Western Adjunct to Discuss Urban Living with International Panel

As cities grow and change, urban studies researchers must answer a difficult question: How can we make urban life more sustainable?

Western Colorado University’s Jim Morrow, an adjunct professor of Politics & Government, will provide insight into the future of cities as part of an international panel hosted by the Austria’s Office of Science and Technology and the University of California, Berkeley. Morrow is the Principal Investigator on a Botstiber Institute-funded project that examines the everyday life of Austrian immigrants to Crested Butte and Aspen. He is also a Western alumnus, class of ’03.

Representing Western Around the World

“It’s through Western that I learned about a fascinating history of Western Slope, and it is Western where I have returned to tell the story,” Morrow says. “And in between my leaving and coming home, I’ve represented Western across North America and throughout Europe.”

Morrow recently published a book “Where the Everyday Begins” that investigates the relationship between the environment and everyday life.

An Improved Sense of Community

During the March 31 panel, Morrow will show how changes in urban design can create an improved sense of community. He is particularly interested in showing how Gemütlichkeit—which is the German word for coziness, conviviality, and good cheer—fosters social connection and public activity.

On the panel, Morrow will be joined by Xenia Kopf, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Salzburg and Mozarteum Salzburg’s interuniversitary Science and Art doctoral program, and professor Sabine Knierbein, Ph.D., the head of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Urban Culture and Public Space and the Programme Director of the KTH + TU Wien Joint Visiting Professorship Program in Urban Studies and Associate Professor for Urban Culture and Public Space at TU Wien.

Join the Conversation

The 2021 Transatlantic Conversation Series: Science, Technology + Innovation for a Sustainable Future will be held March 31, at 11 a.m. MST on Zoom.

Learn more about the Western Politics & Government program.

 

 

Author Credit: Chris Rourke

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Jim Morrow