The 2015 Urban Farm Ride
By Dustin Watson, AIA – 2017 COTE | R Co-Chair
I have had the opportunity to work on projects of all scopes and scales across the country and around the world. I have seen how the built environment can have a distressing effect on both the environment and to society. At the same time, I have witnessed amazing ingenuity and hope in the development of our future communities.
I joined AIA Baltimore’s Committee on the Environment and Resiliency realizing the important role that architects and designers have on the built environment. AIABaltimore’s COTE | R aims to hasten the implementation of sustainability and resiliency in our professional community. We have provided a platform to discuss best practice such as our presentation this past year on Community Solar, detailing what it takes to deliver a solar project in our region. We have also highlighted inspiring community engagement with such events as the Urban Farm Bike Tour, sharing the experiences of people who are making a difference in the Baltimore communities in which they live.
By providing opportunities to engage our profession, we hope to advance the benefits to the triple bottom line and encourage more sustainable development. Our committee represents a pleasant intersection between the built environment and the natural world, providing healthy and resilient outcomes. Next year lets’ commit to values and principals directed to a fair and just society and to building a better world
