Developing safe, resilient and sustainable places to live.
Emissions free transportation, resilient urban centers, cities with walkable neighborhoods and no air pollution. All of these are necessary and attainable for a sustainable planet. The majority of people live in cities- that’s what makes this goal so important. Located in a metropolitan area, our university has a direct impact our region’s sustainability.
Take a Deep Dive on SDG 11
Check out the resources collected below that lifts up the importance of sustainable cities from faculty, staff and guest lectures here at UB.
Adapting Buildings: Climate Resilience Primer Course
This course provides an overview for New York State building professionals about the state of resilience research for the building sector. Build resilience with the new webinar series Adapting Buildings for a Changing Climate! Join the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning Resilient Buildings Lab, in work contracted for and sponsored by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), for a series of webinars focused on understanding the impacts climate change has on the State’s building sector.
Synopsis: From Sandy to Snowvember: Climate Change and Buildings in New York State Symposium
This symposium draws together academics and practitioners from the Northeast and Great Lakes regions to address critical questions in climate resilience applicable to New York State, including how built environment professionals respond to a changing climate; how building stock can adapt to climate change in New York State; and how resilience is currently being addressed by built environment professionals. Participants will also hear results from recent research conducted by UB, L&S Energy Services, and Weather Analytics and supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. (12/1/2016)
Going to School in a Segregated City
What does urban segregation mean to you? Do you benefit from it? Suffer because of it? This conversation is about urban color lines, how they came into being, what they do to American society and how to change them. (Univeristy at Buffalo, 10/24/16)
Hurricane Florence in New Bern, NC (2018): An In-Depth Case Study of the Local Food Environment
This is a virtual recording of CGHE's Brown Bag Seminar that took place on Tuesday, May 12th. This seminar features Dr. Lauren Clay, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Administration, and Public Health at D'Youville College. Her talk is titled "Hurricane Florence in New Bern, NC (2018): An In-Depth Case Study of the Local Food Environment".
SUNY Distinguished Professor Andrew Whittaker is part of a cohort led by TerraPraxis, a non-profit focused on action for climate and prosperity, that is developing a digital platform to repower coal plants using advanced nuclear energy.
Hundreds of unemployed, laid-off and underemployed workers in the region will be able to explore entrepreneurial paths and participate in a robust training initiative offered by UB’s Western New York Incubator Network (WIN) and the School of Management’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL).
A plan to offset carbon emissions by converting brownfields to fields of bamboo. An “ecoscaping” initiative that would encourage even the busiest of people to grow food in their backyard by using ready-to-install garden beds.
Urban design students have once again shown what UB has to offer to the community. This month, students submitted proposals for transforming vacant spaces on Buffalo’s East Side between Zenner and Kilhoffer Street into areas for urban infrastructure and potential housing.
A gym in Boston, Massachusetts, with an inventive vocational path that prepares students to work as personal trainers serves as a telling example for how community-based programs can develop anti-racism practices within organizations that contribute to the cultivation of racial unity, according to a paper published by a UB social work researcher.
UB will work to improve how Black history and race are taught and learned in schools around the world through the new UB Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education.
In the years after UB faculty member Noemi Waight moved to Buffalo from Illinois, she got to know her new home by bicycling with community groups. The experience gave her the idea to take graduate pre-service students on cycling explorations to learn more about their community and the science resources that can make classroom lessons more engaging.
Last fall, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that GenX chemicals were more toxic than the “forever chemicals” they were developed to replace. Now, a new UB-led study examines what happens when GenX — chemicals used in food packaging, nonstick coating and other products — interacts with water.
Tripathi noted that among institutions of higher education, UB ranked No. 1 in the world for climate action this year, according to the 2021 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. He thanked the UB Foundation for aligning investment decisions with UB’s sustainability goals.
If you have indigestion, stress, headache or inflammation, you might want to head over to the southwest corner of Cary Hall on the South Campus. There, at a new garden, you can take in the aroma of herbs believed to help with those ailments (respectively, lemon verbena, lavender, mint and tarragon).
