UIC/WISER Summer Institute on Sustainability and Energy (SISE) 2022

Some models predict that by 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas, so any discussion about the future of people and climate change has to include cities. From the suburbs to downtowns, metropolitan areas are home to an array of human activity almost always within location- and community-specific contexts, and as many have experienced, the distribution of resources is not equal. From Vancouver to Chicago to San Juan, Puerto Rico, the effects of climate change are felt differently down to the neighborhood and community level. One blanket solution for any of these cities may not be enough. What communities value—their place and space within a city’s ecosystem, the resources they provide and consume, and the needs of the people that live and work within those bounds—should be considered when addressing climate change challenges. 

Summer Institute on Sustainability and Energy (SISE) 2022, co-hosted by University of Illinois Chicago, Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (WISER), American Energy Society, and Alvin H. Baum Family Foundation, will consider how neighborhoods and underserved communities will confront the complex challenges of climate change, and how those needs and desires may differ from group to group and city to city. By becoming better informed about our neighbors, and through listening and critical thinking and discussion, we will consider how we can contribute to a more equitable and just distribution of resources, and how our decisions, as individuals and communities, contribute to the change we hope to see in the world and others.