Technology for a Sustainable Tomorrow: CED lecture series lineup announced
This college-wide lecture series considers the role of technology in shaping our landscapes and cities, past and present, and asks the question, “Can technology fix what technology broke?”
The College of Environmental Design presents Technology for a Sustainable Tomorrow, an interdisciplinary lecture series focused on technology and the built environment. We’ve invited speakers from a range of disciplines to critically assess the compelling opportunities, as well as the potential downsides, of generative AI and other new technologies that are increasingly becoming part of our design and research practices.
Technological innovations of the past 150 years — especially “advances” in transportation, construction, and energy — powered rapid urban growth, economic expansion, and new forms of convenience but also accelerated the climate crisis, degraded our landscapes, and compromised our health and well-being. Today, we recognize that what we once saw as progress also contributed to rising greenhouse gas emissions, urban heat islands, and flooding and drought. Can the technologies of the 21st century help repair the damage and put us on a path to a healthier, more sustainable future — or might they cause unanticipated harm?
To set the stage for our semester-long inquiry, Professor Cathryn Carson, chair of the UC Berkeley Department of History and member of the campus Human Technology Futures Group, will establish a broad historical and philosophical framework with her lecture, “Framing Technology, Society, and Human Life.” Her presentation will be followed by speakers from the fields of architecture, city planning, and landscape architecture and environmental planning, including both College of Environmental Design faculty and invited guest speakers
Technology for a Sustainable Tomorrow is CED’s third thematic college-wide lecture series, following Living With and Without Water in fall 2023 and Justice by Design in fall 2024.
Technology for a Sustainable Tomorrow
Lectures are held in 112 Bauer Wurster Hall on the UC Berkeley campus and are free and open to the public. Please note the varying days and times.
Wednesday, Sep 10 | 6:30 PM
Cathryn Carson
Department of History and Human Technology Futures Group, UC Berkeley
“Framing technology, society, and human life”
Wednesday, Sep 17 | 6 PM
John Fernández
Department of Architecture, MIT
“Nature, Cities, AI: Notes on the Planet”
This 6 p.m. lecture is also part of the fall Department of Architecture lecture series.
Wednesday, Sep 24 | 6:30
Tom Robinson (BA Arch 1991)
LEVER Architecture, Portland + L.A.
“Regenerative Timber”
Wednesday, Oct 1 | 6:30 PM
Sarah Williams
Department of Urban Studies & Planning and Civic Data Design Lab, MIT
Friday, Oct 3 | 3:30 PM
Special Homecoming Lecture*
Maryam Hosseini, Department of City & Regional Planning, UC Berkeley
Kyle Steinfeld, Department of Architecture, UC Berkeley
“AI and the future of environmental design”
*To attend this lecture, please register for Homecoming.
Wednesday, Oct 15 | 6:30 PM
Julia Watson
Lo—TEK Office for Intercultural Urbanism, New York
“Lo—TEK, form follows flux”
Wednesday, Oct 29 | 6:30
CEDTalk with College of Environmental Design faculty
Daniel Chatman, Department of City & Regional Planning
Iryna Dronova, Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning
Maria Paz Gutierrez, Architecture
Moderator: Karen Trapenberg Frick, Institute of Urban & Regional Development
If you require accommodations to fully participate in these events, please contact ceddean@berkeley.edu at least 10 prior to the event date.