2023 Symposium: Building a Greener Future Through Urban Sustainability
About the Program
Climate change has been, and will continue to be, one of the greatest global challenges we face. Cities hold a unique position in climate change. The impacts of climate change affect all areas of urban life, including infrastructure, city waterfronts, housing, and human health, and these impacts fall disproportionately on low-income communities and people of color. At the same time, urban areas are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Cities therefore play an integral role in fighting climate change – both as advocates and as targets of reform. It is imperative for cities to take the lead in finding equitable solutions to protect all of their communities and to prevent further damage to the rural and suburban environments that urban activities have negatively impacted.
The second event of the Fordham Urban Law Journal’s 50th year of publication provides a forum for this discussion at its 2023 Symposium, Building a Greener Future Through Urban Sustainability. Alongside scholars, government and agency appointees, technical experts, and advocates, the Symposium will explore a range of topics on urban climate adaptation and resilience, including flood prevention, electrification of the transportation and buildings sectors, efforts to equitably transition to clean energy, and the important environmental justice considerations central to all climate initiatives and policies.
Panel Topics
Agenda
9:00 – 9:30 a.m. | Check-in and Breakfast
9:30 – 9:45 a.m. | Welcome Remarks
- Matthew Diller, Dean and Paul Fuller Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law
- Nestor Davidson, Albert A. Walsh Chair in Real Estate, Land Use, and Property Law; Faculty Director, Urban Law Center, Fordham University School of Law
9:45 – 11:00 a.m. | Panel 1: The Clean Energy Transition
- Genevieve Cullen, President, Electric Drive Transportation Association
- Fred Zalcman, Director, New York Offshore Wind Alliance
- Rachel Spector, Senior Attorney, Earthjustice Northeast Regional Office
- Kim Diamond, Adjunct Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law
- Moderator: Peter Angelica, Editor-in-Chief, Fordham Urban Law Journal, Fordham University School of Law 2023
11:00 – 11:10 a.m. | Break
11:10 a.m. – 12:25 p.m. | Panel 2: Green Buildings
- Ben Furnas, Executive Director, The 2030 Project: A Cornell Climate Initiative
- Hillary Aidun, Associate Attorney, Earthjustice Northeast Regional Office
- Laura Popa, Deputy Commissioner of Sustainability, New York City Department of Buildings
- Christopher Halfnight, Senior Director, Policy and Research, Urban Green Council
- Moderator: Nestor Davidson, Albert A. Walsh Chair in Real Estate, Land Use, and Property Law; Faculty Director, Urban Law Center, Fordham University School of Law
12:25 – 1:10 p.m. | Lunch Break
1:10 – 1:50 p.m. | Keynote Address
- Vicki Arroyo, Associate Administrator for Policy, United States Environmental Protection Agency
1:50 – 1:55 p.m. | Short Break
1:55 – 3:10 p.m. | Panel 3: Water, Flood Prevention, and Flood Mitigation
- Rob Rogers, FAIA, Partner, Rogers Architects + Urban Designers
- Sara Hughes, Associate Professor of Environmental Policy and Planning; Associate Director of the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research, University of Michigan
- Dan Tarlock, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Illinois Tech, Chicago-Kent College of Law
- Joseph Seebode, Deputy District Engineer and Chief of Programs and Project Management, New York District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Moderator: Eric Schaaf, Adjunct Professor of Law, Fordham University School of Law
3:10 – 3:20 p.m. | Break
3:20 – 4:35 p.m. | Panel 4: Urban Climate Policy
- Danielle Spiegel-Feld, Executive Director, Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy & Land Use Law, NYU School of Law
- Amy Turner, Senior Fellow for the Cities Climate Law Initiative, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School
- Dalindyebo Shabalala, Professor of Law, University of Dayton Law School; Director, Program In Law and Technology
- Arielle King, Director of Programming, Black Girl Environmentalist
- Moderator: Sheila Foster, Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Urban Law and Policy; Professor of Public Policy, Georgetown University