Visualize NYC 2021: Climate Change and Resilience

*This event was originally scheduled for October 20th*

*This event is occurring as a live webinar. Registrants will be emailed a link to access the program.*

This program will look at climate change issues we believe will be relevant to the 2021 local elections in NYC. 

The next 12 months may be some of the most momentous in New York City’s history, with a confluence of events—including the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and an election with the potential to reshape the political landscape— creating major opportunities for change. The November 2021 election will lead to an unprecedented amount of turnover in city government: in addition to the mayor, 40 elected officials will reach term limits, including four borough presidents and 34 City Council members. The number of open positions creates a singular opportunity for change in the five boroughs, and incoming civic leaders will have the potential to remake the political landscape.    

In response to this unique moment, AIA New York has partnered with MIT’s Civic Data Design Lab to undertake a web project titled Visualize NYC 2021, which will explore issues in our city that we believe will be central in the 2021 local elections.  

This program, featuring Richard Yancey, is presented with the first phase of Visualize NYC 2021, a website that invites you to share your vision for New York City in response to prompts from experts in the built environment. 

Yancey will discuss his prompt: 

“The design and operation of buildings contributes a majority of NYC’s greenhouse gas emissions. We can make buildings part of our climate solution by____” 

To respond to this prompts and others please visit VisualizeNYC.net 

Speakers:
Mark Chambers, Director, Mayor’s Office of Sustainability
Richard C. Yancey, FAIA, LEED AP, founding Executive Director of the Building Energy Exchange (BE-Ex)

Mark Chambers serves as Director of Sustainability for New York City. He leads policy and programs to confront climate change and inequality, two inextricable threats to America’s largest city and our shared planet. An architect and urbanist, Mark leverages the power of public policy and design to enable a resilient built environment, where all New York City’s 8.6 million residents can thrive and quickly transition to a zero-carbon society.
Previously, Mark served as the Director of Sustainability and Energy for Washington, DC. He holds a graduate degree in Public Policy & Management and an undergraduate degree in Architecture, both from Carnegie Mellon University. Mark is the recent recipient of the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum’s National Director Award.

Richard Yancey is the founding executive director of the Building Energy Exchange a nonprofit center of excellence that accelerates the transition to healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient buildings by serving as a resource and trusted expert to the building industry. Through education, exhibits, and actionable research, BE-Ex plays a central role in the climate action plans of both New York City and State, and advances high performance buildings globally, as the founding member of the United Nations ECE International Center of Excellence for High Performance Buildings. Prior to BE-Ex, Richard practiced architecture in Seattle and New York, leading a diverse array of award-winning commercial, institutional, and residential projects. He has lectured and is published widely; served on the NYC Mayor’s Climate Action Plan Technical Working Group; NYC Local Law 97 Climate Advisory Board Working Group on Building Technologies and Pathways; and received his Master of Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.