Climate change has created a sense of urgency for all in
the design, planning, and engineering disciplines. Increasingly
it is essential for academics to connect the dots – recognizing
the connections and dependencies between
seemingly unrelated subjects and systems – and to work
Fig. 4. The yellow bin in Germany takes packaging material, metal, and small ewaste.
Agencies are working toward a nationwide introduction of this collection bin
by 2015 (Lehmann, 2010b).
184 A.U. Zaman, S. Lehmann / City, Culture and Society 2 (2011) 177–187
across disciplines when conducting research in these fields.
Researchers will increasingly team up with government,
industry, and communities to find unique and practical
solutions for the different needs of cities. In order to meet
the global challenges governments will invest more in research
and innovation in key areas, such as education and
training. The Australian government, for instance, has
started an innovation-centered approach to tackling climate
change, where researchers are asked to innovate in
material efficiency and construction technology, as well
as in behavior change, to scale-up clean energy technologies.
Education, training, and research are some of the major
elements of an overall policy required to bring about the
changes associated with adapting to, and mitigating, the
impact of climate change. The contribution from universities
and researchers to this transition process is of highest
significance