Rick Fedrizzi is on a mission to improve health by creating better buildings and architectural design ecosystems. He was the speaker for last night’s University Lectures Series. Fedrizzi, a SU alum, was the founder of US Green Building Council and currently CEO of Well Certified.
Jessi Lyons, urban farm coordinator at Brady Farm, gave a tour of the facilities for Farm Fest 2017.
Two members of Clarion Associates (Denver, CO) gave a brief overview of the Rezone Syracuse project last night. The group is attempting to help the city better define its character and sense of place as it relates to land use and future development.
According to initial assessment, Syracuse is “behind the curve” and we need to create more user-friendly ordinances. Our current system even has obsolete districts.
We were surprised to find out that modernization is a long time coming (there’s not been a comprehensive update since the 1920s).
And of course there is also potential for consolidation of some districts.
Clarion began their work in the Fall of 2015 and will submit their final recommendations in 2017.
Hopefully this project can help bring some creativity to city planning.
Malik Kenyatta Yakini, Director, Detroit Black Community Food Security Network
Activist, educator, musician and food entrepreneur Malik Yakini was the keynote speaker for Day 1 of the Syracuse Food Justice Symposium tonight. He spoke about values of justice and equality as it relates to urban farming and the human side of sustainability. The event was held at All Saints’ Renewal Center.
Our interview with Yakini will appear soon.
Here’s a good dose of self-esteem for Central New York. Our region is actually ahead of the curve in terms of planning and implementing green infrastructure and sustainability. Linda Dickerson-Hartsock, Owen Kerney and Andrew Potts were in Philadelphia last week to present the Syracuse experience at the GreenBuild International Conference and Expo.
Matt Millea and Matt Marko from the Center of Excellence also presented at the conference.
The keynote speaker at Greenbuild was former New York Senator Hillary Clinton.
Shelly Griffin: Cent$ + Sense-Ability
A statistic was cited during the recent Cent$ + Sense-Ability Fashion Show at The Newhouse School of Public Communications last week that the average American discards about 68 lbs of clothing and textiles each year.
In an effort to show that fashion too can ride the current wave of sustainability, this year’s annual fashion show for the Fashion Communication Milestone featured recycled materials, clothing, and material found in the trash. A host of material was donated by the Rescue Mission. The student designs promoted “Fashion in a Recession.”
A few of the evenings highlights included: hairstyles featuring soda cans as well as, Tina Fey impersonator and Newhouse Program Coordinator Shelly Griffin (pictured above).
Michele Palotta, Junior at Syracuse University