SAT-A09: Climate Change and the Racialized Landscape: Fighting the Impacts of Racist Policy

Saturday, October 28, 2023

11:00am – 12:15pm CT

1.25 PDH, LA CES/HSW, AICP, FL, NY/HSW

Lead Speaker(s)

Charles A. Cross, ASLA (he/him/his)

Director of Landscape + Urban Design, Fulbright Hays Fellow
Detroit Collaborative Design Center, School of Architecture and Community Development, University of Detroit Mercy
Detroit, Michigan

Speaker(s)

Stephanie I. Onwenu, ASLA (she/her/hers)

Founder + Artist
Ijeomalandartscapes LLC
Detroit, Michigan

This session will address the racist policies that have caused structural damage to many urban Black communities, leaving them vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. It will examine community-based efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change and improve quality of life in urban neighborhoods.

Learning Outcomes:

Understand the history, scope, and depth of racist policies implemented in urban neighborhoods throughout the United States.
Understand the financial, social, and physical devastation these policies had, and how they are exacerbating the issue of climate change today.
Become familiar with several successful strategies to use when working in underserved and under-resourced communities.
Understand how communities working with design centers can create equitable solutions through engagement to address some of the issues that are a result of racist policy.