Building the UO’s sustainability center into an international leader is the latest proposal in the Clusters of Excellence program to get attention in The Register-Guard.

The plan grew out of the Sustainable Cities Initiative, a kind of applied research lab that draws faculty and students from across campus to develop sustainability plans for a different city each year. The Clusters of Excellence proposal would add four new faculty members with expertise in specific areas to create a research hub on sustainability issues affecting cities.

Monday’s story highlights the effort to delve deeper into issues such as street design, transportation, green building and urban ecosystems, areas where the UO already is focusing attention. The proposal would add faculty with expertise in sustainable urban design, transportation planning, green development and sustainable real estate.

The cluster is one of 10 proposals recently selected for the initial hiring effort. The Register-Guard has been featuring them in a series of articles.

The cluster was proposed by Marc Schlossberg, planning, public policy and management; Nico Larco, architecture; Adell Amos, law; and Heather Brinton, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center.