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Imagine a world where climate justice is no longer a debated concept, but rather a lived, achieved reality for all. How did we get there?
That was the question the Tishman Environment and Design Center, in collaboration with the Social Movements + Innovation Lab, explored over the course of the five-part Radical Reimaginations for Climate Justice series.
Read MoreFor the fourth part of the Tishman Center’s video interview series, we spoke to Dr. Nicky Sheats, director of the Center for the Urban Environment of the John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy at Thomas Edison State University and a key member of the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance (NJEJA). He is also a lawyer and longtime advocate for environmental justice.
Read MoreMuch like our Earth Week programming, we have had to shift our Climate Week 2020 events to all online; however, we got a great response and had around 500 plus people register to watch or participate in our events. We would like to thank everyone we worked with and that attended and hope to continue interacting with and working together with you all going forward. Please feel free to share your thoughts with us and see below for recaps and videos of all of our Climate Week events
Read MoreAs news comes in about the upcoming elections, set against a backdrop of a pandemic, we are now also bearing witness to two natural disasters in the United States: horrifying fires on the West Coast have killed at least 33 people and displaced thousands of others and, although firefighters are now starting to make progress against several of the wildfires, the dry conditions could still change the course of this step towards controlling the situation.
Read MoreOur third conversation in the interview series was with Susan Blaustein, the Executive Director of WomenStrong International, a community of organizations across the globe that focuses empowering women and girls. We spoke with Susan about how climate impacts affect women, inequalities that have stemmed from COVID-19 among other things. We hope you all enjoy this episode and please share your feedback with us.
Read MoreThe Urban Systems Lab is proud to announce the launch of Resilience, a new quarterly publication. As cities around the world face unprecedented challenges, we invite submissions from designers, scientists, architects, students, activists and artists exploring a just and equitable response, and how new and progressive approaches to design, urban planning, city governance, climate justice and activism, as well as decision making can be reimagined. We are particularly interested in articles, stories, media and artworks concerned with examples of participatory decision making, the role of climate and racial justice in the upcoming local and national elections, and the role design and science can and should play in imagining the future of cities. What is a resilient and equitable vision for cities post-Covid? How has COVID-19 changed organizing? How do we design for restorative justice, and build resilience to both climate extremes and future health crises?
Read MoreFor the second part of the Tishman Center’s video interview series, we would like to highlight Maria Lopez-Nuñez. As the Deputy Director of Organizing and Advocacy at the Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC) in Newark, NJ, Maria is an environmental justice activist deeply rooted in the Ironbound community.
Read MoreWe want to highlight the work of those looking to create positive change in the environmental and climate justice spaces and to share how we can support and elevate them; therefore we will be sharing their stories in the form of short interviews. Our first featured interview is with Leslie Velasquez, the Environmental Justice Program Coordinator at El Puente, a Brooklyn-based social justice and arts non-profit.
Read MoreWe are at a critical time in our history and culture as a result of the spread of COVID 19. Every living generation is deeply impacted by the spread of this virus and the havoc that is is causing in our society, personal and professional lives. However there is one generation that is at a critical phase in its transition from student to entering the workforce and that is Generation Z (Gen Z). The study that we are conducting seeks to answer the questions of: “How does COVID 19 impact several areas in our society (including) Education, Work and Therapeutic Outcomes for Gen Z?”
Read MoreThe Tishman Center is excited to announce the Arnold and Sheila Aronson Fellowship. The fellowship is designed to support student learning and practice at the Tishman Center. The Aronson Fellowship seeks to provide financial support to students who are, through their studies, research, or practice, finding solutions to the most pressing sustainability challenges facing the world today. Fellows will advance the mission of the Tishman Center and delve deeply into design, policy and environmental justice approaches intended to address the climate and equity crises.
Read MoreIt is our pleasure to share our new three-year strategic plan, which was completed early this summer. Tishman Center staff worked with an outside evaluator to streamline and update the goals and outcomes from our previous plan while looking to make our work more comprehensive. We also worked with key stakeholders across our community, including our affiliated faculty to refine our goals and measurements for the new plan.
Read MoreBefore we start, I want you to do a thought experiment. Think about the images you see on news coverage when there is a heat wave in a city (when it is about 95 F/ 35 C for a few days). What immediately comes to mind? Who do you picture?
Read MoreHere are some of the things you can't find during a pandemic: toilet paper, hand sanitizer, N95 masks, Nintendo Switches. As a kid growing up in the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx in the late '80s and early '90s, fresh air was a commodity we couldn't find either. No pandemic required.
Read MoreEarlier this month, Ana Baptista, Director of the Tishman Center and Chair of Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management program, gave a Congressional briefing in front of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on environmental justice communities.
Read MoreIn an art & design school, we (myself included) are tactile creatures that are interested in being seduced by beautiful and wonderful materials. Materials have been a way for me in Sustainable Systems to tap into that innate curiosity and generate a deep wonder towards our natural world. This is the first step towards generating a real personal connection with the students to the aims of the course Sustainable Systems. That is home base: reverence & wonder for our natural world. There’s so much doom & gloom and information around climate change these days; it’s easy for people to feel overwhelmed and shut down. But I think once you have awe, you’re able to work through the darkness.
Read MoreApril 24th marked the seventh anniversary of the Rana Plaza building collapse in Savar, Bangladesh. At least 1,134 people died in seconds when the building came down on them, while another 2,500 were injured. Most of the lost were garment workers, young women around the same age as the fashion students I teach at Parsons. Since then, each anniversary has been marked by Fashion Revolution, a grassroots campaign initiated by Orsola de Castro and Carry Somers. Numerous other initiatives were founded to support impacted workers and their families.
Read MoreIn light of all the tumult happening this semester, the Tishman Center felt a need to support environmental justice and equity work of students across the university. We put out a call for applications in April of 2020 and are proud to present the fourteen projects that we decided to support below. These projects represent almost all of the colleges across The New School and embody the transdisciplinary approach that both the university and the Tishman Center embarace as the best way to solve the issues of our time.
Read MoreOn April 21st, the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance released their latest report, NYC Climate Justice Agenda 2020: A Critical Decade for Climate, Equity and Health which outlines urgent recommended strategies to enact a Just Transition, including specific timelines and concrete financial and legislative commitments to create healthy and resilient neighborhoods; tackle emissions in an equitable way; support climate adaptation for frontline communities; and generate good, green jobs in the process.
Read MoreApril is normally the busiest month for the Tishman Center, as the variety of programming focused on Earth Day that we have spent several months developing comes to life on campus. This year, however, in light of COVID-19, the Tishman Center, along with the rest of the world, had to rapidly readjust and find ways to transition towards a virtual format to ensure that we keep our community safe but still get a chance to connect.
Read MoreWe need to band together as a community more than ever to make sure that the staff of these organizations are able to support themselves during these times of uncertainty. We have posted donation links below to organizations that we work with and that we are happy to offer support. Please let us know by emailing us at tedc@newschool.edu if there are other organizations that we can add to the list and we are happy to update it.
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