Projects

Promoting Research

The Core Programs: An Overview
Urban sustainability encompasses many elements. The physical and biological environment, the built environment, economic activity, and cultural choices all interact to shape the city as artifact and as concept, from the scale of the neighborhood to the scale of the global network of cities. The Institute has developed three Core Projects, each led by seasoned researchers, to serve as umbrella projects for research, education and outreach. They have been broadly conceived so as to generate a range of questions that will engage varying disciplines and constituencies, linking researchers to students, fellow researchers and the public. The Core Programs will evolve to reflect the evolution of public and academic interest.

The Urban Sustainability Extension Service (USES)
The Urban Sustainability Extension Service (USES) is the Institute’s initiative to bring Hunter College and Community partners together to develop neighborhood-scale sustainability initiatives. Currently, we are working with cultural, governmental, and environmental organizations including the Manhattan Borough President’s Office and the New York Restoration Project to develop A Model Block of Sustainability Action in East Harlem.

This initiative is a direct reflection of the Institute’s mission to look at whole cities as part of the solution to global sustainability challenges, as well as its focus on the potential for ecosystem services to benefit and restore urban environments. The goal of the project is to: develop a site for action-oriented, demonstrable sustainability interventions within East Harlem, as an innovative approach to greenhouse gas emission reduction (climate change mitigation). It includes a three step work plan. 1) An assessment of social and ecological resources on a specific city block (the particular block to be identified through consultation with the project partners), 2) The development of a Storefront for Sustainability and pilot demonstration project and 3) The creation of an online, participatory platform (blog), and guide that outlines resources available for neighborhood sustainavists.

The City Atlas
City Atlas is a New Yorker’s comprehensive guide to events, ideas and actions that are positively impacting and forming our city’s future.

We like to think of ourselves as a bottom-up sustainability plan for New York City that works best with your participation. The Atlas reflects the good work that individuals, organizations, businesses, cultural institutions, and everyone else (!) does to move our city toward a more sustainable version of itself. Basically, we aggregate a lot of good stuff and show you how some of our lived culture is already moving us in the right direction.

City Atlas is built by and for New Yorkers. And just like this city, it relies on science, creativity, and community.

Thank you for visiting, and we look forward to your thoughts and comments.