Call for Paper and Poster Abstracts

The theme of the 14th Annual CitiesAlive Green Roof and Wall Conference is - Focusing on Stormwater Management Technology, Policy, Research and Best Practices. 

Background and Introduction

Washington DC is currently a leader in green roof implementation and policy. Stormwater management is a critically important requirement in Washington DC and many other jurisdictions. CitiesAlive 2016 will focus on stormwater management – policies, technologies, design and best management practices.

Topic areas include:

• How to maximize stormwater retention – technologies and design
• Policy best management practices  - feebates, grant programs, credits, minimum standards, construction standards, maintenance standards,
• Green roofs and walls as part of an integrated building & site approach to stormwater management – case studies
• The economics (costs + benefits) of various best management practices for stormwater retention – comparing apples to apples – short and medium term perspectives.
• Looking beyond stormwater to other tangible benefits and the role of private investment
• Design and testing methods and measurement tools
• Stormwater economics – flooding, erosion control, tanks
• Stormwater as a resource – rainwater harvesting best practices, storage and irrigation systems

Research Track

Research track papers must present data and will be subject to a peer review process.  Research conducted should be of a unique and forward-looking nature and contain data.

Design Track

Design Track papers should be of completed projects and emphasis will be given to projects that reflect the conference theme ‘Stormwater Management & Performance’

Policy Track

New and innovative policies, standards, economic studies and performance methods will be the focus of this year’s policy track papers.  

Benefits of presenting at CitiesAlive

• Opportunity to present your groundbreaking research, innovative design case study or novel policy changes to a highly interested group of green roof and wall enthusiasts.
• Speakers are featured on www.citiesalive.org with their presentation description, photo and biography.
• Speakers will receive a reduced rate of $350 to attend as a full delegate, which includes the trade show, plenary sessions, the Awards of Excellence, networking receptions and other sessions.
• Speakers will also receive a free electronic copy of the conference proceedings (valued at $160).

Speaker Terms and Conditions

To present your paper at CitiesAlive 2016, the following terms and conditions must be met:

1. All accepted speakers for the research track are required to submit a paper.  Policy and design track speakers must submit a powerpoint presentation.

2. All accepted speakers must sign a waiver that allows Green Roofs for Healthy Cities the right to use their paper, presentation and PowerPoint to distribute in the conference proceedings so that delegates and those who were unable to attend the conference may view them.

3. Speakers will need to register and pay the speaker rate in order to present at the conference. Speakers must cover their own transportation and hotel expenses.

4. In the design and case studies track, all projects must be completed at the time of abstract submittal.

5. In the research track, all of the data in the paper must be available by the time you submit your paper for peer review. Only research papers are required to undergo a peer review.

The Selection Process

The CitiesAlive conference call for paper abstracts is looking for papers that display novel ideas on the above-mentioned theme. The abstract content will be evaluated by independent multi-disciplinary volunteers on whether the submission displays innovation, presents new information or describes a new process and the credentials of the authors will be assessed along with the relevance on the paper to the overall conference themes.

There are 3 volunteer committees that select and review the papers:

1. Programs and policies to support green roofs and green walls

2. Green roof / green wall design and implementation

3. Research/ technical papers on green roof and green wall performance

Every track will undergo the selection process.  Papers and presentation proposals that address stormwater topics will be given preference over those which do not addressthe this year’s main theme.  Innovative papers and presentations that do not include stormwater will be evaluated and may be included on the agenda. 

Once selected, the Research Track papers will undergo a peer review process where comments will be sent back via email. Research Track presenters will need to respond to peer review comments satisfactorily in order to have their papers accepted.

Interested in being part of the selection committee? Please contact conference@greenroofs.org no later than January 29. You must be a member in good standing of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities to participate on a selection committee.

If your paper abstract is selected

Authors will be given a 30 minute time slots in which to present (25 minutes) and address questions (5 minutes).

With the notification of acceptance of abstract, authors will receive final paper formatting instructions and a paper template. All speakers will be provided with an LCD projector and laptop for their presentation.

Detailed Speaker Timeline:

1.    Call for papers for research and policy, call for sessions for design released: December 1st, 2015

2.    Abstract submission deadline: February 26th, 2016

3.    All receipts for submissions will be emailed to candidates by: March 2nd, 2016

4.    Candidates will be notified of their acceptance by: March 25th, 2016

5.    Speakers must confirm their interest in presenting by: April 8th, 2016

6.    First draft of papers to be peer reviewed due (Research Track): June 10th, 2016

7.    Peer reviewed papers returned speakers (Research Track) by: July  15th, 2016

8.    Final draft of peer reviewed papers due (Research Track): September 9th, 2016

9.    All speaker PowerPoint presentations due: October 14th, 2016

10.  CitiesAlive in Washington DC, November 1st to 4th, 2016. If you are selected to be a speaker at CitiesAlive 2016 your presentation will be scheduled for between November 2nd to 4th at University of the District Columbia.  Detailed time and place to be determined.  

Posters Submission:

If your paper is not accepted, you may be asked to submit a poster.  Accepted posters will allow authors to present for five minutes and address five minutes of questions during the Conference on the trade show floor. Upon notification of acceptance, authors will receive final poster formatting instructions and deadlines for final posters.

All abstracts are due by February 26th, 2016.

Please complete application online at https://greenroofsforhealthycities.submittable.com/submit

Thank you for your interest in and support of CitiesAlive 2016.

If you have any questions about paper/presentation submission please contact: Chaoyue Zhao, Conference Coordinator, czhao@greenroofs.org