Youth Climate Career Summit

Climate change is here and we need to get to work solving it. Converting our economy off fossil fuels will take all of us contributing our abilities toward a common goal. There are lucrative and fulfilling career opportunities in the various fields related to climate, from engineering to science to architecture to skilled trades and beyond.

On April 3rd, all of this will come together into one powerful event that will be equal parts climate justice summit meets clean energy conference meets sustainable career expo. Taking place at RPI’s Sage Labs, this exciting event will open your eyes to climate solutions such as clean energy, healthy materials, ecological resilience, and more.

Sponsored by the NYSERDA Capital Region Clean Energy Hub and its partners, this free event can help you launch your career or start a new one in sustainability. The summit is designed for students of all ages and young professionals but is also open to the public.

There will be panel discussions on sustainability research, participatory workshops, career networking opportunities, a student club lunch, and an area for graduate and undergraduate students to display research posters and assets.

• Location – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY

• More information: https://youthclimatecareersummit.com

Beyond the 15-Minute City: Making Small Cities Walkable

Thursday, May 25, 2023

6:00 - 7:30PM EST

IN-PERSON @ THE FOCUS LAB (+ VIRTUAL)
21 3rd St, Troy, NY

>> TICKETS HERE <<

How do we redesign our smaller cities to be walkable, rideable places, suitable and accessible at a human scale?

How do we retrofit urban landscapes designed for the private automobile to be multi-modal? Such are the challenges of smaller cities, which often find themselves located in heavily car-dependent counties. How do we cultivate pockets of density? And how can we measure the inter-relationship between walkability and a number of crucial community indicators like health, greenhouse gas emissions, climate resilience, and economic development?

We’ll hear about a couple of case studies from a panel of thinkers who have all engaged with critical questions of walkability and access.

TICKETS: $10 GA/$5 students. Scholarship opportunities are available. Light food will be served

This event will be held in person (live stream available to registrants). Presented in conjunction with the current exhibition “Main Streets Resurfaced” at the FOCUS Lab in Troy, NY.

SPEAKERS:

Moderator:

REIF LARSEN | Future of Small Cities Institute

> TICKETS HERE <

EVENT SPONORS:

FURTHER READING:

“10 Years Later, a Return Trip to ‘Walkable City” City Lab

“Walkable places gain market share, economic impact” Congress for the New Urbanism (Webinar Here)

“Guiding principles of the 15-minute city” Congress for the New Urbanism

“The 15-Minute City: Where Urban Planning Meets Conspiracy Theories” The New York Times

“Too many Americans live in places built for cars — not for human connection” Vox

Earth Day at the FOCUS Lab

For Earth Day we will be offering a range of fun activities, including building your own butterfly feeders, seedling starter kits, and making climate data art, inspired by the work of Jill Pelto.

Join us at the Lab from 10-3pm on April 22! (21 3rd St, Troy, NY)

CAPITAL STEETS LAUNCH EVENT

We're very excited to announce the launch of Capital Streets, a new nonprofit focused on transportation and liveable streets in the Capital Region. Our launch event is for advocates, activists, pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and anyone with interests in mobility and complete streets. On March 30th, we'll engage, learn, and celebrate together. Capital Streets will provide an overview of our organization, how we got here and where we're heading. We'll also hear from Jeff Olson, author of The 3rd Mode and an extremely well versed expert in bike/ped issues. An afterparty and networking session at Rare Form Brewing will follow.

Contact James for more information.

Capital Streets Launch Facebook Event

NARCAN Training w/ Project Safe Point

Monday, March 13

6:00 – 8:00pm

@ The FOCUS Lab (21 3rd St, Troy, NY)

As drug overdoses continue to ravage our community, please come to this free training on the use of life-saving NARCAN to reverse opioid overdose. Attendees will also receive fentanyl test strip training to learn to detect the presence of fentanyl. Troy Fire Department will be on hand to educate us about the importance of timely first response.

This event is free and open to the public. Childcare will be provided as necessary. Please let the host know if childcare is required.

REGISTER HERE

How Do We Make
the Electric City of the Future?

Thursday, October 20th, 2022
6:00 - 7:30 PM EST

IN-PERSON @ THE FOCUS LAB (+ VIRTUAL)
21 3rd St, Troy, NY

> REGISTER HERE <

The Future of Small Cities Institute is teaming up with Climate Now to present a live, three-part event serieson how to equitably decarbonize our cities, with events in Ithaca, Troy, and New Haven. Our case study will be Ithaca's ambitious plan to electrify all of its buildings on the path to becoming net-zero by 2030. The second event in the series will take place at the FOCUS Lab on October 20 and will explore the ways we can retrofit and electrify our urban landscape.

We'll be asking the big questions: How do we bring a city’s carbon footprint down to zero? What actions need to be taken to transition an entire city's built environment to be fully electric? What technology is involved? How does transitioning from gas to electric even work? And how can we make sure we don’t leave low income populations behind during this transition?

We'll also be talking about Troy's big plans to introduce one of the first district geothermal systems in the country with Dylan Turek, Economic Development Director for the City of Troy.

Panelists will include:

Moderator: James Lawler, Climate Now