Events

Harvard Climate Week: Kairos Shen on “Building and Planning for Climate Change”

Shen_Kairos_233x275The Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities has partnered with the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Harvard Center for the Environment to host Kairos Shen: Architect, Urban Planner and Director of Planning at the Boston Redevelopment Authority for “Harvard Climate Week.” Mr. Shen will apply his unique perspective as both builder and planner to discuss climate change resiliency of the built environment on multiple scales, from the building envelope to the greater urban landscape of Boston, Massachusetts. He will also discuss how Boston’s planning, development review and permitting procedures have been modified to promote sustainability, adaptation and resiliency.

When: Wednesday, April 8, 2015
12:30-2pm, Lunch will be served.

Where: Stubbins 112, Gund Hall, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA
The event is free and open to the public.

“Harvard Climate Week” is a five-day, campus-wide event that will present a wide variety of perspectives on critical issues driven by climate change. In an effort to host a truly multidisciplinary conversation, colleagues at key programs across Harvard will gather at various venues across campus to engage in conversation with prominent scholars, politicians, policy-markers, scientists, and leaders. Find a comprehensive list of events here.

Kairos Shen is the Director of Planning at the Boston Redevelopment Authority. He has served in this capacity since 2002 where he manages the BRA’s planning division of which the basic functions are community planning, urban design, zoning, waterfront planning and infrastructure planning. In 2008, Shen was appointed by the Mayor to be the Chief Planner for the City of Boston with the role of formulating a comprehensive long-term vision to guide the city’s economic and physical development, and coordinating planning across city departments. Kairos Shen has been intimately involved in many of Boston’s most important planning efforts in the last ten years. During his tenure, he has overseen the development guidelines for the Rose Kennedy Greenway, the adoption of Boston’s landmark green building zoning, the 10-year refurbishment of Fenway Park, the planning of the 1000-acre South Boston Waterfront Innovation District, and the implementation of Boston’s $700 million Convention Center and Institute of Contemporary Art. In addition to undertaking and supervising many of the planning and design studies, Shen regularly participates in community meetings, which are essential to the success of any planning effort. Mr. Shen is a graduate of Swarthmore College and has a Master of Architecture from MIT.