Lecture abstract:
Climate change raises profound questions about the future of cities. How will cities adapt and build resilience to more frequent and severe extreme weather events? How will they change their infrastructure and energy systems to move toward a zero-carbon future? As researchers, planners, and policy makers grapple with these questions, an emerging, cross-cutting theme is the issue of equity: what will climate adaptation and mitigation mean for less advantaged residents and communities? who will have a voice in climate-related decisions and actions? where are the leverage points for building a resilient and equitable urban future? This emphasis on equity is not only foundational for urban communities and environmental and climate justice movements, but is also becoming a key policy priority at the national, and international levels. This talk will explore opportunities, challenges, and synergies associated with bringing equity into climate change planning and responses in urban areas. The talk will draw from the growing literature on equity in climate change planning as well as the author’s work on equity-based community adaptation in the U.S. Northeast.
About the speaker:
Robin Leichenko is Professor of Geography at Rutgers University and co-Director of the Rutgers Climate Institute. Her current research explores the economic and equity impacts of climate change with a focus on the northeastern United States. Leichenko is currently serving as co-chair for the New York City Panel on Climate Change, co-chair of the Society and Economy Sector of the New York State Climate Assessment, and co-PI of the NOAA RISA Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast. Leichenko has authored or co-authored three books and more than 100 journal articles, book chapters, and scientific reports. Her book, Environmental Change and Globalization: Double Exposures (2008, Oxford University Press, with Karen O’Brien), won the Meridian Book Award for Outstanding Scholarly Contribution from the American Association of Geographers. Her latest book, Climate and Society: Transforming the Future (with Karen O’Brien) was published by Polity Press in 2019.