Rossella Failla-

Sustainable development has been a rising notion throughout the New York City area. The concept is meant to meet the needs of today’s society without compromising the needs of the future generations.

Our guest speaker, Ms. Haydock, explained some aspects of sustainable development in New York City. She spoke of regional planning, which deals with dynamic placement of land-use activities and settlement expansion. This is easily exemplified by Staten Island, as Ms. Haydock remarked. She also spoke about the two major facets of sustainable development: environmental soundness and economic feasibility.

The former illegal dumping site in the Bronx, Sherman Creek Park, embodies thses conditions. Made from permeable building materials, the New York Restoration Projects created an open space, which inspires people to engage in greening activities. The flood resistant, outdoor recreation and learning center is home to saltwater marches and natural habitats. These aspects of the Edge-ucation Pavilion allow it to epitomizes the important sustainable traits that Ms. Haydock talked about.

Personally, I do believe that the creation of the Edge-ucation Pavilion may just be the trigger to the sustainable wave of change in New York City. With that being said, the process of creating feasible and viable living conditions for not only today’s society, but also tomorrow’s, might take more than just fixing up the edges.