For the 17 students who enrolled in the undergraduate course Building Climate Justice: Co-Creative Coastal Resilience Planning, the syllabus wasn’t just a reading list—it was a call to action from the frontlines of the climate crisis.
Led by a teaching team of three faculty members, Paul Gallay, Kytt MacManus and Greg Yetman, supported by teaching assistant Roberto Beltrán, the fall 2025 semester marked a maturing of this hands-on curriculum. What began as an experimental pilot has grown into a highly sought-after model for multidisciplinary education, drawing a mix of undergraduate and graduate students eager to move beyond theory.
A Model of Co-Creation
The course’s core philosophy is simple but radical: environmental policies cannot be imposed from the top down; they must be built from the ground up. This semester, students formed interdisciplinary teams to work directly with two powerhouse community organizations: South Bronx Unite and the Staten Island Urban Center.
This approach distinguishes the course from standard service learning. As student Maia Berthier explained, while the co-creation process is more challenging than a standard curriculum, it is essential. “Once we were putting it into practice and seeing what the roadblocks can be… you can see why it matters so much,” Berthier said. “It is a more relevant approach and that is how we create long-term change that is equitable.”
MacManus, applied science lead in the Environmental Flow Physics Lab at Columbia’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, emphasized that this uncertainty, where students must adapt to the evolving needs of a client, mirrors professional reality. “There’s always a back-and-forth involved in… where the rubber meets the road between what someone needs and what you’re able to produce,” MacManus said, noting that students must learn to navigate real-world ambiguity rather than fixed assignment parameters.
Data Science Meets Grassroots: The Democratization of Data
A defining feature of this course is the integration of sophisticated data analysis into justice work. Responding to “wide interest” in technical training, the faculty guided students in using drone technology and geospatial analysis to make invisible issues visible.
MacManus described this shift as the “democratization of geographic information,” where technologies that once cost hundreds of thousands of dollars are now accessible to nonprofits, lowering the barriers to entry for advocacy groups. The implementation of South Bronx Unite’s air quality monitoring network in 2023, owned and operated by the community, is one example of this.
Yetman, associate director at Columbia Climate School’s Center for Integrated Earth System Information, emphasized that while establishing facts is important, data must be framed by the community’s lived reality to be effective. “Scientists and researchers need to be storytellers as well,” he said.
Student Grace Vera found that quantitative data served to reinforce the community’s narrative. “Reflecting what Kelly Vilar [executive director of the Staten Island Urban Center] already knew to be true was really cool,” Vera said. “Being able to take what she was saying and have a visual for it” allowed the team to build a holistic narrative for policymakers.
Real-Life Solutions in the South Bronx and Staten Island
In the South Bronx, students worked with South Bronx Unite to address the stifling reality of “Asthma Alley.” The group focused on improving the organization’s data dashboard to make environmental risks more understandable for residents.
Javier Marchand, air quality advocate of South Bronx Unite, praised the students’ professionalism and their ability to generate “real life solutions.” He noted that the students’ work on their dashboard provided immediate value: “Even if we only implemented a third to 50 percent of what they presented to us, already, the dashboard has jumped ahead.” Marchand said the students didn’t just complete an assignment, rather they immersed themselves in it: “they seem so into it, like they were there because they wanted to be.”
On Staten Island, the team partnered with the Staten Island Urban Center to focus on the North Shore’s environmental burdens, overlaying flood risk maps with socioeconomic demographics. Vera noted that this work highlighted the importance of local context, teaching her that “different neighborhoods and different parts of the city will have very different challenges” and that one cannot “lump all of New York City residents into like one understanding.”
Vilar noted that the research provides a critical evidence base for a community that often lacks access to such sophisticated data. Furthermore, this work is set to play a pivotal role in the organization’s upcoming North Shore planning campaign. As Staten Island Urban Center prepares to engage a new city administration, from the City Council to the Mayor’s office, Vilar emphasized that this data will anchor their advocacy: “We’re going to be meeting with different civic organizations and probably some government people… and the students’ research is the foundation for our presentations to them.”
The Power of Multidisciplinary Storytelling
The course’s most distinct element was its embrace of communication in its widest definition. Recognizing that data alone does not change policy, the students acted as both analysts and storytellers.
The cohorts were intentionally constructed to mix disciplines. As Vera observed, the groups included students who could “tell the story in a meaningful impactful way” alongside those who were “really skilled in GIS” (Geographic Information System). Berthier, who views herself as sitting between these two skill sets, emphasized the necessity of this collaboration: “Quantitative work needs to come with a story and it needs to come with intention… storytelling needs to have support from data.”
A Legacy of Impact
As the third iteration of this course, the fall 2025 semester benefited from deep, multi-year research collaborations. But the impact goes beyond the data delivered to the partners: it transforms the participants.
For MacManus, moving from policy study to the “front line” with organizations like South Bronx Unite was personally impactful, motivating him to fight for environmental justice in a way “you just can’t get from a textbook alone.”
For Yetman, the course represented a professional “full circle,” returning to the participatory GIS roots of his graduate studies.
Reflecting on the program’s growth and its future, Gallay, director of Columbia’s Resilient Coastal Communities Project (a partnership between the Climate School’s Center for Sustainable Urban Development and the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance), noted that there is “nothing more rewarding than being part of a course that combines learning, research and public service.” Although fall 2025 marked his final semester with the instructional team, he shared his enthusiasm for the program’s longevity: “I’m thrilled to know that Building Climate Justice will continue to be offered. I think its best years still lie ahead.”
As the 17 students of the fall 2025 cohort move forward, they carry with them a blueprint for a new kind of climate action—one that is technical, deeply human and collaborative. As Berthier concludes, the experience has solidified her desire to pursue community-facing work, proving the importance of “having community members and community organizations be invested in their own futures.”