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The Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management program addresses intersecting challenges such as global climate change, natural resource depletion, financial sustainability, and innovative organizational change. Click here to find out more about the program, and visit the EPSM blog here.
The Empowerhouse is a collaborative project between Parsons, Environmental Policy & Sustainability Management program, the Stevens Institute of Technology and community partners that was submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2011 Solar Decathalon project. Not only did Empowerhouse take first place in the most affordable category, but the team also partnered with Habitat for Humanity so that families are actually living in these sustainable houses. Recently Empowerhouse was featured in an article in the Planning for Higher Education journal distributed through the Society for College and University Planning.
Each semester, the Sustainable Urban Communities (SUC) practicum offers Milano students the opportunity to reach outside the classroom and make a impact in the broader community, addressing issues from affordable housing to food systems to disaster recovery. To learn more, please contact Professor John Stinar (stinarj@newschool.edu). Below are some highlights from recent student projects, which can also be accessed on the Sustainable Milano blog.
Rebuilding Breezy Point: Spring 2013
The goal of the Breezy Point Team was to assist in the recovery of the community in a way that brought sustainability issues into the discussion. During the semester, the team also planned an event to engage New School students in the community as volunteers. In April, we successfully brought a group of volunteers down to Breezy Point to clean up public areas and install sheetrock into homes.
We also looked at how the rebuilding was accomplished in other disaster areas. In particular, we were inspired by the story of Greensburg, KS. Greensburg was 95% destroyed by a tornado in 2007, and has since rebuilt as a model “Green Town.” As part of our coursework, we helped create and support initiatives to bring representaitves of Greensburg, KS, to the community to talk about their experiences. A formal information session with Greensburg residents is now planned for later this summer in Breezy Point.
Imagine the world you want in 2050. What changes will be necessary to put global development on the
path to building a more just, equitable world? The United Nations system is working with governments
and civil society to build on the momentum generated by the MDGs, and to design an ambitious post-
2015 development agenda that delivers a sustainable future for all.
As part of this work, the Equator Initiative will facilitate an online e-discussion, co-hosted by UNDP
and UNEP, on the role of local empowerment and environmental sustainability in the post-2015
development agenda. This discussion will take place from May 13-26 2013. Its objective is to facilitate an open dialogue that brings together a multitude of voices to stimulate creative thinking, and begin to generate consensus around how best to reflect environmental sustainability in the post-2015 agenda.
This is is a unique opportunity to make sure that community-based action, innovation and empowerment are at the centre of the development agenda beyond 2015. Milano students and faculty are encouraged to lend their voices to the global conversation. Once open, you can post a response and participate in the discussion here.
In 2011, Empowerhouse, a low-impact, environmentally sustainable home envisioned and built by students from Parsons, Milano, and the Stevens Institute of Technology, took first place in the affordability contest at the Solar Decathlon in Washington D.C.
Held every few years since 2002, the Solar Decathlon, “challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive.” (Solar Decathlon official website.)
What distinguished Empowerhouse from similar models, however, was its principle intent: whereas most entries are generally sold or used for research or public display, Empowerhouse was the first entry designed to permanently house a local family. The home was moved from the National Mall to the neighborhood of Deanwood, where it was raffled off to a local family by Habitat for Humanity D.C.
Nearly two years later, Empowerhouse’s legacy continues to impact local urban redevelopment planning in the D.C. area. Orlando Velez, a Milano alumnus that worked on the Empowerhouse as a student and now works as Habitat for Humanity D.C.’s Manager of Housing services, reports that they have responded to a request for proposals put out by the D.C. Housing Authority for the redevelopment of a 1,500-unit site in Southeast D.C. If chosen, D.C. Habitat will build 200 units on the site, all of which will be based on Empowerhouse. The housing authority is expected to make its decision this summer. Click here to read more.
Click here to view the Summer 2013 Milano Course Schedule (PDF).
Click here to view the Fall 2013 Milano Course Schedule (PDF).
Click here to view the Fall 2013 GPIA Courses by Concentration (PDF).
Please note that schedules are subject to change, the links above are to the most recent schedules available.
Students may also be interested in considering Fall 2013 Graduate Courses at NSSR (PDF).
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© 2013 Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy.