Kanazawa Island, a tiny island tucked away in the north bay of Lake LaSalle near the Ellicott Complex, is getting new amenities — including new sidewalks and tree plantings — that will make this secluded islet even more attractive as a peaceful campus escape.
They’re your neighbors. They’re mostly friendly, but sometimes not, if you agitate them. They’re an integral part of what makes your community unique. And perhaps they’ve even lived there longer than you have. Yet, they’re often ignored simply because they’re not human.
Installed in 2020, UB’s new Print Anywhere kiosks aren’t just more convenient and touch-free—they're helping support UB’s commitment to sustainability.
From Sept. 20-26, UB students, faculty and staff are encouraged to participate by utilizing green transit options to get to and around the university’s three campuses. People who take part can share details of their commute using the hashtags #UBuffalo and #GTG21 on social media.
UB Sustainability is seeking donations and volunteers for Hired — a clothes closet program that will enable students to “shop” for professional attire at no cost for interviews, career fairs, or any professional experience.
Join the seventh annual Step Challenge to help relieve stress. In fact, science agrees with that suggestion: Studies during and well before the pandemic — including those from UB’s WHI — show that physical activity is “conducive to enhancing happiness and improving mental health.”
Thanks to the entrepreneurial success of the late Carl V. Granger, founder of Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation (UDSmr), a venture he created in partnership with UB and the UB Foundation, the university has received a $10 million gift to its Boldly Buffalo campaign.
In 2020, powerful online movements emerged to celebrate and elevate the voices of Black scientists. Called the #BlackInX movements, these efforts arose during months of protests against police killings and police brutality.
This Black Lives Matter Poster Project exhibit in Silverman Library aims to expand understanding of what it means to be Black in America. Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki.
Diversity has always been an issue in STEM. Although a 2018 Pew report found that women make up half of the U.S. workforce in STEM occupations, it also found that their presence varies widely across occupational clusters and education levels.
More and more organizations are adopting a new approach: that of servant leadership, in which leaders prioritize multiple stakeholders and improve society, while prospering financially.
Anticipated to begin operation in early 2022, UB's second mobile dental clinic is expected to expand the dental school’s outreach by more than 1,000 patients annually.
Jeffrey and Irene Jacobson have endowed the Irene and Jeffrey Jacobson Fellowship for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the School of Management. The two-year fellowship will fund a first- and second-year MBA student every year.
Picture this: World leaders have just unleashed utter chaos, launching nuclear missiles in a global war. The world as we know it is now a nuclear wasteland.
In December, we asked the readers of our newsletter Climate Fwd: and our Twitter followers what they were planning on doing differently in 2021. We got some amazing responses. If you’re thinking of making a “green” New Year’s resolution, here are a few ideas, collected from those replies.
Rayshard Brooks. George Floyd. Daniel Prude. Breonna Taylor. These are the now-familiar names of just a few of the many Black people killed by police in 2020.
In a burst of climate orders, the president also ordered federal agencies to begin the process of reinstating environmental regulations reversed under the Trump administration.
The array of directives — touching on international relations, drilling policy, employment and national security, among other things — elevate climate change across every level of the federal government.
New York residents and businesses generate up to 20 million waste tires each year. Tire dumps are breeding grounds for mosquitos and pollute the air and water when they burn.
UB researchers were the driving force behind the publication last week of a major report that details strategies local governments in low- and middle-income countries can use to create more innovative and equitable community food systems.
Recently, researchers have been exploring how to turbo charge a passive cooling technique — known as radiative or sky cooling — with sun-blocking nanomaterials that emit heat away from building rooftops. While progress has been made, this eco-friendly technology isn’t commonplace because researchers have struggled to maximize its cooling capabilities.
Without minimum requirements, costly and land-consuming off-street parking becomes an option instead of a mandate, paid for by those who use it. Rethinking car-centric urban planning allows for more green space, transit-oriented development and active living.
