An upcoming must-see conference entitled Ecological Urbanism: Alternative and Sustainable Cities of the Future will take place at the Harvard Graduate School of Design on April 3-5, 2009. The event will “…bring together design practitioners and theorists, economists, engineers, environmental scientists, politicians and public health specialists, with the goal of reaching a more robust understanding of ecological urbanism and what it might be in the future. “

:: image via Ecological Urbanism (GSD)

More from the conference website: “With the aim of projecting alternative and sustainable forms of urbanism, the forthcomingconference will ask: What are the key principles of an ecological urbanism? How mightthey be organized? And what role might design and planning play in the process? … While climate change, sustainable architecture, and green technologies have becomeincreasingly topical, issues surrounding the sustainability of the city are much lessdeveloped. The conference is organized around the premise that an ecological approachis urgently needed both as a remedial device for the contemporary city and an organizingprinciple for new cities. An ecological urbanism represents a more holistic approach thanis generally the case with urbanism today, demanding alternative ways of thinking and designing. “

And the list of speakers is amazing, including many whom have had work featured in these pages, such as Stefano Boeri, Herbert Dreiseitl, Richard TT Forman, Walter Hood, Mitchell Joachim, Rem Koolhaas, Anuradha Mathur, Chris Reed, and Charles Waldheim… amongst many others… I’m looking for airfare tomorrow…

More info at Ecological Urbanism