Cities in Crisis: Ecological Transformations

If you're in the New York City area, I highly recommend a series of free lectures being given in the Great Hall of The Cooper Union. Dr. Steward Pickett, past President of the Ecological Society of America and an ecologist with the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, is presenting lectures on ecological urbanism--the ecology of cities (as opposed to ecology in cities).His premise is that through a comprehensive ecological understanding of what is happening in the world's cities, integrating all aspects of cities--biology, infrastructure, the world of social interactions, in effect, every aspect of the life and substance of cities--ecologically informed urban design, in the largest sense, can turn urban crisis into opportunity.The lectures are held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. each Monday and are totally free. All you need do is show up. You've missed the first two--Globalization and the Changing City, and Cities as Ecosystems--but three remain:

• February 25 - Natural Disturbance and the City
• March 4 - From Sanitary to Sustainable City
• March 11 - Ecology for Urban Design

Your can find more information here.