Waste: From Not In My Backyard to Zero Waste Neighborhoods

Written by: Amy Stinchcombe
Published: Thursday, December 16, 2021
Photo Credit Claudio-Schwarz Unsplash

Waste comes in many forms; solid and aerosol, visible and invisible, and waste disposal practices, such as ocean dumping, happen at scales that are at once unimaginable and unsustainable. Transforming the paradigm of how the architecture and design community tackles waste, waste education and research was the topic of the “Wast[ED]: Living with Waste" event, held October 26th at the Center for Architecture, hosted by AIA New York. Participants from NJIT Hillier College of Architecture and Design, SOM, and Pratt's Department of Graduate Architecture and Urban Design came together with students to discuss how they are addressing waste in the practice and pedagogy of design and in their studio work.

The scope of the waste challenge is huge, as exemplified by the global push to reach net zero carbon emissions (aka fossil fuel waste) by 2050. Whatever form the waste, it’s disposal is almost always harmful to human health and the environment. The fact that no one wants it in their backyard highlights fundamental inequities when it comes to how waste is managed, as it has to go somewhere, and waste is often stored, processed and released in neighborhoods that don't have the resources to resist it, or to relocate for their own health. The injustice of this approach to disposing of trash in someone else's neighborhood is a central tenet of the environmental justice movement.

Kelly Hutzell, Associate Professor and Director of the New Jersey School of Architecture introduced the school and panelists, citing how the pedagogy of the school takes full advantage of available tools, technologies and data, such as life cycle assessment, to impact the environmental profile of student projects. Hutzell also noted the tradition of engaging with the community. “One of the ways our students and faculty work is through the Newark Design Collaborative. They are deeply engaged working with community stakeholders and residents. We partner with them on multiple projects every semester. These projects often focus on issues of climate change, environmental justice and social equity.”  

Charles Harris of SOM shared the design approach taken in practice at SOM, termed ‘radical reduction’, at their new Manhattan offices. “We had an empty space, so what do we add back starting from nothing? The key questions we explored were what does a low waste, low carbon future look like? How do we connect waste reduction – planetary health and human well-being?” Harris shared the principles that informed their approach, the first being to use what exists. The space they moved into already had a concrete floor, so it was polished and not covered with unnecessary layers of new material.


 

John Cays, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Hillier College discussed the current paradigm of the kinds and quantities of waste we produce, how waste is managed, and how that paradigm can be transformed through a life cycle assessment approach to design practices. His book, An Environmental Life Cycle Approach to Design and the methods he is teaching integrate LCA data with design such that conscious choices can be made about materials and methods over the full life cycle of production, at all scales. 


 

More importantly, this approach looks beyond the central issue of carbon in the atmosphere, to the full scope of environmental damages of waste caused across the entire ecosphere. From solid untreated human waste and chemical nutrients flowing into nearly every waterway in the hydrosphere, to the disposal of solid wastes of all kinds into landfills littering the lithosphere, design choices as they pertain to the built environment and the products we produce and use, have an enormous potential to mitigate those human and environmental harms.

Justine Shapiro-Kline, adjunct instructor and associate at One Architecture explored three narratives that reposition waste in the urban landscape.

She presented case studies for rethinking resources and waste flows within cities in order that they become the basis of nature restoration, stormwater management, and equitable community development projects. This shift necessitates new models of collaboration between architects and other disciplines. It demands holistic engagement and systems thinking to advance social equity and meet the challenges of a changing climate. 


The work NJIT students presented that evening demonstrated a range of approaches.

Samuel Roberts and Jiyhe Son, working with community members to reclaim historical narratives about Newark, proposed the adaptive reuse of an existing police precinct building that was central to the Newark riots. Shapiro-Klein’s team tackled waste at the urban scale, integrating waste and resource management, climate action and equity. Nada Boules and Robert Cambeis presented a complete interior architecture renovation through the reuse of shipping containers.  

NJIT student presentations included in the evenings event: 

Samuel Roberts and Jiyhe Son and their adaptive reuse architecture projects in instructor Roger Smith's spring 2021 studio "The Newark Civil Rights Museum & Center for Restorative Justice".

Serge LaForest, Jessica Telini, Tamalie Ranatunga, Miluska Franco, Riya Rohitkumar Parekh, Anna Paula Rosado, Sara Tappan and their urban design work in instructor Justine Shapiro-Kline's spring 2021 ARCH 504G studio "Equitable Newark: A Green New Deal".

Nada Boules and Robert Cambeis and their interior design projects in instructor Julio Figueroa's fall 2019 studio "Shipping Container Hotel". 

Out of sight, out of mind, has been the predominant attitude and approach to the waste humanity produces, with a thinly veiled sleight of hand when it comes to disposal. If it is not in my backyard, and I can't see it, then maybe it is not a problem. The push that is being generated by the practice of architects, designers, and the pedagogy of faculty and students, is headed in the other direction, one that will ultimately result in zero waste neighborhoods.

All the presenters and topics of the evening can be seen below.