Éric Daniel-Lacombe, Aminata Niakaté, Thaddeus Pawlowski, and Kate Orff, moderated by John Surico.
This conversation will explore different ways of effectively integrating ecological considerations into urban planning and design, preserve biodiversity in cities, protect species and their habitats, and transform our built environments and landscapes to address the climate crisis, support the shift to a renewable economy, and grow more vibrant and resilient cities.
This event is organized by the Columbia Maison Française, Alliance Program, and Villa Albertine and is a featured event in the Albertine Conversations series which supports French-American exchanges on urgent environmental challenges, including the collapse of ecosystems, forms of urban adaptation and resilience, and innovative legal and political approaches to these issues.
Participants
Éric Daniel-Lacombe is an award-winning architect, urbanist, and geographer. He holds the chair for "New Forms of Urban Living in the Face of Natural Disasters” at the prestigious Villette Architecture School in Paris. He was the co-designer of the French Pavilion for the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale and received numerous awards for his innovative, floodable neighbourhood in the city of Romorantin, started in 2007. He is the author of Vers une architecture pour la santé du vivant (Presses Universitaires de Montréal, 2023) and Inventer l’architecture de l’Anthropocène (Le Moniteur, 2026).
Aminata Niakaté is Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of green development and the protection of biodiversity. Since 2022, she has served as a national spokesperson for The Ecologists (Les Écologistes), France’s Green political party. She has been a member of the Paris City Council since 2020. Niakaté also serves as a member of France’s Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE), a constitutional advisory body that provides guidance on economic, social, and environmental policy issues.
Thaddeus Pawlowski is the Managing Director of the Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes and a Research Scholar and Adjunct Associate Professor of Urban Design and Urban Planning in Columbia’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. He has sought to integrate resilience and climate change adaptation into the long-term development patterns of cities through the design of projects, policies, and programs. Thaddeus planned for disasters at the New York City Office of Emergency Management, worked to reduce the likelihood and impact of disasters at the New York City Department of City Planning, and then helped New York City recover from Hurricane Sandy at the Office of the Mayor.
Kate Orff’s activist and visionary work on design for climate dynamics has been shared and developed in collaboration with arts institutions, governments, and scholars worldwide. She is a Professor at Columbia GSAPP, served as the Director of the Urban Design Program from 2015 to 2026, and holds a joint appointment at the Columbia Climate School. At GSAPP, Orff coordinates complex interdisciplinary studios centered on urban systems of the future. Orff is a registered landscape architect and the founder of SCAPE, a 90 person professional practice based in lower Manhattan with offices in New Orleans and San Francisco.
John Surico is a journalist, teacher and researcher focusing on urban mobility, climate resilience, and public space. His reporting can be found in The New York Times, Bloomberg CityLab, New York Magazine, among other outlets. He teaches undergraduate reporting on cities at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, and previously served as the Senior Fellow for Climate and Opportunity at the Center for an Urban Future, one of New York City's leading policy organization. Surico is also the author of Streetbeat, a monthly newsletter on cities and their transformation.
Event Details & Important Information
This event is free and open to the public, but please note that registration does not guarantee a seat. We intentionally overbook our events, and seating is first come, first served. We recommend arriving early.
Important: Campus Access Requirements
Columbia’s campus is currently open only to Columbia-affiliated guests (with a valid CUID).
If you do not have a Columbia ID, you will need a QR code to enter campus.
Columbia Public Safety will only issue one QR code per email address. If two or more names are registered on eventbrite using the same e-mail address, only one of them will receive a unique QR code. Please use a different personal e-mail address for each guest.
To receive a QR code:
- You must register on Eventbrite at least 48 hours in advance
- We will submit your name and email to Public Safety
- You will receive an email from [email protected] with your unique QR code
Please check your spam/junk folder if you don’t see the email, and bring a valid photo ID with you to present at campus entry points.
