Denise Hoffman Brandt: “Landscape Issues are the Confluence of Society, Culture and Environment”: Part I

The following is a transcript of Jay Wu’s interview with Denise Hoffman Brandt, Professor at CCNY’s Anne Spitzer School of Architecture and Director of Graduate Landscape Architecture from 2010 to 2020. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. Q. Many of my classmates don’t come from either environmental or urban studies backgrounds, yet we’re all here studying Urban Sustainability. Given that context, I thought it was really interesting that you first earned degrees in art history and painting before studying landscape architecture. Why did you become a landscape architect after studying art, and how does that background inform …

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Final Capstone Presentations, 2020

Below see the video recordings for the final capstone reviews for the Fall, 2020 semester. Following each presentation is the abstract for the project. Open Passive House: Making a business case for multifamily affordable Passive House  Summary (Abstract): ​There exists a highly compelling case for promoting Passive House building standards for the affordable multifamily sector in New York City. In addition to deep energy and carbon reductions that align with the goals of New York City’s Climate Mobilization Act, increased occupant comfort and climate resiliency will greatly benefit some of New York City’s most vulnerable populations. There is great interest in Passive …

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Research Guide on Sustainability Topics: A Post from Professor Nilda Sanchez-Rodriguez

Sustainability in the Urban Environment program at the City College of New York is fortunate to have the support of two knowledgeable liaisons to a trove of sustainability-related information:   Professor Nilda Sanchez-Rodriguez, Chief Librarian of Architecture division [nsanchez@ccny.cuny.edu; Drop-In Zoom; (212) 650-8767] Professor Philip Barnett, Reference Librarian, Science & Engineering Library pbarnett@ccny.cuny.edu As the librarian liaison for Sustainability in the Urban Environment, I am pleased to provide library services and support for an extremely diverse population of students, faculty, and alumni. Providing equitable access to digital resources is increasingly critical to as CCNY Libraries continue to serve their communities amid …

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Honoring the Class of 2020

On May 27th, the Sustainability in the Urban Environment Program convened graduates over Zoom alongside CCNY’s President, Sustainability faculty, friends, family, current students, and alumni to honor the very resilient Class of 2020. Vanessa Ventola and Jenny Lin were honored as class Valedictorian and Salutatorian, respectively. Below is the downloadable slideshow of photos shared by the graduates of themselves and of their experiences in the Sustainability Program.

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Student Project: Green Burial in NYC

Students Debbie Einhorn, Bryant Cupidore, and Alex Young are working on the yearlong capstone project with Professor Christina Staudt of the Columbia University Death Lab. As part of the capstone process, students are required to present at the mid-year point to show their work to date and plan for the next semester of research and deliverables. Below is a video recording of their mid-year review, which was held online over Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Information Session on the M.S. in Sustainability from CCNY

On Monday, May 11th, 2020 the Sustainability Program held and online information session (open house) for applicants and those interested in the M.S. in Sustainability. The session was recorded and can be viewed below. Watching the video (in its entirety) is a great way to learn about requirements, applications, curriculum, current student experiences, alumni jobs, scholarships, international applications, and other general questions about the Program.

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Panel: Smart Cities and Sustainability: Emerging Technologies in the Building Sector

The transformation of contemporary cities across the globe to truly smart cities will be central to improving urban quality of life in the decades ahead. The incorporation of sensing and other IT technology into municipal infrastructure and widespread networking of data management, part of the next wave of the Internet of Things, will be crucial to optimizing delivery of urban services, while reducing energy and resource consumption. Buildings are on the leading edge, using strategic combinations of technology to automate building management towards those key ends while better satisfying individual and user preferences.  Panelists: Rich Harris, Manager of Technical Facilities …

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A Message from Program Director, Professor Hillary Brown

Dear CCNY Sustainability Alumni and Friends, As we mark the tenth year of the interdisciplinary Sustainability in the Urban Environment master’s program, we hope this newsletter will sustain your ongoing engagement with CCNY and our Sustainability Program. Our plan is to hold a celebratory reunion event at the end of spring semester 2020 commemorating our first decade and we anticipate a great alumni turnout. Additionally, we are excited to announce that this year, CCNY’s president, Vincent Boudreau, has launched a college-wide initiative focused on sustainability and climate justice. Our reunion will be calendared along with multiple other sustainability- and climate-themed …

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Lecture: Climate Change and Emerging Infectious Disease from Daniel Brooks

On March 18th, 2020, Daniel Brooks was slated to give a lecture on Climate Change and Emerging Infectious Disease: Three Things Most People Don’t Know. Following the spread of COVID-19 and CUNY-wide transition to fully remote operations, Mr. Brooks could no longer visit the City College campus to give such a timely lecture. Instead, more than 100 people attended remotely via Webinar and the session was recorded. It can also be viewed and shared here: https://bluejeans.com/s/aMGUv/​. Additional information is below. About the Lecture Emerging Infectious Diseases in humans, livestock and crops currently cost the world 1 trillion dollars a year …

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