October 8th, 2024
9:00am - 12:00pm
Trinity Commons
76 Trinity Pl, New York, NY, USA
Rohit T. “Rit” Aggarwala is Commissioner of Environmental Protection and Chief Climate Officer for the City of New York. Previously, he was a founding executive at Sidewalk Labs, Alphabet’s urban technology startup. Before that, he started Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Environmental Grantmaking program; led the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group under Mayor Bloomberg’s chairmanship; and navigated Mayor Bloomberg’s appointment as a UN Special Envoy. He also served as the Director of the NYC Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability, where he led the creation of the first PlaNYC, NYC’s sustainability plan. He started his career at McKinsey & Company. Aggarwala holds a PhD, MBA and BA from Columbia University and an MA from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
Join the 2024 Rewire Fellows as they present groundbreaking ideas for transforming New York City’s buildings and public spaces into catalysts for a climate positive future.
As part of our Rewire initiative, nearly 50 Forum Fellows contributed their expertise to develop innovative design and policy proposals aimed at addressing the climate crisis. These proposals will be featured in our upcoming publication, Five Visions for Building Climate Positive Neighborhoods.
Rit Aggarwala, Commissioner of Environmental Protection and Chief Climate Officer for the City of New York, will deliver keynote remarks and respond to the Fellows’ proposals. During the second half of the event, participants will engage in smaller groups to discuss:
How can we build community and political momentum to advance transformational climate projects in every New York City neighborhood?
Event Photos
Meet the Fellows
Meet our cohort of 48 urban leaders exploring new ways to remake our buildings and public spaces into engines for a climate positive city.
Program Schedule
9:00 – 9:30am
Registration + Networking Breakfast
9:30 – 10:30am
Presentations from Rewire Fellows + Keynote
Green Homes
Empowering neighborhood organizations to scale energy retrofits
Circular Hubs
Supporting industrial businesses to create circular economies
Biodiverse Places
Transforming decommissioned peaker plants into community biodiversity hubs
Connected Anchors
Retooling libraries to support neighborhood-based climate education
Resilient Commutes
Designing a bus rapid transit network to advance climate resilience
10:30 – 11:30am
Breakout Discussions
11:30 – 12:00pm
Final Reflections + Concluding Remarks
Guest & Accessibility Policies
Urban Design Forum promotes conversations between invited civic leaders, designers, developers, and advocates. This event is open to the general public.
We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals to engage fully.
- The building entrance, elevators, and bathrooms are single stall, gender neutral and ADA-accessible.
- This event will have microphones and speakers.
- If you’re not feeling well, please stay home. Face masks are encouraged, particularly if you have been recently exposed to colds, flus, or other illness. If you have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days, a high-quality, well-fitting face covering is required at all times.
- Please refrain from wearing strong fragrances to accommodate guests with allergies or environmental sensitivities.
- If you have additional needs, we will do our best to accommodate. Please let us know at rsvp@urbandesignforum.org.
Support
Rewire is made possible with lead support from ConEd and Stantec and the continued support of our Board of Directors, Director’s Circle, and company and individual members. Special thanks to Thornton Tomasetti for hosting our working group meetings. Our programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
To learn more about supporting Rewire, please contact Miranda Bellizia, miranda@urbandesignform.org.
Photo Credit: Sam Lahoz
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