COBRA 2011: Biodiversity and the Built Environment Theme

COBRA, the annual conference for property and construction research, convened by and in conjunction with the RICS, will be hosted by the University of Salford to take place on Monday and Tuesday 12 and 13 September 2011.

Biodiversity and the Built Environment Theme

in association with The Ecological Built Environment Research and Enterprise group, University of Wales Institute Cardiff, UK

COBRA, the annual conference for property and construction research, convened by and in conjunction with the RICS will be hosted by the University of Salford and will take place on Monday and Tuesday 12 and 13 September 2011. As at COBRA 2010 (see page 75-76 for a summary of the abstracts presented in 2010) there will be a special theme on Biodiversity and the Built Environment, Chaired and organised by Dr John Littlewood, Director of the Ecological Built Environment Research and Enterprise group; at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff, UK.

Contributions are invited for the Biodiversity and the Built Environment theme, which in its second year aims to stimulate further ideas arising from research, practice, case studies and learning by exploring the range of perspectives from which the built environment industry is able to contribute towards an improved bio-diverse built environment and by facilitating the dissemination of the existing knowledge, practice and learning base. These will take the form of scholarly written papers for presentation at the COBRA 2011 conference by their authors. All contributions will be subject to prior peer-review and will also be published in the formal proceedings of the COBRA 2011 conference. Postgraduate and post doctoral researchers can make contributions to this theme. PhD and Professional Doctorate researchers are also encouraged to make contributions to the new International Postgraduate Research Conference (IPGRC), which is being held at the same venue and takes place immediately after COBRA 2011 on the 14th & 15th September. Look here for further details.

Other features of the Biodiversity and the Built Environment theme will include:

• Introduction to work undertaken in the BBE theme since COBRA 2010 by Dr John Littlewood;

• The papers presented in this session (combined with a selection of those from the BBE theme at COBRA 2010) will be used as the basis for an edited book to be submitted for publication in the RICS Wiley-Blackwell ‘Real Estate Issues' book series. 

• Q & A and debate on Biodiversity and the Built Environment research, practice, learning and potential collaborative opportunities for authors of papers and COBAR 2011 delegates.

Papers are invited for the Biodiversity and the Built Environment theme and it is expected that all papers will be accommodated within one or more of the following themes:

• Defining what are the issues of biodiversity and the built environment: how should research and practice be defined in the urban, sub-urban and rural context?

• The relationship between biodiversity and the design, planning and governance of the urban form: who is in a position to bring about change to maximise biodiversity in and around the urban form and what are the barriers that may prevent such change being implemented; and what is feasible/can realistically be achieved?

• The points of intervention that exist in the life-cycle of the urban form, from planning, design and construction, through to ongoing use and renovation, the building form/s that encourage biodiversity in the built environment, including green roofs and green walls;

• The skills, knowledge base and employment development of the profession:

  while this session is, in essence, about enhancing the skills base, key issues to address are an analysis of the range of skills and employment development required to maximise biodiversity, water preservation, and food production following community organic principles and to minimise pollution in urban situations, which may well be fundamentally different to those that would characteristically be associated with the built environment professions;

• Urban heat island impacts: the use of biodiversity such as trees, green roofs and green walls at the individual building level and the neighbourhood and city level as an approach to regulating and minimising temperature, humidity, and pollution within the urban form;

• Food production strategies: through the imaginative and innovative use of space within cities, to provide a local and community food resource which both reduces food-mile impacts and encourages an increased sense of civic engagement. This food resources can include anything from vegetables and honey, to fruit and eggs;

• Food production linkages between the rural and urban form: exploring the links between rural and urban areas in relation to localised food production supply chains, skills development and food security; how can food produced in rural areas near to the urban form benefit habitants of the urban form and visa versa;

• Water use: the most effective approaches to responding to the potential increase in extreme weather events, particularly those involving rainfall, are likely to include approaches that include increased use of biodiversity;

• Health and wellbeing: exploring how biodiversity and using and undertaking a variety of activities, such as the ‘green gym' in biodiverse spaces can lead to increased health and well being for inhabitants of the urban, sub-urban or rural built environment;

• Pollution: exploring how air pollution from carbon emissions in urban environments can be minimised through biodiversity;

• Visual & Community Amenity: exploring how biodiversity can increase or re-create the visual amenity and a sense of community in the built environment, such as green roofs, green facades, raised beds, vertical gardening on balconies, better use of green space and redundant land and trees;

• Management: exploring the theories, practices, processes and systems which should be adopted for a biodiverse built environment.

• Green & Blue Audits: what does this encompass as part of biodiversity and the built environment

• Ecological Communities: how can a biodiverse built environment contribute to an ecological community.

Submission of Abstracts and Papers

Those wishing to contribute to the Biodiversity and the Built Environment themed session are first invited to submit an abstract of their paper. Abstracts should not exceed 300 words and should summarise the purpose, content and conclusions of the paper. They should also identify the paper's title and include up to three keywords and the theme to which the abstract best fits, in the case of this theme select ‘biodiversity and the built environment' for indexing purposes. Please follow this link to submit your abstract.

Deadline for abstracts: 25th February 2011

Authors will receive confirmation of acceptance of their abstract within two weeks of submission. Subject to prior approval of their abstract, authors are then invited to submit their final papers for inclusion in the conference. All papers are subject to peer review before being accepted for presentation at the conference and publication in the conference proceedings.

Deadline for final papers: to be notified

Papers should generally be around 6,000 words in length and should be prepared and formatted in accordance with the published RICS COBRA paper submission guidelines.