COV ER S TO R Y
SUSTA INABIL I T Y BY PL A N A ND DESIGN In Ann Arbor and around the world, Taubman College faculty and alumni are shaping the conversation on what a more sustainable future looks like By Amy Crawford
BY 2030, MORE THAN HALF the global population is expected to live in cities, which researchers have predicted will cover 3 percent of Earth’s land surface — triple the area devoted to urbanized areas just 20 years ago. Meanwhile, we’re already using half the habitable land for agriculture. And with climate change making an ever-more-rapid impact, it’s imperative that the growth and development of what might be termed our “human habitat” — buildings, transportation networks, food systems — be sustainable, with minimal damage to ecosystems and to the planet as a whole. As U-M President Mark Schlissel said last year in a message announcing the creation of the President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality, “Climate change is the defining scientific, social, and environmental problem of our age.” It’s a complicated problem, with many interdependent facets. On the front lines are architects and urban planners, among them Taubman College faculty, students, and alumni. They are studying ways to make buildings more sustainable, reimagining transportation and food systems, and ensuring that environmental justice also is social justice. And through the President’s Commission, they are working to help the university meet its carbon neutrality goal, an effort that could also serve as a roadmap to a sustainable future for humans everywhere.
Leigh Christy, FAIA, B.S. ’96, is developing the L.A. River Urban Agriculture Green Infrastructure Plan at Perkins & Will.
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SPRING 2020 TAUBMAN COLLEGE
