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In May 2016, practitioners, researchers, and students will gather in Beijing, China for Human Cities@China to explore alternative pathways for an urban vision in China and one that ultimately creates a more sustainable and human-centered city. Drawing from the theme, Design, Build and Measure the Human City, we invite key experts to engage with American and Chinese students to share case studies and development models that promote urbanism at the neighborhood level. We explore the integration of new technologies and practices of community-scale infrastructure in both greenfield and infill development, as well as compare approaches to urban development in large cities and mid-sized townships. We will discuss how urban design strategies such as density, walkable streets, mixed land use, and small blocks can increase quality of life for people in daily interactions with their neighbors, community institutions, and the built environment. By learning from practitioners’ and developers’ firsthand experiences, attendees will meet new colleagues and collaborators, gain insights into the opportunities and challenges of urban development in China, and explore a framework to advance the human city. 

When:   Friday, May 27, 2016, 10 am to Sunday, May 29, 2016, 4:30 pm

Where:

* Friday, May 27 Human Cities@ China Kick-off at Tsinghua University

* Saturday, May 28 - Deep Dive in the Community at Tsinghua University

* Sunday, May 29 - Human Cities@ China Final Showcase at the Stanford Center at Peking University
 

Admission:  Open to the public but registration is required. Register at https://deland.typeform.com/to/MvBiKA

Keynote Speakers:
Dr. Qin Shao, Professor of History, College of New Jersey, Author of Shanghai Gone
Stephen Wong, Managing Director for EWD, Chairman of Chongbang Group

Forum and Roundtable Speakers:
Liqun Chen, China Center for Urban Development, China Crowdsourcing Placemaker Initiative
Dr. Ying Long, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing City Lab
Dr. Jing Jing Xu, China Development Bank Capital, Global Green Development Capital
Matthew Hu, Courtyard Institute
Amy Mathieson, China Building Restoration Project

Schedule: http://www.humancities.org/schedule
Speakers: http://www.humancities.org/speakers

Registration required for events open to the public
Register here: https://deland.typeform.com/to/MvBiKA

For more information, visit www.humancities.org/china

Human Cities@China is sponsored by the Stanford Office of International Affairs and organized by the Stanford Human Cities Initiative and Program on Urban Studies with support from Tsinghua University iCenter, Tsinghua Academy of Art and Design, Tsinghua University Department of Construction Management, the Stanford Center at Peking University, Stanford Bing Overseas Program, and the Urban Land Institute.

In this session of the Corporate Affiliates Research Presentations, the following will be presented:

Satoshi Koyanagi, Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry, Japan, "Effectiveness of the Silicon Valley Ecosystem in the Clean-Tech Sector"

The energy sector in the Japanese government faces two big problems.  The first is how to achieve the basic principle for the power supply-demand structure – by introducing renewable energy and optimizing energy consumption, this would lower dependency on nuclear power generation.  The second problem is how to tackle climate change.  The key factor in overcoming both of these problems is the innovation in the clean-tech sector while maintaining international competitiveness and quality of life.  In his research, Koyanagi investigates the features of venture capital investments, the features of start-ups in the clean-tech sector and current public support of clean-tech start-ups.  He tries to answer the question of “Does the Silicon Valley Ecosystem Work Effectively in the Clean-Tech Sector?”  From his research findings, Koyanagi makes some recommendations for the Japanese government to promote innovation in the clean-tech sector.

Tsuneo Sasai, The Asahi Shimbun, "Fostering Entrepreneurship in Japan:  A Look at the Personal History of Japanese Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley"

In Japan, the electronic industry has been on the decline for the past 10 years and the automotive industry is facing many new challenges.  In order to maintain and develop its scale of economy, Japan needs to increase its number of entrepreneurs who can revitalizes the economy and make innovation happen both inside and outside of Japanese companies.

There is, however, a growing trend of highly motivated young people in Japan interested in start-ups and some have immersed themselves in the Silicon Valley to seek greater business opportunities.  Based on his interviews with them, Sasai believes their personal history, including their childhood and what steps they took to create their own start-ups in Silicon Valley, can help explain their entrepreneurial aspirations.  In his presentation, Sasai shows how this knowledge can provide useful insights to help Japan develop more entrepreneurs.

Mariko Takeuchi, Sumitomo Corporation, "What is 'Fintech" and what is its Outlook for Japan?"

Financial technology or “Fintech” is a term that, in the last couple of years, has been used often and widely.  Most people understand this technology is related to the financial market.  However, because the Fintech market is huge, it is difficult to understand exactly what it is and what it can provide to us.  Additionally, the wave of Fintech is coming to Japan with several Fintech start-ups emerging recently.  In her research, Takeuchi studied the activities of both the U.S. and Japanese governments and traditional financial institutions and how they relate to Fintech.  Based on her findings, Takeuchi divides Fintech into twelve categories and shows that the category map between Japanese and U.S. Fintech market is slightly different.  In her presentation, she explains the reasons for the difference from the regulations stand-point and provides some insight for the future of Japanese Fintech.

Abstract: Various regions of the world struggle to properly manage their freshwater resources in a sustainable manner. Even a greater number of regions are vulnerable to supply disruptions that can last for a year or more.  This talk will provide a global overview of water supply vulnerability with respect to demand, endowment, institutions, and infrastructure.  Examples of regional hydroeconomic models to evaluate potential management policies will be discussed with a focus on our approach to the challenges of coupling human-natural systems.  

