Justice

As the events of the last months have demonstrated, we are living during exceedingly challenging times, characterized by divides, distrust and distancing. However far apart we have been, however far apart we currently are, we need to learn to come together, to be together, to act together, for social, economic, and environmental justices. I hope that the events of these days bring better understanding of the injustices that exist and become a catalyst to bring about real change for all.

Along with many of our colleagues in New York City and around the world, the faculty and staff of the Center for Buildings, Infrastructure and Public Space would like to add our voices to those decrying institutional racism in the AEC industry. Today our industry has challenging work ahead, to achieve true racial and gender inclusion. We need to stand with our architects, engineers, contractors, and suppliers, from under-represented and marginalized communities

We need to listen better, to learn better, and to incorporate the lessons of diversity and distress into the way we, working together, can reshape economically challenged communities. We need to build a better future for our industry, characterized by respect, opportunity, and collaboration.

The CBIPS lecture series, Social Justice and the AEC Industry is seen as a mechanism to come together to discuss what can be done, and what is being done by architects and engineers in concert with community activists, elected officials, public agency heads and private sector leaders.

The series starts on Tuesday, 9/22, with Justin Garrett Moore, Executive Director of the NYC Public Design Commission talking about his work with the BlackSpace Collective in a lecture titled “Design and Difference.” The second talk, on Tuesday, 9/29, by Mindy Thompson Fullilove, MD, a social psychiatrist and New School Professor, addresses some of her ideas about public space coming out of the research for her newly published book “Main Streets: How a City’s Heart Connects Us All.” And on Tuesday, 10/6, Kerry Scott, Global Practice Leader for Social Inclusion at Mott MacDonald, will join us by Zoom from London to talk about inclusion in the AEC Industry. The series will continue every Tuesday at noon into mid-November.

We are pleased that we are collaborating on this series with other professional organizations, including: ACEC New York, AIA New York, Consortium for Sustainable Urbanization (CSU), Engineering News-Record (ENR), the National Academy of Construction (NAC) and nycoba|NOMA.

There is no fee to participate. Simply register by clicking the link under the lecture of interest listed below to receive information on how to join the Zoom lectures. We hope that you will be part of it!