TEK-STEAM Initiative
Weaving Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) for better climate assessment and policy
The MIT Resilient Communities Lab (RCL) works on sustainable, long-term solutions for adapting to climate change by understanding and integrating traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) with other forms of knowledge (STEAM). Across our collaborative networks, we mainstream TEK-STEAM by identifying regional, socio-ecological systems that must be incorporated into climate planning to improve adaptation outcomes for Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. Read more
Cities and Climate Change Initiative
Developing community-led tools for planning, policy, and finance
As climate change reorders the fabric of urban spaces, infrastructure must account for the impacts of heat waves, rising water levels, and extreme weather events. Cities will also need large-scale transformations to accommodate new modes of energy and transportation. To mediate these physical changes, and accompanying social changes, planners need community-led planning and policy tools and financing mechanism that can work across different spatial and temporal scales. Read more
Just Energy Transitions Initiative
Enhancing access to renewable energy through community-based organizations
Broad public access to renewable energy can be enhanced through Community Based Organizations (CBOs) that work to extend the reach of policy. This initiative sheds light on region-specific processes to disseminate solar energy, promotes community co-design for wind energy, and explores how finance and policy can aid resource development in energy, agriculture, forestry and water management. Read more