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The mission of the Urban Ecology Center (UEC), housed within Cal State LA’s College of Natural and Social Sciences (NSS), is to support the advancement of transdisciplinary research, education, and professional development with a focus on sustainable, equitable, and fair economic drivers, land use practices, and public policies.
The UEC will be an incubator for the study of the Anthropocene (human environment), both past and present, to facilitate an understanding of the complex interactions between human societies and environmental systems. The Anthropocene is the time period in earth’s history when humans became the dominant force in transforming earth’s climate and ecosystems. Today, no place on earth is pristine, that is, without influence by human action, intentional or otherwise. Natural systems cannot be adequately understood without taking into consideration the effects that human societies have had on shaping and altering earth’s environments.
The Anthropocene is an existential threat to the natural environment and humanity itself. The solutions for a fair, equitable, and sustainable future cannot be derived solely from technology, which has increased our control over nature but also led us down a path of global warming, mass extinction, ocean acidification, and more. Solutions for a fair, equitable, and sustainable future must be forged at the interface between the natural world and the human condition. Solutions must be rooted in education and research and transformed into policy, action, and practice.
The UEC will act as a university-wide umbrella organization that leverages the research expertise and skills of Cal State LA’s faculty and students to empower local communities to advocate for environmental equity and justice for a fair and sustainable future.
Bridging the natural and social sciences, the UEC aims to be a cutting-edge Do-Tank with arms that reach across disciplinary and institutional boundaries that is committed to engaging with local non-profits, primary and secondary schools, other colleges and universities, city governments, neighborhood councils, and Cal State LA’s surrounding diverse communities.
By actively engaging with local communities, the UEC will provide education, research, and outreach that empowers people to re-imagine the world and our collective and individual responsibilities in it.
The Urban Ecology Center will consist of three domains: The Urban Ecology Lab, the Urban Studies Lab, and the Office of Environmental Education and Community Outreach.
Build analytics lab to support transdisciplinary environmental science research
Build multimedia ethnography lab to support transdisciplinary environmental studies research
Create the EECO Office to engage with our local communities and publicize environmental best practices
Office |
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Urban Ecology Center |
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Urban Ecology Lab |
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Urban Studies Lab |
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Office of Environmental Education & Community Outreach |
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5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032 (323) 343-3000
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