“How can we save the climate?” “What about ending fossil fuels?” “But what about lowering emissions?” “How does that affect biodiversity?” These are dire questions the world is facing, but you’d be surprised by who is asking them and feeling the urgency to act.
First-year UB students were given the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica and expand their knowledge of sustainability and environmental awareness through the Study Abroad Office's new First-Year Global Experience program.
On a hot July afternoon, with silver clouds hanging in the sky and mud underfoot, a group of high school science teachers perched at the edge of Bizer Creek on the UB North Campus. Check out the new education program with the EarthEd Initiative.
Larry Asp grew up playing shinny outside in this tiny rural town he calls home again after 40 years away. Since returning, he also holds the keys to the outdoor “Rink of Dreams” that gives the 90 local residents the chance to skate outside during the keen Canadian winters.
Students in Nicholas Rajkovich’s Sustainability 601 course gave their presentations, shared their final reports and received their final grades for the spring semester seminar. Now, the real fun begins as the students’ work will be folded into UB’s climate action planning efforts.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The University at Buffalo has been named to The Princeton Review’s 2022 Green College Honor Roll for earning the highest possible score in the publication’s Green Rating.
Glaciologists have teamed up with computer scientists to build an online portal for ice sheet science. The new science gateway is called GHub, short for “Glaciology Hub,” and it houses datasets, computational tools and educational materials about the science of ice sheets and sea level rise.
About 20 students joined David Hoekstra, clinical assistant professor and UB Bees director, for a honey-jarring event on Sept. 30 in the Student Union. The honey comes from UB’s own backyard, from hives located between Crofts Hall and Bizer Creek on the North Campus.
UB's sustainable initatives have earned the institution accreditation and a Gold rating by AASHE, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, further elevating its reputation as a place for innovative green social engineering!
Jacobs School of Medicine is hosting its fist ever community engagement fair on Thursday, March 23rd. This event is open to the public and will welcome over 20 local organizations focusing on increasing community awareness of the public benefit services offered to the greater Buffalo-Niagara region.
Sustainable Courses
ARC 121: Introduction to Architecture
ARC 122: Architectural Sketching & Environment
ARC 211: American Diversity & Design
ARC 241: Intro to Building Tech
ARC 280: Environment & Landscapes
ARC 352: Structures 1
ARC 362: Architectural Theory
ARC 426: Site Planning & Development
ARC 442: Construction Tech
ARC 448: Building Project
ARC 475: Environmental Controls: Sound & Light
ARC 488: Seminar in Design Theory
ARC 526: Site Planning & Design
ARC 541B: Intro to Building Tech
ARC 544: Building Technology Systems
ARC 550: Advanced Architecture Materials
ARC 558: Design Inclusive Environment
ARC 565: Urban Design: Understanding Form
ARC 566: Urban Design: Case Studies
ARC 575: Environmental Controls: Sound & Light
ARC 605S: Arch Design Studio Abroad
END 102: Intro to Urban Environment
END 212: Urban & Environmental Planning
END 275: Environment & Landscapes
END 279: Explore Design Buffalo Niagara
END 301: Perspectives on Land Use & Development
END 302: Sustainable Urban Environments
END 305: Environmental Education & Urbanism
END 308: Health & Urban Environments
END 360: Environmental Design Workshop 2
END 402: Real Estate Development Fundamentals
END 403: Strategies Property Management
