The Climate Crisis and Urban Resilience

DESCRIPTION

5-6:30PM

Join us for a discussion on policies, programs and community initiatives in cities around the world addressing the climate crisis and the cultural trends and shifts of urban communities. This event in is celebration of United Nations Day (Oct 24th) to honor the interstate organization promoting human rights, social progress, and world peace.

Speakers
Labaron Lenard-Palmer, Ph.D. is a Senior Policy Analyst, applying policy research, data analysis, strategic planning, and project management skills to various assignments for the Department of Planning and Development in the Development Services division. He completed his doctoral program at Temple University receiving a Ph.D. in Geography & Urban Studies. Labaron has a strong background in human geography, urban development, and spatial processes on a “glocal” scale. His primary interests are interdisciplinary focus of globalization and equitable development utilizing an understanding of urban geography, procedural and spatial justice issues. His dissertation: “Striking A Green Balance: Assessing Equity in the Development of Elevated Public Park Projects in Philadelphia and Washington D.C.”, presented a focus on the phenomenon of environmental gentrification.

Ariadna Reyes Sanchez, Ph.D. from Mexico City, is a Research Associate and Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design. Prior to this, she served as a postdoctoral fellow in the Global Shifts Program at the Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania. Ariadna has a Ph.D. in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas at Austin. As a doctoral student, she was the recipient of the Fulbright fellowship. Her research provides a new perspective for the analysis of climate change mitigation and energy justice in the Global South. By examining the intersection of energy use, informal housing, and transportation, Ariadna seeks to integrate three domains of climate change research that have traditionally been studied separately. Her research sheds light on the efficient and sustainable ways in which people in informal settlements use energy during the process of self-help consolidation and through their daily lives in their communities. From 2009 to 2013, she served as a specialist in sustainable building at the Centro Mario Molina, where she led a study to evaluate the environmental sustainability of the Mexican social housing policy. Civil engineer and M.Sc. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the National Polytechnic of Mexico (IPN).

Simon Richter, Ph.D. is an environmental humanist within the field of German and Dutch studies, generally interested in the cultural dimensions of sustainability and resilience. He is a member of the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities and fellow of the Penn Institute for Urban Research. Current research is focused on cultural and intercultural responses to sea level rise and flooding in delta cities in the Netherlands, the United States, and Indonesia, with an emphasis on Dutch approaches.

Co-sponsored by the School of Social Policy & Practice, Perry World House, and the United Nations Association of Greater Philadelphia