The Brooklyn Waterfront 2050

Cuny New York City College Of Technology, Brooklyn NY

Investigators

Abstract

99 New York City College of Technology, City Tech, is using its downtown Brooklyn New York setting at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge as an interdisciplinary laboratory for first year students. The project, Brooklyn Waterfront 2050 is using the unique setting of the Brooklyn waterfront and its history shaped by 19th and 20th century industrial production, factories, chemical plants, wharves and shipyards of the once vibrant port to examine the legacy of environmental degradation and the challenges posed by modern climate change. City Tech faculty, together with faculty from the Urban Design Lab at the Earth Institute of Columbia University, develop engaging course curriculum to help students scientifically contextualize critically examine public issues in environmental remediation design. The project uses the integrated tools of multiple disciplines--biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering and architecture--to explore important questions about the impact of climate change on port cities. The Brooklyn waterfront is used by students as a live text and work with real-time data. This urban field work has the potential to contribute to many different research questions such as local variations in urban heat island intensity and impacts of heat islands on local precipitation. Columbia University faculty facilitate City Tech's faculty development seminars through presentation of their research on core topics and respond to curriculum units created by City Tech faculty. Faculty Professional Development seminars are open to all City Tech faculty so both the information and the approach to pedagogy impact the college beyond the development of one course. An expanding circle of students are taking the course and subsequently more underrepresented students are being exposed to career options in STEM fields. The course adds depth to the dialogue on climate change and urban sustainability.