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Climate Change, Inequitable Impacts, and Community Resilience
Getting Started (10-15 min)
Welcome to Session 4 of the “Climate Is Health” series. This week we are focused on climate resilience and systems. Our Guest Speaker is Kristin Baja, who works as the Programs Director for Climate Resilience and Equity with the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, where she helps cities identify strategic ways to advance climate resilience planning and implementation and build their capacity to take proactive action.
Key concepts this week include environmental and climate justice, systems thinking, and resiliency planning.
💡 If you have time, take a moment to reflect before starting with the session and answer the following questions in a notebook:
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Guest Speaker (10 min)
Kristin Baja,
Urban Sustainability Directors Network
Key definitions for this session:
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Explore in Depth (10-30 min)
Everyone is going to be affected in some way by big, global issues like climate change (or coronavirus for that matter). But some folks are going to feel the hurt more than others.
If we aren’t careful, the battle against coronavirus could have a negative impact on equity and climate change.
The coronavirus crisis is revealing the inequities inherent in public health due to societal factors, Nancy Krieger, a professor of social epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, says.
Choose a social cause to learn about and then select the Design for Change activity path that works for you. These podcasts are under 10 minutes and have an accompanying presentation to introduce the topic to students and get their brainstorming juices flowing!
The Climate Leader shares a video introducing systems thinking and offering tools for you to develop your strategies to address climate change and other complex challenges you face.
Six principles and practices to unlock cross-sectoral collaboration.
Resilience Hubs can help vulnerable communities without overloading local governments during crises such as the COVID-19 outbreak.
Resilience Hubs are community-serving facilities augmented to support residents, coordinate communication, distribute resources, and reduce carbon pollution while enhancing quality of life.
Reflect and Discuss (10-30 min)
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- What are ten different larger systems impacting your climate and health story, the climate and health story of your community, and the global COVID-19 story? How are these systems connected?
- What do you think it means for your community to have climate resiliency? In what ways is your community showing resilience now?
- Whose stories are you not currently listening to? How can you find resources (podcasts, books, etc.) to learn more about other people’s stories and lived experiences?
Case Study (1-2 hours)
Following a Devastating Tornado, Town and Hospital Rebuild to Harness Wind Energy
Explore what makes the above case study a successful example of long-term planning and building climate resilience in a community.
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- What inspires you about this story?
- In what ways were they successful? What allowed this success to happen?
- What challenges were faced and overcome in this case study?
- What connections does this case study have to your own community?
- What questions do you have?
- Argument: LEED certification is expensive and the benefits aren’t distributed to everybody; the town could have done more immediate good for more people by not paying those costs.
- Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Whether you personally agree or disagree, how would you refute this argument?
Take Action (30-60 min)
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Connect
Don’t forget to post your ideas and learning journeys on social media with the tag #climateishealth and @HarvardCCHANGE, and email harvardclimatesummit@goputney.com with any questions you have.
Download full content PDF – Climate Is Health – Session 4