The Sustainable Urban Planning Salon Series features thought leaders discussing emerging issues and ideas relevant to urban planning and sustainability professionals. Hosted by the Sustainable Urban Planning program, this year’s Salon Series features five virtual events with an outstanding lineup of speakers.
The Salon Series kicked off this fall on September 18 with a webinar on research that addressed the redevelopment and revitalization of brownfields. The event included an insightful discussion about how recent approaches to development impact climate change and put communities of color at risk.
The speakers, Dr. Ann Carroll, Dr. Christopher De Sousa and Dr. Sandra Whitehead, program director of the Sustainable Urban Planning program, presented a new article that summarizes the literature on brownfields and identifies research gaps and opportunities to build climate resilience, strengthen community action for dismantling structural racism and disinvestment, and reduce the disproportionate risks experienced by communities of color and areas of low income.
Dr. Ann Carroll has been with the US EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization since February 2002. She had a hand in signing into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2001 and played an important role in establishing the EPA’s Brownfield program.
Dr. Christopher De Sousa, a Professor in the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University, also has significant experience with brownfields. He was awarded the Canadian Brownfielder of the Year in 2018; Serves as Past President of the Canadian Brownfields Network; and is a Steering Committee member on the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Brownfields/Land Reuse Health Initiative.
The second Salon Series, held October 30, focused on Land Use and Zoning Tools that Advance Environmental Justice. It featured Dr. Ana Baptista and Dr. Sandra Whitehead, the program director for the Sustainable Urban Planning program.
Dr. Ana Baptista is an Associate Professor in the Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management program at The New School University. She is the co-Director of the Tishman Environment and Design Center at The New School; and the Co-designer of the National Environmental Justice Movement Fellowship program housed at the Tishman Center. She was appointed to the Fourth New York City Panel on Climate Change; is a founding member of the regional Coalition for Healthy Ports and the national Moving Forward Network; and an inaugural member of the Equitable and Just National Climate Platform and serves as a Trustee for the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, the Ironbound Community Corporation, GAIA, and the Victoria Foundation. Her work focuses on research developed with environmental justice organizations and issues from cumulative impacts to climate mitigation.
The Sustainable Urban Planning program’s speaker series have featured such luminaries as Dr. Sacoby Wilson, Mitchell Silver, and Charles Lee.
Mark Your Calendar for the Upcoming Salon Series Events
Watch for registration information coming soon!
- 2/4: Salon Series Event: Using Public Art for Placemaking with Karyn Miller
- 3/4: Salon Series Event: How to Use AI in Planning with Tom Sanchez
- 4/15: Salon Series Event: Assessing and Addressing Cumulative Impacts: A NEJAC Perspective
For more information about the Sustainable Urban Planning Program please visit our website.