Working Groups are a core part of the annual APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Conference and provide an important opportunity for delegates to participate in collaborative research and connect with members across the APRU network. Working Groups typically leave the conference with a planned output related to their group theme and/or connected to the conference location.  

Purpose of Working Groups:
Collaborate on research related to sustainable cities and landscapes.
Build cross-institutional and cross-disciplinary networks.
Develop shared academic outputs (publications, case studies, white papers, webinars).
Engage with the host city and conference theme in meaningful ways.

Example Working Group Publications

Working Group Leader Guidelines

Find a full list of past Working Groups here. 

The APRU SCL has established Working Groups around strategic themes that evolve from conference to conference to reflect the key issues and pressures for our cities and landscapes across the Pacific Rim. Below is a list of Working Groups that plan to attend the 2026 conference in Shanghai, China. 

Working groups evolve from year to year as leads rotate and topics converge. The list below traces each research theme across past conferences.

Urban and Landscape Biodiversity

• 2026: Urban Landscape Biodiversity, led by Ruishan Chen and Shiqiang Du
• 2025: Urban Landscape Biodiversity, led by Fei Mo, Sohyun Park, and Chaeri Kim
• 2025: Botanical Urbanism, led by Yun Hye Hwang and Xiaoxuan Lu
• 2024: Urban Landscape Biodiversity, led by Gail A. Langellotto and Ma. Catriona Devanadera
• 2023: Urban Biodiversity, led by Bart Johnson and Fei Mo
• 2022: Urban Landscape Biodiversity, led by Fei Mo, Bart Johnson, and Gail A. Langellotto
• 2019: Urban Biodiversity, led by Caroline Dingle and Bart Johnson
• 2018: Urban Biodiversity, led by Caroline Dingle

Water, Waste, and Sanitation

• 2025: Water and Wastewater, led by Kory Russel and Zafar Adeel
• 2024: Water and Waste Management, led by Samad Sepasgozar, Sheila B. Austero, and Janssen Andrew S. Calvelo
• 2023: Water and Wastewater, led by Kory Russel and Valerie Ochoa-Herrera
• 2022: Water and Wastewater, led by Kory Russel
• 2020: Water and Wastewater, led by Kory Russel and Adam DeHeer
• 2019: Water and Wastewater, led by Adam DeHeer
• 2018: Urban Water and Sanitation, led by Kory Russel
• 2017: Redrawing Our Urban Waters, led by Adell Amos and Brook Muller
• 2017: The Future of Urban Water and Sanitation, led by Kory Russel

Climate Justice and Vulnerable Communities

• 2026: Climate Justice, led by Iresh Jayawardena
• 2025: Climate Justice and Community Resilience, led by Chingwen Cheng and Maya Gislason
• 2024: Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Justice, led by Chingwen Cheng, Almira Geles L. De Mesa, and Joan Pauline P. Talubo
• 2023: Energy and Climate Justice, led by Chingwen Cheng
• 2022: Vulnerable, Resilient, and Climate Justice Communities, led by Chingwen Cheng
• 2020: Vulnerable, Resilient, and Climate-Just Communities, led by Chingwen Cheng
• 2019: Vulnerable Communities, led by Chingwen Cheng
• 2018: Vulnerable Communities, led by Stephanie Pincetl, Kian Goh, and Mark Gold

Civic Engagement and Community Design

• 2026: Civic Engagement and Community Design, led by Jeff Hou
• 2025: Civic Engagement and Community Design, led by Jeff Hou and Mari Fujita
• 2024: Civic Engagement and Community Design, led by Jeff Hou and Efraim D. Roxas
• 2022: Civic Engagement and Community Design, led by Jeff Hou

Landscape and Human Health

• 2026: Landscape and Human Health, led by Tzuhui Angie Tseng and Rosita Samsudin
• 2025: Landscape and Human Health, led by Tzuhui Angie Tseng and Shih-Han Hung
• 2022: Landscapes and Human Health, led by Tzuhui Angie Tseng and Chun-Yen Chang
• 2020: Landscape and Human Health, led by Tzuhui Angie Tseng, Chun-Yen Chang, and Bin Jiang
• 2019: Landscape and Human Health, led by Chun-Yen Chang and Bin Jiang
• 2018: Landscape and Human Health, led by Bin Jiang and Chun-Yen Chang

