Urban Sustainability Ratings: Understanding Smart Cities
Thursday, December, 8th, 2016 Events
Join us this Thursday for the Environmental Studies Lunch & Learn!
This week, we welcome Laureen Elgert, PhD, International Development and Environmental Policy, Department of Social Science and Policy Studies, Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Description of the Presentation: This research examines a new addition to the growing number of ‘sustainable city’ rating programs called STAR (Sustainability Tools for Assessing and Rating) communities. The research examines how and why such discourses of sustainability that rely on standardized, data-based measurement, and that promote ‘measurementality’, privilege cities that have greater access to resources to invest in data collection. High sustainability ratings bring political and material advantages to those cities that can make such investments. Furthermore, such systems often realign governance priorities, as cities ‘grab’ points by pursuing uncontroversial and depoliticized policies and programs. Instead of creating a “high bar which cities can work towards achieving”, STAR reinforces existing inequalities and creates new inequalities within and between municipalities. Read more here.
Rabb Room, Lincoln Filene Center, Medford Campus
12 pm – 1 pm. Lunch Provided!
Join us for this weekly, TIE-sponsored ENVS event!
If you can’t make it to the Rabb Room, watch it live here!
TIE is a proud sponsor of the Environmental Studies Lunch & Learn lecture series.
Every week during the academic year, ENVS features speakers from government, industry, academia and non-profit organizations to give presentations on environmental topics. This is a great opportunity to broaden your knowledge beyond the curriculum, meet other faculty and students and network with the speakers. See a full list of the upcoming speakers here!
Students, faculty, staff, and members of the community are welcome to attend.
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