BA DESIGNING CITIES 2nd YEAR STUDIO: CLIMATE URBANISM STUDIO The Climate Urbanism Studio investigates how to build up climate resilient and inclusive post-pandemic neighbourhoods, capitalizing on existing learning from the COVID-19 outbreak. This is becoming increasingly important in city development and planning in response to the call to ensure a smooth green recovery as advocated by the recent COP26 in Glasgow. Our Climate Urbanism Studio is based on the application of an integrated analytical and design framework to understand and map city vulnerabilities, in the attempts to address together economic shocks, pandemics and climate challenges, producing meanwhile scenarios of resiliency and design explorations at the local level (Verdini, Dean, 2022). The case study selected for this year is the borough of Newham, in East London. Newham is one of the most diverse boroughs of London, with high level of social deprivation. The COVID pandemic has also exacerbated these problems. On the other hand, Newham is also committed to a number of promising experiences of local government. In particular, it is experimenting the council’s first permanent Citizens Assembly, which is one of the most innovative processes of ‘participatory democracy’ of the UK. Residents’ view, including the youth, taking part in the Citizens Assembly, has been already incorporated into its Climate Emergency Action Plan and, more recently, a series of recommendations on the topic of ‘Greening the Borough’ has been published. The Council is planning now to develop an action plan aiming to: encourage physical and digital access to green space, implement community projects around green space and wellbeing, supporting the development of green infrastructures networks, pockets of green, and the re-wilding of existing areas. Students’ work gives voices to people and explore concrete solutions for greening the borough.
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