About the Speaker: Steven Gorelick is the Cyrus F. Tolman Professor in the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment. At Stanford since 1988, he directs the Global Freshwater Initiative, which employs an interdisciplinary approach to analyzing water-supply vulnerability in developing nations. Past and current projects include those in Mexico, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Jordan. Much of his work involves development of hydrologic-economic models to evaluate the likely effectiveness of policy instruments such as taxes, quotas, and regulations. Projects also have evaluated the viability of an agricultural water rental market and alternatives to enhance food security. He has over 140 publications in 22 different science and engineering journals (including Science, Nature, and PNAS), and three commercialized patents. His 2010 book, Oil Panic and the Global Crisis, debated the notion of imminent global oil depletion. He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and he has received Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships. 

This event is open to Stanford undergraduate students only. 

The Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) is currently accepting applications from eligible juniors due February 12, 2016 who are interested in writing their senior thesis on a subject touching upon democracy, economic development, and rule of law (DDRL) from any university department. CDDRL faculty and current honors students will be present to discuss the program and answer any questions.

For more information on the CDDRL Senior Honors Program, please click here.

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Abstract: The large U.S. and Russian stockpiles of weapons plutonium present a sustained risk to global nuclear security. Under a reciprocal disarmament agreement, both nations are obliged to irreversibly dispose of 34 metric tonnes of this material. The current terms of the agreement call for the conversion of plutonium into commercial nuclear fuel and irradiation in civilian reactors, rendering it unattractive for weapons use. Rapid and consistent increase in the projected cost of this approach has rendered it infeasible for the U.S. Proposed alternatives involve underground immobilization of the plutonium in a stable geological formation, yet there exist substantial obstacles to this strategy. There is uncertainty in the ability of a geological repository to safely contain such material for the tens of thousands of years during which it remains a threat to public health. Russia has argued that geological disposal does not represent irreversible disarmament, as the material might be retrieved at a later time. This talk will present an analysis of the political and technical constraints on the geological disposal of weapons plutonium, along with potential paths forward.

About the Speaker: Cameron Tracy is a MacArthur Nuclear Security Postdoctoral Fellow at CISAC for 2015-2016. He also holds a postdoctoral appointment in the Department of Geological Sciences in the Stanford School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences.

Cameron’s research at CISAC involves the assessment of strategies for the disposal of fissile materials recovered from dismantled nuclear weapons and analysis of their implications for international arms reduction treaty compliance. He also investigates the structural and chemical behavior of materials, including nuclear fuels and wasteforms, in extreme environments.

Cameron received his Ph.D in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2015. He holds a M.S. from the University of Michigan and a B.S. from the University of California, Davis. In 2009-2010 he worked as a research assistant at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Abstract: Numerous polls show that U.S. public approval of Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has declined significantly since 1945. Scholars and pundits have suggested that this is a sign of the emergence of a “nuclear taboo.”  Such polls, however, do not force respondents to contemplate the tradeoff the U.S. government believed it faced in 1945: choosing between the use of nuclear weapons and a ground invasion of Japan to end the Pacific War. This paper reports on survey experiments recreating that kind of a tradeoff in a hypothetical war with Iran. In order to avoid a ground assault on Tehran that was predicted to kill 20,000 American soldiers, 60% of the U.S. public approved of an atomic attack on an Iranian city that would kill 100,000 civilians and 60% approved of an atomic attack that would kill 2,000,000 civilians. Sixty-seven percent preferred a conventional bombing attack that was estimated to kill 100,000 Iranian civilians. Moreover, the prospect of killing more noncombatants appeared to trigger beliefs in retribution and complicity, as a way of justifying the decisions. Our findings suggest that U.S. public support for the principle of noncombatant immunity is shallow. 

About the Speaker: Scott D. Sagan is the Caroline S.G. Munro Professor of Political Science, the Mimi and Peter Haas University Fellow in Undergraduate Education, and Senior Fellow at the Center for International Security and Cooperation and the Freeman Spogli Institute at Stanford University. He also serves as Project Chair for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Initiative on New Dilemmas in Ethics, Technology, and War and as Senior Advisor for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Global Nuclear Future Initiative. Before joining the Stanford faculty, Sagan was a lecturer in the Department of Government at Harvard University. From 1984 to 1985, he served as special assistant to the director of the Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon. Sagan has also served as a consultant to the office of the Secretary of Defense and at the Sandia National Laboratory and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. 

Sagan is the author of Moving Targets: Nuclear Strategy and National Security (Princeton University Press, 1989); The Limits of Safety: Organizations, Accidents, and Nuclear Weapons (Princeton University Press, 1993); and, with co-author Kenneth N. Waltz, The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: An Enduring Debate (W.W. Norton, 2012). He is the co-editor of Planning the Unthinkable (Cornell University Press, 2000) with Peter R. Lavoy and James L. Wirtz; the editor of Inside Nuclear South Asia (Stanford University Press, 2009); and co-editor of a two-volume special issue of Daedalus, On the Global Nuclear Future (Fall 2009 and Winter 2010), with Steven E. Miller. Sagan’s recent publications include “A Call for Global Nuclear Disarmament” in Nature (July 2012); “Atomic Aversion: Experimental Evidence on Taboos, Traditions, and the Non-Use of Nuclear Weapons” with Daryl G. Press and Benjamin A. Valentino in the American Political Science Review (February 2013); and, with Matthew Bunn, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences occasional paper, “A Worst Practices Guide to Insider Threats: Lessons from Past Mistakes” (2014).

Sagan was the recipient of the National Academy of Sciences William and Katherine Estes Award in 2015 and the International Studies Association's International Security Studies Section Distinguished Scholar Award in 2013. He has also won four teaching awards: Stanford’s 1998-99 Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching; Stanford's 1996 Hoagland Prize for Undergraduate Teaching; the International Studies Association’s 2008 Innovative Teaching Award; and the Monterey Institute for International Studies’ Nonproliferation Education Award in 2009.