Popular Planning for Climate Action

9:30AM, Room 211

New York City has a problem. It is the only major city in the U.S. which has never approved a citywide plan, instead using zoning to drive new developments such as the Hudson Yards. All of this has helped make NYC one of the most segregated cities in the nation. As Hurricane Sandy exposed, it has also left many communities in the city vulnerable to massive damage from climate change-related disasters. Although the city has produced resiliency-building documents such as the Bloomberg-era PlaNYC, these plans were drawn up without substantial community consultation and helped contribute to rampant gentrification. After a year of work gathering and assessing various community-led efforts to plan for an era of climate disasters, the Climate Action Lab at the CUNY Graduate Center is synthesizing its findings about the most successful grassroots climate action planning processes. Topics of discussion will draw from the intersection of popular protest, direct action, artistic practices and direct grassroots experiences in the potential envisioning of a People's Climate Plan for New York City, as well as the tensions and antagonisms that traverse such work -- and why this matters now more than ever.