image: Migration Design, 2022
In partnership with Calgary Public Libarary…
Join us online to hear critical urban planning and environmental social science scholar Julian Agyeman speak about the role of systemic inequity in creating sustainability. In Just Sustainabilities (MIT Press, 2003), Agyeman argued that environmental degradation, racial inequity and economic structures were linked; and that policies for sustainable development must consider both social and environmental justice. Authoring 13 books on the effects of planning policies and urban design, Agyeman’s recent book, Sacred Civics co-edited with Jayne Engle, explores the tension between “belonging” and “becoming.” As designers set sights on cities that aim to become sustainable, smart and resilient, Agyeman argues paying attention to who is allowed to belong in the city.
“Our greatest challenges are not scientific or technological; they are deeper than that—they are spiritual and cultural.”
Noon (MDT) June 8th, Online
Julian Agyeman Ph.D. FRSA FRGS is a Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning and Fletcher Professor of Rhetoric and Debate at Tufts University. He is the originator of the increasingly influential concept of just sustainabilities, which explores the intersecting goals of social justice and environmental sustainability, defined as:
“the need to ensure a better quality of life for all, now, and into the future, in a just and equitable manner, whilst living within the limits of supporting ecosystems.”
Agyeman was co-founder in 1996, and is now Editor-in-Chief of Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability. He is Series Editor of Just Sustainabilities: Policy, Planning and Practice published by Bloomsbury Books/Zed Books. He is Co-Editor of the Routledge Equity, Justice and the Sustainable City Series and the Bristol University Press/Policy Press Series Creating Smart and Sharing Cities. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Australian Journal of Environmental Education.
In addition, Agyeman was co-founder in 1988, and chair until 1994, of the Black Environment Network (BEN), the first environmental justice-based organization of its kind in Britain. He is a Founding Senior Advisor/Thought Leader at PlacemakingX and sits on the Academic Board of The Centre for the Future of Places (KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden), the Board of Directors of EcoDistricts (Portland, OR, USA) and is chair of the Advisory Board of Shareable (San Francisco, USA). He is also on the Advisory Boards of the Institute for Transportation & Development Policy - US (New York City), Biophilic Cities (University of Virginia), Participatory City (London, UK), Urban Sharing (Lund, Sweden), Equiticity (Chicago) and Sharecity (Dublin, Ireland).
The World After This is a research creation series produced by d.talks in partnership with ActionDignity and Alberta EcoTrust. It seeks to understand the intersection of climate change and systemic inequity and the role of design in addressing the deep challenges ahead.