Jen Ventrella explores the complex justice trade-offs in transmission infrastructure—where reducing urban pollution can create new burdens for environmental justice communities.
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I began to be interested in managed retreat, also called planned relocation, in 2015 when I was in the city of Cali in Colombia. I learned about how the city was forcibly removing a community of thousands of people who had settled on a dike protecting the city from flooding from the river Cauca.
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In Southwest Yonkers, where storm drains routinely overflow and residents brace for every heavy rain, a unique partnership is offering a new way forward. The recently completed Southwest Yonkers Green Infrastructure Feasibility Study, a collaboration between Groundwork Hudson Valley and the Urban Systems Lab (USL), is more than just a technical report…
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My journey to studying urban wild spaces began with a crucial realization during my undergraduate studies in Environmental and Geographical Sciences: while we have extensive scientific knowledge about ecological systems, achieving change requires genuine community engagement.
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As cities around the world continue to grow, urban heat island (UHI) effects have become a critical issue, exacerbated by climate change. These effects lead to elevated temperatures in urban areas compared to their rural surroundings, increasing heat stress on vulnerable populations. Urban green spaces, such as parks, trees, and green roofs, are known to mitigate these heat islands by providing cooling benefits through shade, evapotranspiration, and overall reduction in ambient temperatures. However, the cooling effects of urban green spaces and their potential to improve human health are not uniform across cities or even within a city. This research investigates how the cooling efficiency of urban green spaces varies across different urban contexts and examines the resulting health benefits, with particular focus on how these impacts can reduce heat-related morbidity and mortality.
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My path to climate tech began with a deep-rooted passion for environmental advocacy. During my time at the University of Waterloo studying Systems Design Engineering, I focused on understanding the societal and environmental impacts of technology. This culminated in my final year project - developing a climate risk assessment tool for health centers in Malawi, which validated my belief in technology's role in addressing the climate crisis.
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How do social and ecological factors shape the distribution of trees in our cities? This question drove my doctoral research, which aimed to unravel the complex relationships between urban biodiversity, social systems, and ecosystem services. Through a multi-scale analysis of Lisbon's urban forest, we discovered patterns that challenge conventional wisdom about urban ecosystems.
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