Each semester, the Sustainable Urban Communities (SUC) practicum offers Milano students the opportunity to reach outside the classroom and make a impact in the broader community, addressing issues from affordable housing to food systems to disaster recovery. To learn more, please contact Professor John Stinar ([email protected]). Below are some highlights from recent student projects, which can also be accessed on the Sustainable Milano blog.
Rebuilding Breezy Point: Spring 2013
The goal of the Breezy Point Team was to assist in the recovery of the community in a way that brought sustainability issues into the discussion. During the semester, the team also planned an event to engage New School students in the community as volunteers. In April, we successfully brought a group of volunteers down to Breezy Point to clean up public areas and install sheetrock into homes.
We also looked at how the rebuilding was accomplished in other disaster areas. In particular, we were inspired by the story of Greensburg, KS. Greensburg was 95% destroyed by a tornado in 2007, and has since rebuilt as a model “Green Town.” As part of our coursework, we helped create and support initiatives to bring representaitves of Greensburg, KS, to the community to talk about their experiences. A formal information session with Greensburg residents is now planned for later this summer in Breezy Point.
Pop-Up Classes at the Union Square Greenmarket: Ongoing
The New School, in partnership with GrowNYC, has presented a series of pop-up 
educational sessions at the Union Square Greenmarket. The sessions were designed to educate and inform the public about the importance of sustainability and green stewardship. Not only have the sessions been informative but they’ve also been fun!
The sessions are developed and organized by students each semester and include topics such as food systems, gardening, recycling, and composting…just to name a few. For more information, please visit our Facebook page.
THE SOLAR DECATHLON: Empowerhouse
The Sustainable Urban Communities practicum course evolved following the selection of The New School as a finalist in the Solar Decathlon competition. Read more about Empowerhouse here.
