As Jan Gehl said, “We definitely know more about good habitats for mountain gorillas, Siberian tigers, or panda bears than we do know about a good urban habitat for Homo sapiens.” While we often have good reasons for liking or disliking certain cities, the science and design of these cities is often not based on rigorous scientific analysis or systems-level design thinking. This talk aims to provide examples of how experts are thinking about the science and design of human habitats from a variety of perspectives, with an emphasis on China’s recent urbanization and the methodology behind the Green and Smart Urban Development Guidelines. The goal of this talk is to inspire more holistic and values-based thinking to create cities that can help humans thrive.

As Jan Gehl said, “We definitely know more about good habitats for mountain gorillas, Siberian tigers, or panda bears than we do know about a good urban habitat for Homo sapiens.” While we often have good reasons for liking or disliking certain cities, the science and design of these cities is often not based on rigorous scientific analysis or systems-level design thinking. This talk aims to provide examples of how experts are thinking about the science and design of human habitats from a variety of perspectives, with an emphasis on China’s recent urbanization and the methodology behind the Green and Smart Urban Development Guidelines. The goal of this talk is to inspire more holistic and values-based thinking to create cities that can help humans thrive.

CC Huang has been working in sustainable development issues in both the United States and China across a variety of topics, including urban development, energy efficiency, green supply chain, and climate change. She led the creation of the Green and Smart Urban Development Guidelines, which are now being used to train government officials and guide large-scale urban development projects in China, inform urban planning in Mexico City, and to promote sustainability principles in Sweden. She has written for or been featured in Science, Forbes, Next City, China Dialogue, Caijing, The Paper, Caixin, among others. She has worked at Energy Innovation, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. She obtained her MPA from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University and completed her BA at George Washington University.

Advanced registration is not required for this event.