You Are Where You Live
Discover the effect location and built environments play on your life and health.
Published March 04, 2013
In recent years, as social movements centered on locality have gained steam, more and more people have begun making a concerted effort to eat local, to buy local—to consciously consider how their everyday decisions affect and shape the place in which they live.
But what about your location's impact on you? Everything from the building materials that house you to the streets you walk to the food and resources available affects your health, well-being, environment, and opportunities. You are who you are, you are what you are, and increasingly—especially in urban built environments like New York City—you are where you are. Here the Academy offers a collection of resources to help you better understand your connection to place, and its connection to you.
 | eBriefing & PodcastThe Science of Local FoodIs local food more nutritious than non-local? Can it improve our environment? Does it taste better? What factors of locality are important? |
 | PodcastThe Sustainable City: Farming UpwardsProfessor Dickson Despommier talks about the city, climate change, and how the Vertical Farm is becoming a reality. |
 | eBriefingCan Oysters Save New York Harbor?Oysters are on the front lines of the push to rehabilitate New York Harbor. Learn more about these mighty bivalves from the New York Harbor School. |
 | EventSloth: Is Your City Making You Fat?A lack of walkable streets at home and an unparalleled reliance on car commutes may be keeping the U.S. overweight. Join a panel of scientists, urban planners, and fitness experts for a talk on how designing and building better cities and towns may make us a healthier—and leaner—nation. |
 | eBriefingAn Untapped Resource Exploring Uses for New York City's GroundwaterExplore potentially beneficial uses of groundwater, including using it to sustain trees, green roofs, and other plantings that absorb carbon and cool the city. |
 | eBriefingThe Implications of a Data-driven Built EnvironmentIncreased connectivity is revolutionizing our personal interactions and is also driving a large shift in the way we interact with and manage our built environment. Buildings use approximately 75% of U.S. electricity and account for 40% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Leaders in energy, building management, real estate, sustainability, and industry discuss how large data sets can be harnessed to improve energy management. |
 | eBriefingWhat Good Is Urban Conservation?How do you balance city development with conservation of local ecosystems and biodiversity? Is the effort worthwhile? Learn more in this event co-sponsored by The Nature Conservancy. |
 | eBriefingAchieving Urban Infrastructure Efficiencies Through Building NetworksRealizing the full urban potential for deep energy reductions will require a reconceptualization of urban infrastructure: we must begin to think of cities not as collections of discrete buildings but as networks of buildings that can share information and better manage resources collectively. |
 | eBriefingGlass Buildings: The Energy ChallengeIn the face of climate change, energy and design experts reconsider whether glass buildings are all they're cracked up to be. |
 | ArticleBuilding the Knowledge Capitals of the FutureHow cities worldwide race to transform themselves into hubs of science and technology expertise. |
About the New York Academy of Sciences
The New York Academy of Sciences is an independent, not-for-profit organization that since 1817 has been committed to advancing science, technology, and society worldwide. With 25,000 members in 140 countries, the Academy is creating a global community of science for the benefit of humanity. The Academy's core mission is to advance scientific knowledge, positively impact the major global challenges of society with science-based solutions, and increase the number of scientifically informed individuals in society at large. Please visit us online at www.nyas.org.