Cities of the Future: Establishing Sustainable Water Systems in Emerging Urban Centers

In January, Dr. Kala Vairavamoorthy, Executive Director of the Patel School of Global Sustainability at the University of South Florida, spoke to the water working group about the challenges that emerging urban centers face in establishing sustainable water systems. After his presentation, Kala recorded a podcast on the subject.

Dr. Kala Vairavamoorthy is an internationally-recognized expert on urban water issues who has worked to create clean and sustainable water and sanitation systems through programs for UNESCO and the European Union. He currently directs the USF Patel School of Global Sustainability. In his career, Dr. Vairavamoorthy has led groups of researchers studying the future of sustainable water systems for cities and how urban areas might respond to water issues in the face of climate change and population growth. His current research focuses on the following topics: development of new techniques for the flexible design of urban water supply systems operating under uncertainties associated with global change; application of optimization techniques for the operation & maintenance and life-cycle management of urban water systems; and development of risk assessment approach for the design of sustainable urban water systems operating in the ‘city of the future.’