In light of the novel coronoavirus and adhering to The New School’s response, The Tishman Center will be postponing, altering or cancelling a number of our events in April, including our Earth Week programming. We will provide updates about what we will have in lieu of our regular programming, but we feel that it is in the best interest of everyone to avoid hosting events with large groups of people until it is safe to do so. In the words of the Climate Justice Alliance: “[The novel] Coronavirus is here and is a litmus test for how the climate crisis will destabilize markets, open opportunity for disaster capitalism, disrupt global supply chains, and expose inadequate or failing systems like our healthcare system.” Lately there have been a number of stories about how this current pandemic is related to, exacerbated by or handled like climate change or its many effects. And much like the effects that people on the frontlines of the climate crisis deal with, COVID-19’s spread is a crisis of collapsing, cascading systems. As the global pandemic grows, it gives us a window into the impacts that environmental justice and vulnerable communities feel as the climate crisis deepens.

The fast response by nations around the world to stop the spread of COVID-19 shows that it is possible to mobilize resources when a public health and safety threat is recognized, however this has not been the response to the climate emergency thus far. We are seeing governments worldwide and in multiple jurisdictions implement measures to delay the spread of the pandemic, some more effective than others, but still mostly taking action. We need to take action in our communities as well by supporting the most vulnerable by following public health and safety guidelines, finding ways to financially support small businesses during these trying times and pushing our government and large corporations to direct resources to our homeless, undocumented, uninsured and differently abled neighbors. To be sure, these community resilience measures are things that we should be doing anyway in a crisis, pandemic or climate.

This crisis has laid bare many of the systemic flaws that people have been exposed to for decades and with the time at home some of us have the privilege of having, we should be reflecting on what we can do to transform these liabilities once we are through this pandemic. To be sure, these are trying times and the only way we will get through it is together. We appreciate you supporting the Tishman Center and we hope that you and your loved ones are keeping safe. We will continue to do our work to create a more just and equitable planet and will make sure to share any information that can be helpful to our readers.

Courtesy of https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/news/press-releases/2020-03-12/community-action-reponse-launched-in-the-face-of-the-emerging-coronavirus-covid-19-crisis

Thank you,

Tishman Environment and Design Center Team

Tishman Center Response to COVID-19