Urbanization19
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Just How Effective is Green Infrastructure?
Over the next 18 years, New York City’s 2010 Green Infrastructure Plan will spend $2.4 billion on green infrastructure— green roofs, tree plantings, and increased vegetation— to combat coastal pollution. But how does green infrastructure work and how effective is it really?
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Lessons From Front Lines of Climate Change
Cities already lead the action on responding to climate change. And cities are utilizing groups such as the Urban Climate Change Research Network to share lessons from implementation and scholarly research on urban climate change.
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World Population Projected to Cross 11 Billion Threshold in 2100
In 2011, the U.N. announced that the world population had reached 7 billion. This year’s new projections for future population growth are higher than previously expected. Projects like Millennium Cities hope to alleviate many of the pressures that crowded cities place on infrastructure, public services, and the environment.
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Science in the Streets
What motivates artists may be different than what motivates scientists, but they can investigate similar ideas. Artists interested in sustainability issues might team up with scientists to make sure their work is accurate. Scientists benefit from art projects that communicate their research to a broader audience than would normally read a journal article. However, the…
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Climate Effects on NYC May Move Faster Than Previously Forecast
The impact of climate change on New York City could be even more severe than previously thought, putting more people at risk from increasingly frequent floods and heat waves, according to a report by the New York City Panel on Climate Change that was released Monday.
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Roads: An Essential Element of Development
Roads data are critical to planning and development of rural transportation in developing countries, where better transportation systems can help improve livelihoods.
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Students Work on Net Zero Energy to Adaptation Planning Projects
By Noah Morgenstein This past May, seniors in the Capstone Workshop in Sustainable Development delivered their final presentations to fellow students and faculty at Columbia University. The workshop is a required course for students in the Sustainable Development major or special concentration. Unlike traditional courses, the workshop requires students to work collaboratively on a client project…
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A Sustainable Strategy to Deal with Urban Poverty
When architect Fernando Arias first arrived in Kumasi, Ghana last year, he saw unpaved roads, trash burning, garbage everywhere, and shoeless children running all around. He knew he needed to act on their behalf.
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Students Tour Via Verde, New York’s Most Sustainable Urban Housing in the Bronx
By Noah Morgenstein This May, students in the Master of Science in Sustainability Management and the Undergraduate Program in Sustainable Development toured Via Verde, one of New York’s greenest housing complexes. From the photovoltaic solar panels to the rooftop gardens and water reclamation system, Via Verde embodies many of the practical approaches to sustainable development that…
AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More
