Join us at the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs for two panel discussions on October 20 and 21 in honor of Global Climate Change Week.
Oct. 20: Citizen Science and Stakeholder Engagement: Environmental Justice
Tuesday, Oct. 20
5:00-6:30 p.m.
Both incidence and death rates from Covid-19 are higher in low-income areas and communities of color. Blacks and Latinos are being hit with a double whammy. They are more likely to be in low-income jobs that leave them exposed to the virus and because they live in neighborhoods that tend to be highly polluted, Blacks and Latinos are more susceptible to asthma and related conditions that leave them more vulnerable to the virus. In this seminar we examine how scientific evidence is gathered by “citizen scientists” working with scientists in the public and private sectors and universities to document pollution in communities of color and low-income neighborhood.
We will hear about three very different types of citizen science projects. The first is a Conservation Law Foundation’s Healthy Neighborhoods Study, a longitudinal Participatory Action Research (PAR) study looking at the relationship between urban development and community health. The second explores citizen science led by a community organization in partnership with university researchers and the private sector in West Oakland. The third is led by Boston’s Museum of Science, in partnership with university researchers and community organizations.
Guest Speakers:
- Reann Gibson, Conservation Law Foundation, CLF Ventures Senior Research Fellow
- Ms. Margaret Gordon, West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project
- Azibuke Akaba, Bay Area Air Quality Management District
- David Sittenfeld, Museum of Science
This special panel is being held in conjunction with our SPPUA in Action series.
Oct. 21: Climate & Energy Justice
Wednesday, Oct. 21
6:00-7:30 p.m.
Mirroring the pandemic’s effect on just about every aspect of life, this fall’s Open Classroom series explores an expanse of topics related to societal injustice. In conjunction with Global Climate Change Week, Northeastern’s energy justice and climate researchers and activists Shalanda Baker, Jennie Stephens, Joan Fitzgerald, and Frances Roberts-Gregory join us for an inspiring panel discussion that connects climate activism, racial justice and economic justice.
Featured Panelists:
Jennie Stephens, Director of the School of Public Policy & Urban Affairs and Dean’s Professor of Sustainability Science & Policy; Author of “Diversifying Power: Why We Need AntiRacist, Feminist Leadership on Climate and Energy”
Prof. Stephens will talk about her new book which describes how the key to addressing the climate crisis is diversifying leadership so that antiracist, feminist priorities are central. She shows how innovative, diverse leaders are tackling economic, health, public transit, and housing disparities by linking these issues with climate and energy goals.
Joan Fitzgerald, Professor of Urban and Public Policy; Author of “Greenovation: Urban Leadership on Climate Change”
Prof. Fitzgerald will be talking about her new book, which argues that cities need to move beyond random acts of greenness to integrated climate action. She examines how climate action can be linked to equity and economic development in many areas—transportation, green building, and renewable energy.
Shalanda Baker, Professor of Law, Public Policy, and Urban Affairs; Author of “Revolutionary Power: An Activist’s Guide to the Energy Transition”
Prof. Baker will discuss how energy policy can be a vehicle to advance civil rights and social transformation.
Frances Roberts-Gregory, Future Faculty Fellow at Northeastern and Ph.d. Candidate in Society & Environment at UC Berkeley; 
Frances Roberts-Gregory will talk about her autoethnographic research on Gulf Coast women of color’s environmental activism and the need for a Feminist Agenda for a Green New Deal. She shows how Louisiana Black and Indigenous women resist environmental racism, navigate contradictory relationships with energy and petrochemical industries, and imagine fossil fuel free-ish futures.
This special panel is being held in conjunction with our Myra Kraft Open Classroom series.
