Urbanization15
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Understanding the Sustainable Lifestyle
While I remain convinced that humans require live interaction and in person contact to be effective, a high proportion of communication is electronic and require few incremental resources to be undertaken. I am quite certain that we spend more time than ever communicating professionally and personally.
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By the Numbers: Air Quality and Pollution in New York City
New York City is known for many things, but having clean air isn’t one of them. Explore some of the issues and challenges the Big Apple faces in clearing NYC’s air through interactive maps and data.
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A New Park Rises From an Old Garbage Dump: Parks as Critical Elements of Urban Infrastructure
New York’s Freshkills Park may be a tough sell for those of us who remember the huge landfill that used to be there. But anyone born in the 21st century will not associate that space with garbage, and over the next half century it will become of increasing importance to the development of Staten Island…
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How to Rethink Urban Transit, and Pay for It, Too
“We have conflated mobility with access, but mobility is not the same as access. The best solution to a transportation problem is to not have to travel. The city itself was invented as a solution to a transportation problem. We have cities so we don’t have to travel.”
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Conflict, Displaced Persons and the Built Environment
Changing personal and social narratives can address issues of internal displacement in the built environment, as in this case in Medellín, Colombia.
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The Importance of New York City’s Water Infrastructure
New York City has a magnificent system of water supply. It is an example of farsighted long-term leadership and investment without which the modern city of New York could never have been built.
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Zero Waste in San Francisco and New York: A Tale of Two Cities
Each city is different, and New York’s pace, diversity, and size make comparisons to San Francisco difficult. Still, large-scale behavior changes can be achieved with leadership, strategy and creativity.
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The Sustainable City
By concentrating human population in cities, we will make it possible to preserve land for wilderness, ecosystem maintenance and agriculture. People will travel to these places and will experience nature, but only a fortunate few will live close to nature.
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The Not in My Backyard Syndrome and Sustainability Infrastructure
As we make the transition to a more sustainable, renewable resource based economy, we will need to build new smart-grid electrical systems, new water infrastructure, coastal resiliency projects, mass transit, public charging stations, and other types of development. This will require innovative efforts to plan, design, build, manage and communicate if it is to succeed.
Congratulations to our Columbia Climate School Class of 2026 and all of our 2026 Columbia University graduates! Learn more about our May 15 Climate School Class Day celebration. 💙 #Columbia2026 #ColumbiaClimate2026