The c40 cities network estimates that globally 800 million people living in 570 urban areas will face high social and economic risks from the combination of sea level rise, storms systems and flooding by 2050. Extrapolating from current trends, Houston is likely to be one of them. In this lecture we discuss different ways that urban design can help the cause of climate resilience in coastal cities. We spotlight Albert Pope’s integrated designs for reducing flooding risks and their implications for the density and ecology of resilient urban landscapes. Then, we discuss the participatory design work that Dominic Boyer has undertaken together with community leaders in northeast Houston focused on activating “infrastructural citizenship” in favor of green stormwater infrastructure.
Humanity is being confronted as never before by both natural and human-made challenges, from climate and health to social justice and artificial intelligence. In this year’s lectures, distinguished faculty around campus address the courage, fortitude, and imagination necessary to meet these challenges and, we hope, overcome them.
Scientia is a faculty-led institute at Rice that promotes multidisciplinary engagement to benefit the university and the Houston community at large.
Visit the Youtube page to watch videos from previous lectures.