forum for urban researchers and practitioners to explore social-ecological theories, share relevant data, and exchange best practices. Peer-reviewed articles are open access for readers and include no page charges for contributing authors.
This has allowed for broad participation from academics and community-based practitioners from across the Global North and Global South—Volume 17 (2024) included 14 papers featuring cities from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. At the same time, the journal has promoted communities of practice with special issues focusing on topics such as urban rewilding, urban ecosystem management, urban forestry, and many more.
The free public symposium featured opening remarks by Tina Choe, Dean of Seaver College of Science and Engineering, Alden Lundy, LMU Alumni ‘20 and current Clean Energy Policy Senior Specialist for Southern California Edison (SCE), Managing Director of CURES, Michele Romolini, and CURes Executive Director Eric Strauss.
Then, a broad range of 19 talks from speakers representing local-global universities, community-based environmental organizations, public agencies, and the private sector took place over the course of the day. The talks were grouped into four sessions around the following topics: Biodiversity / Greening, Biodiversity / Wildlife, Environmental Equity and Community Stewardship, and Urban Forestry and Wildfire.
During the day, and at the conclusion of the final remarks by Michele Romolini and Eric Strauss, there was a poster session welcoming 14 presenters showcasing their research on related subjects. Following the symposium, all presenters were invited to submit their poster or paper towards a special future issue of the Cities and the Environment Journal showcasing the conference proceedings.
Michele Romolini, the CATE Editor-in-Chief, who has worked with the journal for the past 12 years at CURes was thrilled to bring together such a dynamic group of speakers providing an impactful representation of the types of research and practice published by the journal.
“I was overjoyed to see this long-planned day come to fruition. It was a powerful and motivating display of the strength of the Cities and the Environment community of practice. The symposium celebrated the interconnected research and practice that is being carried out to make cities better, healthier places to live. From the wonderful support of funding partners, the high quality and carefully crafted presentations, and all of the great questions and conversations throughout the day, I was inspired and grateful for the time we spent together and am looking forward to the next steps.”
— Michele Romolini
Eric Strauss, the CATE Founding Editor, described the founding ethos of the journal, which he started at Boston College with colleagues from the US Forest Service and Urban Ecology Collaborative. He emphasized his excitement over approaching two decades of the publication and 15 years of operation for CURes, celebrating past successes and future growth and collaboration.
“I am so grateful to our staff at the Center and to Edison international for the facilitation of the symposium. It was a great opportunity for us to bring together, scientists, practitioners and other stakeholders into conversation about the pressing issues in urban sustainability. As The Cities and Environment Journal nears the completion of a second decade of publication, it is a reaffirmation of the critical role that it plays in the gathering and distribution of ideas in urban ecology.”
— Eric Strauss
Events like this cannot be possible without support from other staff members, and CURes had that support from Assistant Director Roya Shahnazari, who was the engine behind the event planning and provided catering and logistical support throughout the day. Drollinger Environmental Fellow Lisa Fimiani served as on-site contact, unofficial photographer and offered support throughout the day, including making sure our two visiting CATE Contributing Editors, Opeyemi Adeyemi, from the Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria and Mallika Sardeshpande, from Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore, India, were comfortable during their stay.
A special thank you to LMU Students Keya Kumar and Sophia Kastros who helped make sure the symposium went smoothly, and NaKesha Mayfield, Operations and Planning Manager for Seaver College of Science and Engineering, for helping with logistics and equipment.
Founded in 2011, LMU CURes partners with communities to promote resilience by providing social-ecological research, nature-based solutions, and education services. CURes pursues this mission in collaboration with inspirational, innovative, and impactful organizations across sectors and scales that work to build a better world in the face of many challenges. Our staff often finds this work is not shared widely; perhaps because those doing it are focused on tackling the next challenge, rather than highlighting past successes. Thanks to our supporters of this symposium, Edison International and TreePeople, we were able to offer this space for our colleagues to shine. We know we are stronger when we “stand on the shoulders of giants,” learning from and uplifting the experiences of others.
Thank You To Our Symposium Sponsors