END 406: Housing & Community Development
END 422: Economic Development Planning
END 428: Found Historic Preservation
END 450: Environmental Design Workshop 3
END 467: Legal Issues Planning & Development
END 494: Visions of the City
END 498: Research Projects Environmental Design
AAS 293: Race, Law, and Society
AMS 111: Hip Hop and Social Issues
AMS 114: American Lives and Environments
AMS 145: Cities of the World
AMS 179: Intro to Native American History
APY 105: Intro to Anthropology
APY 106: Into: Cultural Anthropolgy
APY 107: Intro to Physical APY
APY 275: Culture, Health, and Illness
APY 476: Health Care in US
APY 604: Culture & Disbility
CL 113: Myth & Religion Anc World
COM 202: Intercultural Communication
COM 380: Health Communication
DMS 331: Social and Mobile Media
DMS 333: World Cinema
DMS 448: Games, Gender, and Culture
ECO 181: Intro to Macroeconomics
ECO 182: Intro to Microeconomics
ECO 208: Intro to Environmental Economics
ECO 211: Intro to Health Economics
ECO 416: Economic Development
ECO 421: Urban Economics
ECO 435: International Economics
ECO 440: Economics of Education
ECO 443: Labor Economics
ECO 609: Macroeconomic Theory 1
ECO 610: Macroeconomic Theory 2
ECO 725: Economic Development
ECO 743: Labor Economics
ECO 535: International Economics
ECO 543: Labor Economics
ECO 564: Economics Public Sector
ECO 569: Industrial Organization
ECO 595: Topics International Economics
ECO 708: Advanced Topics Macroeconomics
ENG 276: Literature and Law
ENG 383: Studies in World Literature
EVS 330: Sustainability and Community
EVS 414: Grantwriting Nonprofits
EVS 417/517: Sustainability and American Culture
GEO 366: Urban Geography
GEO 435: Conservation Biogeography
GEO 445: Restoration Ecology
GEO 460: Geography of Development
GEO 515: Conservation Biogeography
GEO 545: Restoration Ecology
GEO 570: Integrated Environmental Management
GLY 102: Climate Change
GLY 597: Volcanology Seminar
PHI 234: Environmental Ethics
RSP 113: Myth & Religion Anc World
SOC 315: Sociology of City Life
SOC 341: Environment & Society
SOC 551: Social Stratification
SOC 576: Race, Ethnicity, and Residence
UGC 111: World Civilization 1
UGC 112: World Civilization 2
CIE 340: Environmental Engineering
CIE 416: Civil Capstone
CIE 423: Stuctural Engrg 3
CIE 436: Traffic Ops & Design
CIE 440: Travel Demand Forecasting
CIE 469 / 569: Hazardous Waste Management
EAS 202: Impact on Society
EE 336: Fundamentals of Energy Systems
EE 471: Sustainable Energy Systems
EE 482: Power Systems Engineering 1
EE 470 / 570: Renewable Distributed Generation & Storage
EE 583: Power Systems Engineering 2
IE 421 / 521: Sustainable Manufacturing
MAE 464: Manufacturing Automation
MAE 554: Road Vehicle Dynamics
MAE 564: Manufacturing Automation
CEP 412: Diversity & Human Relations
ELP 200: Education Policy & Leadership for Social Justice
ELP 201: Education and Social Policy in Action
ELP 405: Sociology of Education
ELP 501: Higher Education in US
ELP 513: Cultural Diversity in Higher Ed
ELP 575: Education & Globalization
ELP 582: Multicultural Ed: Theory & Practice
LAI 520: Intro to Social Education
LAW 567: Greening Buffalo
LAW 695: Land Use Planning
MGT 797: Environmental Policy Research
PGY 300: Human Physiology
CHB 522: Refugee Health
CHB 550: Public Health Population Wellbeing
CHB 601: Principles of Com Health & HB
CHB 602: CHHB Interventions
EEH 500: Intro to Epidemiology
EEH 501: Principles of Epi
EEH 521: Global Health
EEH 538: Intro to Health Economics
EEH 539: Business of Health Care
EEH 550: Environmental Health
EEH 551: Adv Environmental Health Science
EEH 536: Health Policy in the US
EEH 573: Epi of Infectious Disease
EEH 575: Epi Appl to Environmental Health
ES 210: Behavior Driven Disease
Take Action!
Advocate to your local elected officials to support the One Region Forward plan for Buffalo-Niagara.