Achievement

This year, the Urban Ecology Studio, which is an interdisciplinary learning environment that brings together the IGERT Trainees and Graduate Students in Architecture to envision new designs for sustainable urbanization, was supported by Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), a non-profit organization created by Dr. Leonel Fernández, President of the Dominican Republic. The Studio focused on sustainability challenges in the Puerto Plata region of the Dominican Republic. The results of the Studio included new models for regional energy independence, water and waste management, urban slum upgrading and transportation infrastructure. The results of the Studio have been very well received and are currently being published in a book that will be used as a discussion point for how regions in the Dominican Republic, as well as the Caribbean, can build new and successful models for urban sustainability.