Future Approaches to Reimagining Urban Greenspaces

Join George Mason University’s Department of Environmental Science and Policy for a virtual seminar with Dr. Marta Berbés-Blázquez from the University of Waterloo, who will present two approaches for reimagining urban greenspace. Register: https://science.gmu.edu/events/esp-virtual-seminar-series-marta-berbes-blazquez

Dr. Berbés-Blázquez is an assistant professor at the School of Planning in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo, Canada. Her research considers the human dimensions of social-ecological transformations in rural and urban ecosystems with an emphasis on vulnerable and minoritized populations. Specific topics of interest in her research include dynamics of power and access in ecosystem services, scenario planning, resource extraction, climate change adaption and transformation.

In the absence of strong international agreements on climate change policy, many municipal governments are leading the efforts to build resilience to climate change. In this setting, anticipatory methods such as scenario planning with city professionals, experts, and members of civil society provide an opportunity to co-produce positive visions of the future. In this presentation, Dr. Berbés-Blázquez will present two approaches to reimagining urban greenspace. First, the work of the Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network (UREx SRN) which worked with nine cities in the United States and Latin America to explore possibilities for creating more resilient, sustainable, and equitable cities. Second the ‘barrio innovation approach’, which emerged from a university-community partnership of teachers and Latinx youth looking to address environmental injustices in Phoenix, AZ.