“Climate Justice Can Help Secure a Good Future for All”

In spring 2019, SA+P's Intellectual Commons event series continued with a keynote by Mary Robinson, lawyer, politician, and climate justice advocate who served as president of Ireland (1990–97) and as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (1997–2002).

“The Frameworks negotiated by member states of the UN in 2015–the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement–appeared to be voluntary or weak in enforceability. Now, however, through the lens of climate justice, we can see that they are imperative frameworks for human survival. The challenge is to galvanise political will globally, and commit to transformative change which will leave no one behind.”

—Mary Robinson

Last fall, SA+P Dean Hashim Sarkis and Architecture's Mark Jarzombek launched a series of talks and workshops organized under the theme Intellectual Commons. Learn more about the series: http://mitsha.re/hOFf30mg5Fl

"Intellectual Commons
At a time when digital communications are growing, the need for direct interaction is all the more vital. At a time when MIT is building bridges across schools and disciplines, we can no longer operate primarily at the scale of micro-units. This reflects neither the interests of the new generation nor the nature of the problems that the world is leaving at our doorstep.

I invite you to come up with ideas that reflect the values that we hold in common. The vitality of the School—a community invested in shaping better commons for the world, from the environment to cities to public spaces and public art—is the extent in which we can exercise our collective imaginary."

—Hashim Sarkis