April 2003 Conference

SUMMARY OF THE APRIL 25, 2003
CIUDAD CONFERENCE

The following is a summary of key points derived from speakers and participants at the April 25, 2003 CIUDAD conference. For a more complete record of all the speaker notes and written evaluation summaries, please email us at ciudad@email.arizona.edu, or call the School of Renewable Natural Resources at (520) 621-7255 to request a “CIUDAD Proceedings Document.”

MAIN ISSUES/CHALLENGES IDENTIFIED:

• There is a need to develop a clear and unified vision of Tucson’s future. Community-based planning, based on the collaborative efforts of many different groups, will be essential to identifying what we want to protect, where we want to build, and how to integrate plans for both.
• There is a need to implement policy changes that allow for better development practices. Restrictions on in-fill properties within the city need to be clarified, re-development of older communities needs to be encouraged, and new development needs to be better planned for and managed.
• The State Land Department controls over 800,000 acres in Arizona, and there is a need to develop a mechanism for State Trust Lands to be utilized for conservation.
• There is a need for rigorous, unbiased scientific studies that provide answers. Findings need to be clearly communicated in a timely matter that facilitates public understanding of the connection between actions and environmental conditions.
• The following will need to be better addressed: transportation, water, energy, affordable housing, habitat loss and connectivity, stewardship education, green infrastructure, and growth boundaries.

THE ROLE OF SCIENCE AND EDUCATION:

• Provide improved data and models that allow for better planning and a better public appreciation of the scope of the challenges facing planners.
• Work to find a balance between changing ecological conditions and the environment’s ability to produce sustainable supplies of the goods and services that our society requires.
• Play a key role in increasing our understanding of how societal values are formed and influenced, as our ability to shape public opinion is key to conservation.
• Improve university curriculums to reflect the increasingly interdisciplinary skills, such as communication and team-leadership, required to solve these problems.
• Develop practical ecological monitoring strategies that will both facilitate adaptive management strategies and advance our technological limits by allowing us to utilize things that traditionally had little value.
• Work to create on-the-ground demonstration projects that show how different strategies and tools can be used to mitigate the impacts of development on our local environment.

PRIORITIES IDENTIFIED FOR CIUDAD:

Based on these issues and challenges, and the potential for science and education to be instrumental in addressing them, CIUDAD can work to:
• Eliminate the disconnect between land-use planners and scientists, allowing for better planning informed by relevant science.
• Build consensus among all interested parties, resulting in a common vision.
• Provide a continuing forum for discussion about issues related to urbanization in desert landscapes, and the role science and education can play.
• Increase public awareness of what we can do to keep public lands healthy.
• Focus on long-term goals by working to gather pertinent information so that it is available to decision makers when needed.
• Integrate an understanding of cultural experiences into conservation planning, providing for a better appreciation of how different traditions shape people’s views.

THE CONTINUING NEED FOR CIUDAD:

Speakers and participants from the conference reaffirmed the need for a center to focus on impacts of urban development on natural resources. Southern Arizona continues to grow rapidly, and part of what makes this area so attractive to new residents is the unique natural resources of the Sonoran Desert. Participants agreed on the need for innovative strategies that manage this growth in concert with natural resource protection in order to maintain the area’s high quality of life. To do this effectively, we must be able to influence, through education and outreach, an increasingly urbanized society that will be instrumental in shaping future conservation policy. As a unique partnership of public and private institutions, CIUDAD can help us to advance our understanding of how urbanization affects desert environments, how the negative impacts of urban development can be minimized, and how ecologically damaged areas can be restored.

NEXT STEPS FOR CIUDAD:

This fall, CIUDAD will host a workshop focused on identifying and highlighting current research studies related to urban growth in Southern Arizona. The workshop will bring scientists, planners, and policy makers together to discuss issues of urbanization, resource protection, and conservation issues based on relevant projects currently underway. Presenters and participants will compile lessons learned from these projects and share information for improving land use decisions. Based on focus points identified in this workshop, CIUDAD will hold its second annual conference on “Reconciling Urban Growth in Southern Arizona’s Desert Environment” in the spring of 2004.