TEDC Affiliated Faculty Contribute to Climate Change and Cities Report with Urban Climate Change Research Network
The Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN) released the Summary for City Leaders of the Second UCCRN Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities (ARC3.2) at the COP21 Climate Summit for Local Leaders in Paris City Hall on December 4, 2015.
Affiliated Faculty Contributions
Shagun Mehrotra, Professor of Sustainable Development at the Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy and founding Director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Center, is a co-editor of Summary for City Leaders of the Second UCCRN Assessment Report on Climate Change and Cities (ARC3.2). Professor Mehrotra was also editor of previous editions of ARC and he currently co-directs the UCCRN. Professor Mehrotra also serves on UNSDSN’s Urban Thematic Group charged by the UN Secretary General as an external advisory group for the post-2015 development agenda. Over the last decade and a half, his research and advice has widely engaged governments and the private sector in Africa, Asia and Latin America on climate change, infrastructure economics and finance, and poverty reduction in cities, particularly large slums. He has led 45 multidisciplinary teams to assess climate risk and craft response in global cities and a dozen teams on infrastructure reforms.Joel Towers, is the Executive Dean of Parsons School of Design. Towers, who also holds a faculty position as Associate Professor of Architecture and Sustainable Design, is one of the lead authors of ARC3.2’s “Chapter 5: Urban Planning and Design.” In 2006 he helped to establish TEDC serving as its first director and Associate Provost for Environmental Studies at The New School. He first came to Parsons during the 2003/4 academic year as the Director of Sustainable Design and Urban Ecology. His research and teaching focus on design and climate change.Timon McPhearson, Assistant Professor and Chair of Environmental Studies at The School for Public Engagement, was a coordinating lead author for ARC3.2’s “Chapter 8: Urban Ecosystems and Biodiversity.” He is Director of the Urban Ecology Lab where he works directly with designers, planners, and managers to foster sustainable and resilient cities. He investigates the ecology in, of, and for cities and teaches urban resilience, systems thinking, and urban ecology at the university. He is a contributing author to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s Cities Biodiversity Overlook, a member of the UCCRN, and co-leads the Future Earth Urban Platform (FEUP). He is also CO-PI of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) $12 million “Urban Resilience to Extreme Weather Related Events” Sustainability Research Network.
The UCCRN’s Mission and ARC3.2’s Full Report
UCCRN is dedicated to providing the information that city leaders–from government, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and the community—need in order to assess current and future risks, make choices that enhance resilience to climate change and climate extremes, and take actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The “ARC3.2 Summary for City Leaders” provides a broad synthesis of the latest scientific research on climate change and cities. It presents the majors findings and key messages on urban climate science, disasters and risk, urban planning and design, mitigation and adaptation, equity and environmental justice, economics, finance, and the private sector, urban ecosystems, urban coastal zones, public health, housing and informal settlements, energy, water, transportation, solid waste, and governance.View the full report here
To share sustainability-related projects and research, please email tedc@newschool.edu and include: name, title, program, two images and 150 words describing the project.