Tulane University’s School of Architecture has introduced a new Center on Climate Change and Urbanism (CCU), focusing on creating a better understanding of what part the built environment plays in how climate change affects the Gulf Coast, Latin America and the Caribbean. “We recognize that climate change is an opportunity to redesign our built environment in a manner that advances affordability, accessibility and environmental sustainability, while also breaking down barriers to segregation, isolation and carbon-intensive ways of life that have constrained our quality of life,” said Jesse M. Keenan, the center’s director. The center is designed to support faculty and students as they conduct research and develop curriculum across disciplines. The center will be the host for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s multi-year Gulf Coast Climate Futures Project, which according to a news release will consider “the legacies of energy extraction across the Gulf Coast, the tensions between current climate mitigation and adaptation efforts in Louisiana and Texas, and post-carbon futures that reimagine energy infrastructure and extraction sites.” CCU has also launched the Tulane Prize for Climate Change Curriculum in the Built Environment, created to recognize innovative course development by faculty around the world. Nominations are being accepted until January 31, 2025, and winners will receive $10,000 in awards. Among the first projects at the center will be the “Carbon Budget Zero” studio led by Assistant Professor Sonsoles Vela Navarro. Focusing on designing low-carbon housing and infrastructure in varied environments, the project will target issues as diverse as retrofit existing buildings in New York to improve energy efficiency while also looking at water conservation solutions in California or solar energy in Florida. In an effort to aid other facility in other disciplines or universities, the center has created climatesyllabus.org, a searchable repository for climate-related syllabi in fields like urban planning, architecture, and landscape architecture. “The School of Architecture and CCU are uniquely positioned to support and lead new interdisciplinary collaborations for engaging these challenges in novel and critical ways,” said Adam Marcus, the CCU’s research director and associate professor of architecture. The first round of research grants for faculty and students begins this fall, with applications due by Nov. 15. The grants are meant to inspire exploratory research and facilitate collaborative efforts with local stakeholders, particularly in North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean. According to a news release, “Catherine Sckerl, CCU’s managing director and professor of practice in architecture, will build the center’s infrastructure to support student and faculty research projects and field-based research studios, to deliver programming and events that promote cross-disciplinary dialogue and knowledge-sharing, and to facilitate intra- and inter-institutional initiatives.” Funding for CCU came from a $2.91 million anonymous donation that was announced this past May.