FLORHAM PARK, N.J.,
May 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/
-- BASF is hosting a week-long program in New York City to address one of the world's
pressing future challenges: urban development to meet our growing
population. Thought leaders, scientists, students and citizens are
participating in a series of events to identify sustainable
solutions. Red Hook, Brooklyn, is serving as the case study on how
public-private partnerships can help resolve the evolving needs of
global cities.
"BASF is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year," said
Wayne T. Smith, Chairman and CEO,
BASF Corporation and member of the Board of Executive Directors,
BASF SE. "Our history shows that chemistry is an enabler for new
ideas and solutions. As we celebrate this milestone, we are
connecting people and ideas to make meaningful contributions to
society in accordance with our corporate purpose: 'We create
chemistry for a sustainable future.'"
An opening event on May 26,
featured a keynote address by Amanda
Burden, urban planning expert and former New York City
Planning Commissioner (2002-2013).
"Cities are fundamentally about people, and where people go and
where people meet are at the core of what makes a city work," said
Burden. "So even more important than buildings in a city are the
public spaces in between them. And today, some of the most
transformative changes in cities are happening in these public
spaces."
It is projected that by the year 2050, nine billion people will
inhabit the Earth – compared with seven billion today – and more
than 70 percent of them will be dwelling in cities. The New York
Creator Space tour is focusing on how city neighborhoods of the
future can accommodate more people; use fewer resources and yet
deliver a better quality of life.
Using Red Hook, Brooklyn, as a case study, participants will
examine the dynamics within the neighborhood, including single and
multi-family residences, commercial structures, public spaces,
civic infrastructure and green space. The concepts of habitat,
citizenship, and resilience will be explored and mined for
inspiration during a two-day summit guided, among others, by
Professor Alexandros Washburn,
Founding Director of the Center for Coastal Resilience and Urban
Xcellence (CRUX) at Stevens Institute of
Technology in New
Jersey.
"Our Red Hook neighborhood is uniquely Brooklyn: diverse and creative," said Washburn
who is a Red Hook resident. "But
we're not unique when it comes to flood risk and sea level rise
because we live right on the waterfront, like a billion other
people around the world. If we can find a way to make Red Hook resilient, we can find a way to make
all coastal cities resilient."
Throughout its anniversary year, BASF is collaborating with
multiple stakeholders in an approach known as 'co-creation' to
focus on smart energy, food and urban living. The cornerstone of
BASF's 150th anniversary celebration is the Creator Space™ tour, a
series of six, week-long programs occurring in: Mumbai, India; Shanghai, China; Sao
Paulo, Brazil; Barcelona,
Spain; New York and BASF's
hometown, Ludwigshafen, Germany.
Other key elements include Creator Space online, a global,
collaborative internet platform, and three science symposia to
drive innovative solutions in Ludwigshafen (smart energy),
Chicago (food), and Shanghai (urban living).
The week-long Creator Space tour in New York includes the following events.
Further information can be found on:
http://creator-space.basf.com/nyc
- Creator Space Summit – Revitalizing Red Hook, Brooklyn, a two-day expert summit with
workshop sessions on how the connections between habitat,
citizenship and resilience can help a changing Brooklyn neighborhood do more with less for
the better.
- Cinema Night, a screening of the documentary film,
Urbanized, introduced by Director Gary
Hustwit.
- Cultural Activity, New
York-based experiential artist Emily
Baltz debuts an engaging, multi-sensory experience,
"Corners," that brings to life stories of the undiscovered and
unique characters of Red Hook and
surrounding Brooklyn
neighborhoods.
- The Built Environment Jamming Session, a uniquely
interactive brainstorming and networking event for thought leaders
and experts to devise innovative ways of creating tomorrow's carbon
neutral built environment.
- Creator Space™ Design Competition, lasting
up to 24 hours, teams will conceptualize solutions using various
creative formats to address the question: "How can we revitalize
Red Hook's built environment to
invite people to work, play and move around better to improve urban
living?"
- adidas Jamming Session, BASF and adidas are hosting a
collaborative event, gathering creative minds to "jam" on the
future of urban mobility and movement.
- Creative Challenge, through art projects, local high
school students are working together to explore creative ideas and
solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing New York City in the near future. The top
teams will be recognized and rewarded.
- Micro-exhibition, art installations by Terreform ONE
that address the ecologies of cities, systems and objects at a
number of different scales in the context of the growing world
population.
For photos from the opening event on May
26, please click on the following link:
http://basf.us/cst-newsphotos
About BASF
BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North
American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 17,000 employees
in North America, and had sales of
$20.6 billion in 2014. For more
information about BASF's North American operations, visit
www.basf.us.
At BASF, we create chemistry – and have been doing so for 150
years. Our portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance
products and crop protection products to oil and gas. As the
world's leading chemical company, we combine economic success with
environmental protection and social responsibility. Through science
and innovation, we enable our customers in nearly every industry to
meet the current and future needs of society. Our products and
solutions contribute to conserving resources, ensuring nutrition
and improving quality of life. We have summed up this contribution
in our corporate purpose: We create chemistry for a sustainable
future. BASF had sales of over €74 billion in 2014 and around
113,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on
BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.
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SOURCE BASF Corporation