May 3-4, 2014 at the MIT Media Lab.

Take action and begin your sustainable future.

The 6th Annual MIT Sustainability Summit will be held 3-4 May 2014 at the MIT Media Lab. This year the student-run event has the theme of Coastal Cities | Sustainable Futures.

Coastal cities are caught at the nexus of three forces that dominate the 21st century: rapid urbanization, climate destabilization, and continued integration of the global economy. These cities exhibit confounding duality. They grew at the boundary of sea and land and are shaped by the tension this geography brings. They are simultaneously threatened by the capriciousness of climate change and integral to networks of global trade. If coastal cities can navigate a transition towards sustainability and resilience, it may offer a path forward for the rest of the planet. This conference challenges traditional notions of urban development to ask how coastal cities can be the key to global sustainability.

Over the two day event, we will explore the challenges of achieving sustainability in these cities that must balance their role as a home to hundreds of millions of people with their role as major throughways for goods and knowledge in an interconnected world. We will hear from leaders in infrastructure, finance, government, fisheries, climate change, and technology about successes and failures of cities seeking this balance. Throughout the event participants will have the opportunity to experience the complexities of decision making in these coastal urban contexts in workshops, role playing simulations, and computer-based games.

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