Mobilizing Communities for a Just Transition
Fall 2023: Energy Democracy & Community Empowerment
Energy Democracy & Community Empowerment was held at Barnard College on November 14, 2023. It brought together several prominent public figures to discuss community-based renewable energy projects in New York City, from the Renewable Rikers plan to turn the island jail complex into a site for publicly-owned renewable energy production to the Co-ops Go Solar campaigns to bring solar energy to low-income homeowners. These and other solar initiatives elucidate the challenges and potential of frontline communities becoming critical stakeholders in the city's climate adaptation, intersecting with concerns for economic and racial justice.
Event Participants:
Lawrence Haseley, Senior Program Manager, Solar One
Ashley Dawson, Professor, The Graduate Center & College of Staten Island, CUNY
Summer Sandoval, Policy Advisor, NYC Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice
Daniel Chu, Energy Planner, NYC Environmental Justice Alliance
Andrea Johnson, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Barnard and Columbia Architecture
Introductions:
Sandra Goldmark, Director, Campus Sustainability and Climate Action, Associate Professor of Professional Practice, Barnard College, and Senior Assistant Dean for Interdisciplinary Engagement, Columbia Climate School
Moderator:
Ralph Ghoche, Assistant Professor, Barnard and Columbia Architecture
Event Sponsors:
Barnard Environmental Science Department
Barnard and Columbia College Architecture Department
Barnard and Columbia College Urban Studies Program
Barnard College Office of the Provost
Barnard Office of Sustainability and Climate Action
Barnard Office of Community Engagement & Inclusion
A recording of this event is available here:
Spring 2022: Mobilizing Communities for Climate Justice
Mobilizing Communities for Climate Justice was held at Barnard College on April 19, 2022. It brought two prominent community organizers, Maria Lopez-Nuñez (Ironbound Community Corporation) and Dariella Rodriguez (THE POINT CDC), to our campus to talk about their work mitigating environmental and health hazards in their communities. The conversation opened with the organizers describing in vivid terms their struggles to hold the polluting industries accountable. It concluded with a broader discussion on the need for environmental repair and the necessity for a "Just Transition" away from extractive industries and towards a regenerative economy. The event was moderated by Ralph Ghoche (Architecture Department) and Mary Rocco (Urban Studies Program).
A recording of this event is available here:
