We are honored to be recognized by FoodTank as one of the 122 organizations working towards building more sustainable, resilient, and equitable food systems in 2022! To see the full list, you can click here.

FoodTank’s mission is to build a global community for safe, healthy, nourished eaters. They spotlight and support environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable ways of alleviating hunger, obesity, and poverty and create networks of people, organizations, and content to push for food system change. 

FoodTank brings food systems leaders together in new and exciting ways, such as through panels, workshops, summits, and even interactive musicals. The Swette Center had the privilege of partnering with them for the Wisdom of Indigenous Foodways Summit in January 2020. The event included many inspiring indigenous speakers that are passionate about indigenous foodways and rights, and connected them with allies eager to support them. The summit “showed that it is important to listen to Native communities, learn from their agricultural practices, and protect their rights to protect the food system.” 

In this series, we’re meeting with Swette Center team members to explore their background in food systems, what they are currently working on, and their vision of food systems transformation. 

Read on for an interview with Gina Nichols, Assistant Research Professor. 

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In this series, we’re sitting down with the Swette Center affiliated faculty to catch up on food systems, innovation, and what makes a good meal. See the rest of the series on our Food Systems Profiles page.

Read on for an interview with Joshua MacFadyen, Affiliate Global Futures Scholar in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory; Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair, Applied Communication, Leadership, and Culture, University of Prince Edward Island.

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Klaus Lackner, director of the Center for Negative Carbon Emissions and a pioneer in the carbon capture research space, has been named to Newsweek's Hall of Fame for America's Greatest Distruptors. In a special edition published Dec. 15, Lackner was one of five initial innovators tapped to receive this honor, each recognized by the publication as "Visionaries whose career-long actions have had far-reaching impact."

Lackner, who in also is a professor with the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, was the first person to suggest the artificial capture of carbon dioxide from air in the context of carbon management. His work in this space has led to a partnership between ASU, the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory and the private corporation Carbon Collect to manufacture and deploy the Mechanical Tree, a passive energy carbon collection system. The first Mechanical Tree will be installed for testing at ASU's Tempe campus in early 2022. The research by Lackner and his team has also been recognized by Discover Magazine Discover as one of seven ideas that could change the world.

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This week we bring you another podcast from the city of Glasgow focusing on the Hidden Environmental Histories of the River Clyde. At the height of the British Empire, Glasgow was the hub of the Scottish and European Enlightenment with a vast manufacturing and ship building industry which profoundly shaped the river and the surrounding communities. We're joined by Ria Dunkley, University of Glasgow, and Gillian Dick, Glasgow City Council, to tell us all about a new partnership that has been set up between artists, academics, local government, museums and community groups to explore and expose how the rise of empire and industrialisation shaped the River Clyde and its surrounding urban and natural environment. Singer song writer, Ainsley Hamill and poet, Eilidh Northridge also perform artistic contributions that were inspired by the project.

Keep up with the people and projects highlighted in this episode on Twitter:

The Hidden Environmental Histories of the River Clyde (@hiddenclyde21), Ria Dunkley (@RiaDunkley), Gillian Dick (@gilliannd), Eilidh Northridge (@EilidhNorth), Ainsley Hamill (@AinsleyHamill). You can learn more about Ainsley Hamill at her website (www.ainsleyhamill.com), and buy a physical CD with notes and lyrics at her store. Her music is available on all streaming platforms, such as Spotify.

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Listen on iTunes, StitcherGoogle Podcasts, Spotify, or Buzzsprout.

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at futurecitiespodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network (UREx SRN) at www.URExSRN.net.

In this series, we’re sitting down with the Swette Center affiliated faculty to catch up on food systems, innovation, and what makes a good meal. See the rest of the series on our Food Systems Profiles page.

Read on for an interview with Milan Shrestha, Senior Global Futures Scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory; Senior Lecturer in the School of Sustainability, College of Global Futures.

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In this series, we’re meeting with Swette Center team members to explore their background in food systems, what they are currently working on, and their vision of food systems transformation. 

Read on for an interview with Jane Coghlan, Student Worker. 

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The first global assessment of dragonflies via the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species indicated that the destruction of wetlands is a major contributing factor to the decline of dragonfly populations across the globe. The marshes, swamps and rivers that these insects inhabit and breed are being lost to the expansion of unsustainable agricultural practices and urbanization. Dragonflies are just one of 142,577 species marked as being threatened by human action.

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The International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB) will be hosted virtually from December 13th through the 17th. Pre-congress sessions, including workshops and training courses led by CBO faculty and affiliates, will take place on December 6th through 8th. 

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In this series, we’re meeting with Swette Center team members to explore their background in food systems, what they are currently working on, and their vision of food systems transformation. 

Read on for an interview with Carly Wyman, Senior Research Specialist. 

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In this series, we’re sitting down with the Swette Center affiliated faculty to catch up on food systems, innovation, and what makes a good meal. See the rest of the series on our Food Systems Profiles page.

Read on for an interview with Bryan Leonard, Senior Global Futures Scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory; Assistant Professor in the School of Sustainability, College of Global Futures.

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By Luke Swette, Swette Center Student Worker 

Hawai’i remains one of the most beloved states in the country because of its beauty and deep-rooted culture. However, this has not prevented the islands from facing numerous challenges, both socially and economically. For example, it is home to the most sought-after seafood and produce, yet its average grocery prices continue to rise. This is happening for a variety of reasons, mainly because larger corporations make it harder for small businesses to thrive. Among other things, Hawai’i’s food security is an important issue that becomes more complicated the more it is researched.

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On November 30, 2021, ASU Project Cities hosted its virtual project showcase with the Town of Clarkdale. Two classes worked with the Town of Clarkdale to recommend design features to elevate the Town’s Selna-Mongini Park.  Students presented their high-level findings, and key recommendations for the Town of Clarkdale.  

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Students recap project findings for Fall 2021 student showcase 

On December 1, 2021, ASU Project Cities hosted its virtual project showcase with the City of Peoria. Students from five ASU schools covered a variety of topics throughout the semester, including sustainable solid waste management, messaging campaigns, community engagement, and historic preservation.   

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In this episode, a diverse team of graduate students discuss their research on climate gentrification in the Eastern coast of the United States and their personal stories about why they are inspired to study this topic. They share perspectives on the importance of interdisciplinary science in their own professional development and the value of an interdisciplinary approach to tackling wicked problems like climate change gentrification. The team also reflects on the importance of team science with peers in building confidence and establishing an essential network of support as early career researchers.

Learn more about the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center at sesync.org.

Follow and connect with this month's guests:

Kelsea Best: Twitter, LinkedIn

Azmal Hossan: Twitter, LinkedIn

Sharif Islam: Twitter, LinkedIn

Zeynab Jouzi: Twitter, LinkedIn

Timothy Kirby: Twitter, LinkedIn

Becca Nixon: Twitter

Richard A. Nyiawung: Twitter, LinkedIn

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Listen on iTunes, StitcherGoogle Podcasts, Spotify, or Buzzsprout.

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at futurecitiespodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network (UREx SRN) at www.URExSRN.net.

For the culmination of his work for the summer as a student worker for the Swette Center, Tucker Larson spent a week at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Upstate New York. Read more about his visit and how it relates to what he is learning at ASU below. 

A sustainable food system is far from linear. Web might be the most accurate representation. It is a flow of materials facilitated by communication networks through the system promoting resilience and diversity. When you pull on one piece of the web, the other sides start to stretch and become distorted. The makeup of each system is different and the results from interactions with one will not necessarily be the same when imposed on another. Each piece of the system and the connections they share with one another make up the foundation, determining how it can flex and adapt. Our food systems will never function sustainably if they are not understood in a larger picture, and Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture is working to further that understanding. 

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In this series, we’re sitting down with the Swette Center affiliated faculty to catch up on food systems, innovation, and what makes a good meal. See the rest of the series on our Food Systems Profiles page.

Read on for an interview with Marco Janssen, Senior Global Futures Scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory; Professor in the School of Sustainability, College of Global Futures; Director for the Center for Behavior, Institutions and the Environment, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

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In this series, we’re meeting with Swette Center team members to explore their background in food systems, what they are currently working on, and their vision of food systems transformation. 

Read on for an interview with Jesse Dart, Assistant Research Professor. 

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The Women’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator (WEA) hosted a pivotal UNGA virtual side-event, “Joining Forces to Drive Change,” in September 2021 to celebrate their 2nd anniversary. WEA was established during UNGA 75 by six United Nation agencies: International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Trade Centre (ITC), United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP), UN Global Compact (UNGC), UN Development Programme (UNDP), and UN Women, along with private-sector partner Mary Kay with the goal to empower 5 million women entrepreneurs by 2030.

Along with our formal partnerships announcement between WEA and WE Empower, below are our favorite takeaways and calls to action from the event. 

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In this series, we’re sitting down with the Swette Center affiliated faculty to catch up on food systems, innovation, and what makes a good meal. See the rest of the series on our Food Systems Profiles page.

Read on for an interview with Netra Chhetri, Senior Global Futures Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory & Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society, College of Global Futures. 

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