A happy hour conversation with Vivek Shandas, PSU Professor, Chair of Portland’s Urban Forestry Commission
Vivek Shandas knows how cities shape the environment; and, in turn, how that environment shapes cities and the people who live there. Historically in America-and specifically in Portland-where the trees are tells you a lot: wealthy neighborhoods have many big, old leafy trees; economically disinvested neighborhoods, not so much.
In the latest of Portland Parks Foundation’s “Green Dreams” conversations, Shandas will offer his bold thinking of how “radical love” between the city and nature can change this dichotomy.
5:30-6:30 pm, Monday, December 7, on Zoom.
Registration: sliding scale, free-$20. Proceeds benefit the Portland Parks Foundation
Hosted by Randy Gragg, Executive Director, Portland Parks Foundation
Watch an early replay here.
Growing up in Bangalore, Shandas learned the benefits trees can foster up close, beginning with how the mango tree outside his window offered not just a respite from the bustling city surrounding him, but a whole world to explore. After moving to the US as a child, and finishing a couple of decades of environmental research, his more recent ground-breaking insights proved that historic redlining of neighborhoods have not just systematically denied people of color similar childhood experiences with trees, but continue to threaten their health and survival today.
Shandas argues that developing a more equitable future for historically disinvested communities requires bold acts of “radical love,” exploring the contours of the challenges we face and finding promising ways forward.
In a Green Dreams happy-hour conversation, Shandas will share how Bangalore, Vandana Shiva, Frances Moore Lappe, and Oregon's Outdoor School shaped his career and research, and his belief that Portland can lead the nation with environmental and climate justice.
Dr. Shandas serves as the research director for PSU’s Institute for Sustainable Solutions, where he supports cross-disciplinary efforts to address pressing challenges facing communities around the world. As the Founder and Director of the Sustaining Urban Places Research (SUPR), he evaluates environmental stresses on human health, developing indicators and tools to improve decision making, and constructs frameworks to guide the growth of urban regions. Over the past several years, research from the SUPR Lab has appeared in the Smithsonian Magazine, National Public Radio, Washington Post, Minnesota Public Broadcasting, NY Times, Qatar Times, and several other national and international media.
The Portland Parks Foundation’s “Green Dreams” series offers a virtual stage for thought leaders to share insights, provocations, and ideas about the past, present, and future of Portland’s parks and public spaces.