Cities, public health, and climate change are inextricably connected—and addressing their challenges requires a similarly integrated approach. It’s a monumental task, but it’s also one that tech is uniquely positioned to address head-on.
For New York Tech Week, Fenwick curated a program of industry leaders dissecting these critical themes and providing insights into the relationship between urban development, climate change, and well-being.
Fenwick partners Evan Bienstock and Joyce Tong Oelrich were joined by Mika Health CEO Oriana Fuentes, Climate Health Innovation & Learning Lab co-founder Chethan Sarabu, CUNY Ph.D. student Lacy Shelby, executive director of The 2030 Project: A Cornell Climate Initiative Ben Furnas, Luminary Labs CEO Sara Holoubek, Ecologicca founder and CEO Jenessa Olson, and Joel Cesare, the head of green cities at BlocPower. Here are some takeaways:
Tech's time to shine. With climate change impacting the environmental determinants of health, by leveraging technologies like AI and machine learning, we can create a feedback loop between climate, infrastructure and health data leading to more innovative and effective technologies, informed policies, targeted interventions, and advanced preventative care. This could include things like temperature, air-quality, and wastewater sensors integrated into buildings—or smart-grid technology that manages electrical supply and demand in real time—working synergistically to improve the health outcomes of citizens.
Powering innovation responsibly. AI is here to stay—and even as it requires massive amounts of energy to power, it’s promising to generate incredible new healthcare approaches through AI- assisted drug discovery and precision medicine, as well as advancements in climate change solutions in areas such as material science, electric vehicles, battery storage and more. We need off-the-shelf clean-energy solutions that power innovation without accelerating existing climate and environmental issues.
Going green takes green. In our capitalist reality, climate solutions must carry an economic incentive. Corporations need to know they’ll make money. Building owners and other entities responsible for infrastructure want climate and public health modernization to be cost-neutral or better. Cost often stands in the way of action—but that’s where tech can step in by finding innovative ways to lower those costs and make the advances more attractive for the profit-oriented. For many startups in this space, government grants and prizes, as well as philanthropic money, are great non-dilutive options to fund growth.
Low-income communities shoulder a heavier burden. Through a combination of policy and market forces, low-income communities are often disproportionally subject to climate change's profound effects. That might include living with worse air quality from being adjacent to highways, or in hotter zones in inner cities, or more flooding due to infrastructure disinvestment in areas with less lucrative real estate. Necessities like air-conditioning—which can prove lifesaving in a heat wave—are more burdensome for low-income households to acquire. And while smart sensors and other connected devices promise healthier personal environments, reliable internet connectivity remains elusive in many low-income areas. Companies creating solutions in this space must engage with these communities early and in a meaningful way to create a trusted partnership.
Think about how to frame solutions. When you’re selling climate and health solutions, focus on making individualized appeals. When New York was pitching a costly transition to electric school buses, it showed parents an influential study where children who carried air monitors all day experienced a spike in poor air quality while getting on and off school buses. The data and the personal nature of the study resonated with parents more effectively than abstract conversations about climate change or the overall environmental benefits of electric vehicles. This is a problem that affects everyone.
