Cities—faced with climate change—must prove resilient

NYU Wagner hosted its annual Henry Hart Rice Urban Policy Forum bringing together policymakers and thought-leaders to explore this year’s theme: Cities, Climate Change, and Resilience. Industry expert Amy Chester and NYU Wagner professor Gernot Wagner led discussions about the importance of cities to respond to the growing climate crisis and economic turmoil of COVID-19. The Forum provides a space for students, academics, policy makers, and planners to analyze the policies that cities can and should pursue. The speakers were introduced by Mitchell Moss, the Henry Hart Rice Professor of Urban Policy and Planning and the Director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at NYU Wagner.

Amy Chester, managing director of Rebuild by Design, is committed to creating urban infrastructure that addresses the physical and social vulnerabilities of natural disasters. As a leader of the organization's operations, management, and fundraising, she has directed their strategic goal to bring together government agencies and community organizations to address the climate crisis. Prior to joining Rebuild by Design, Chester worked for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Legislative Affairs and as a senior policy advisor.

Gernot Wagner, Associate Clinical Professor at NYU Wagner and Clinical Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Public Service at NYU Department of Environmental Studies, focuses his work on climate policy. He writes the Risky Climate column for Bloomberg Green and has written four books including Geoengineering: the Gamble, Stadt, Land, Klima (“City, Country, Climate”), and Climate Shock.