Previous Rencontres

Rencontres 2016 – Underground Cities, Living Below the Surface

Presentation The theme of these sixth Rencontres de Reims in sustainability studies was the “Underground Cities”. This event had taken place on Wednesday 26 and Thursday, October 27, 2016 in Reims (City Hall of Reims). The sixth edition of the

Rencontres 2015 – Urban Agriculture: Fostering the Urban-Rural Continuum

Presentation Urban sustainability should be inclusive, in the sense that it should address sustainability in an area large enough to encompass urban centers, but suburban, periurban and dependent rural, or natural places. There is an urban arrangement that can address

Rencontres 2014 – Urban Transitions to Sustainability

Presentation The theme of this 4th edition of the International Rencontres de Reims in Sustainability Studies was ‘Urban Transitions to Sustainability’. Nearly 70% of the world population lives in urban areas and nearly 75% of economic activity is located therein. Urban

Rencontres 2013 – Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals: Towards a New Social Contract

Presentation Hosted at the University of Reims on June 19-21, 2013 Organized by HABITER Lab. with the participation of Ignacy Sachs and Carlo Rubbia. In 2013, the United Nations will take stock of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). It is

Rencontres 2012 – After Rio+20, when planning becomes democratic

The Rio Conference on Sustainable Development echoed the summit that took place in 1992. It was entitled “Rio+20”, as if a simple and direct line connected 1992 to 2012. In twenty years, however, the world has changed a lot. It became globalized and the centers of production of wealth have shifted. Today, the economic and political rise of emerging countries takes place against the backdrop of a four-fold environmental, social, financial and political crisis among old industrial countries. This phenomenon goes hand in hand with a growing gap in wealth and increasing asymmetries between the capability of actors and populations from local communities to the whole planet.

Rencontres 2011 – Social Justice and Sustainability: Back to Planning?

These first “rencontres” marked the launching of the Research Center for Sustainability Science in Reims. Sustainability Science—that can hardly be translated into French—represents an emerging discipline. Its formal birth dates back to the 2001 Amsterdam Conference Challenges of a Changing Earth. Sustainability science addresses action on sustainable development. This presupposes a multiscale approach—temporal, spatial, and functional—, as well the inclusion of dynamic equilibria, not only of an economic, physical-chemical or biological kind, but also between actors and societies whose interests may be divergent.