Energy, Smart Cities, and Technology

• 2026: Urban AI, led by Youngchul Kim and Elham Bahmanteymouri
• 2025: Renewable Energy Systems and Landscapes, led by Yekang Ko, Nicholas Pevzner, and Taco Niet
• 2025: Smart Urban Technologies, led by Mohsen Mohammadzadeh and Alessandro Premier
• 2024: Future Energy Landscapes and Smart Cities, led by Alessandro Premier, Mohsen Mohammadzadeh, Edgar M. Reyes Jr., and Casper B. Agaton
• 2022: Smart Cities, led by Mohsen Mohammadzadeh
• 2022: Future Energy Landscapes, led by Mohsen Mohammadzadeh, Alessandro Premier, and Casper B. Agaton
• 2020: Smart Cities, led by Mohsen Mohammadzadeh
• 2020: Future Energy Landscapes, led by Mohsen Mohammadzadeh and Yekang Ko
• 2019: Smart Cities, led by Mohsen Mohammadzadeh
• 2019: Urban Renewable Energy, led by Makena Coffman, Yekang Ko, and Kirk Dimond
• 2018: Smart Cities, led by Mohsen Mohammadzadeh
• 2018: Urban Renewable Energy, led by Makena Coffman and Yekang Ko
• 2017: Sustainable Transportation in an Era of Autonomous Vehicles, led by Marc Schlossberg
• 2017: Resolving Conflicts of "Greens": Energy Planning for Sustainable Landscape Conservation, led by Yekang Ko

Urban Design, Sustainability, and Futures

• 2025: Future Regenerative and Differential Cities, led by Manfredo Manfredini
• 2023: Sustainable Urban Design, led by Natalia Echeverri
• 2022: Sustainable Urban Design, led by Errol J. Haarhoff and Natalia Echeverri
• 2020: Sustainable Urban Design, led by Errol J. Haarhoff
• 2019: Sustainable Urban Design, led by Errol J. Haarhoff and Paola Boarin
• 2018: Sustainable Urban Design, led by Errol J. Haarhoff
• 2018: City-Landscape Sustainability, led by Edwin Schmitt
• 2017: Containing Urban Expansion Using "Boundaries" in the Era of Rapid Urbanization, led by Yizhao Yang
• 2017: The Chengdu Plain and Dujiangyan Irrigation District: A Case of City-Landscape Sustainability, led by Dan Abramson

Urban-Rural Linkages

• 2024: Urban-Rural Linkages, led by Yizhao Yang and Edwin R. Abucay
• 2022: Urban-Rural Linkages, led by Yizhao Yang and Sara Padgett Kjaersgaard
• 2020: Urban-Rural Linkages, led by Yizhao Yang and Sara Padgett Kjaersgaard
• 2019: Urban-Rural Linkages, led by Yizhao Yang and Sara Padgett Kjaersgaard
• 2018: Urban-Rural Linkages, led by Yizhao Yang and Sara Padgett Kjaersgaard

Urban Waterfronts and Coastal Zones

• 2024: Urban Waterfronts, led by Anne Taufen and Kyle Pierre R. Israel
• 2020: Transitions in Urban Waterfronts, led by Anne Taufen and Ken Yocom
• 2019: Transitions in Urban Waterfronts, led by Anne Taufen, Ken Yocom, and Catherine Evans
• 2018: Transitions in Urban Waterfronts, led by Anne Taufen and Ken Yocom

Infrastructure and Ecologies

• 2026: Moral Ecologies of Infrastructure, led by Anne Taufen and Yiliang He
• 2025: Moral Ecologies of Infrastructure, led by Anne Taufen
• 2019: Infrastructure Ecologies, led by Mathew Pryor
• 2018: Productive Cities, Infrastructural Ecologies, led by Mathew Pryor and Wang Ting
• 2017: From Urban Agriculture to New Urban Commons: Productive Landscapes and Infrastructural Ecologies, led by Jacques Abelman

Age-Friendly Cities and Human Development

• 2026: Age-Friendly Cities and Communities, led by Alex Li and Mei Lan Fang
• 2026: Human Development and Nature Preservation, led by John Dunn
• 2025: Age-Friendly Cities and Communities, led by Alex Li and Mei Lan Fang
• 2022: Children, Youth, and Environments
• 2020: Children, Youth, and Environments

Food and Nutrition Security

• 2024: Food and Nutrition Security, led by Jennifer Marie S. Amparo and Aileen R. de Juras
• 2020: Food Nutrition Security, led by Robert Dyball
• 2019: Food and Nutrition Security, led by Robert Dyball

Health, Emergency, and Indigenous Knowledge

• 2022: Pandemics, Humanitarian Emergencies, and Health
• 2020: Indigenous Knowledge and Wisdom