Distinguished Professor’s “Energies of Repair” project brings national spotlight to CSI’s leadership in climate justice and urban futures
Ashley Dawson, Distinguished Professor of Postcolonial Studies and Environmental Humanities at the College of Staten Island and The Graduate Center, CUNY has been selected as one of the 2026 residents of the Center for Architecture Lab, a forward-looking residency program hosted by the Center for Architecture in New York City. The competitive residency, shaped around the theme “Repair – Democracy and Urban Spaces,” drew more than 40 proposals from multidisciplinary teams across the region.
Dawson, working alongside collaborator Andrea Johnson, was chosen for their project “Energies of Repair: Visualizing Community Power in NYC.” The work examines New York’s rapidly shifting energy landscape, consisting of rising utility rates, stalled renewable initiatives, and aging infrastructure, and seeks to illuminate how energy systems shape democracy, justice, and the everyday lives of urban communities. Their project will culminate in a public exhibition opening at the Center for Architecture in May 2026, followed by programming that continues through the year.
“In this moment when democracy is under attack in so many parts of the world, it’s an immense honor to be a member of one of the teams selected to curate public conversations and an exhibition at the CFA,” said Dawson. “Our project will focus on NYC’s energy infrastructures: the electricity generation plants, subterranean wires, and gas pipelines that keep the lights on and keep our homes warm—but also, in many cases, pump toxic fumes into the City’s working-class communities of color.”
Dawson states that the project tackles an area that needs critical attention. “New York City only generates 5% of its power from renewables like solar and wind, so we need a massive build-out of clean power to avoid intensifying the climate emergency,” he said. “But where will all this infrastructure go? These are the kinds of thorny problems, challenges, and opportunities that I will explore during the CFA residency.”
Drawing on Dawson’s extensive scholarship in climate justice and community-led energy transition movements, the residency will explore how local residents, especially those in historically marginalized waterfront neighborhoods, can help shape the future of renewable energy systems in New York City.
The project brings together visual artists, designers, and community partners to imagine new frameworks for energy equity. Through maps, diagrams, stories, and participatory design elements, Dawson and Johnson aim to highlight neighborhood efforts that are already pushing for greener, more democratic energy futures.
“I have been a member of Public Power NY since its inception in 2019; this campaign has fought for a rapid and just buildout of public renewable power in New York State,” Dawson explained when asked about the genesis of the project idea. “We successfully passed the Build Public Renewables Act in 2023, but public authorities have been far too slow to translate this legislation into clean power infrastructure. I hope that the CFA residency will help draw attention to the urgent need for just energy transition in the City. Energy infrastructure is both ubiquitous and also invisible: we expect the lights to go on when we flick the switch on the wall, but few of us know where our power comes from or at what cost it is generated. During the CFA residency I will work to make this infrastructure visible, and to engage more people in the fight to abolish fossil fuels.”
Dawson’s selection is an important recognition of his longstanding commitment to public scholarship and advocacy. His acclaimed works, including Extreme Cities (2017) and People’s Power: Reclaiming the Energy Commons (2020), have made him a leading voice on climate justice, energy democracy, and urban vulnerability. As an organizer in the Public Power NY coalition, he contributed to the passage of the aforementioned Build Public Renewables Act (2023), a major shift toward publicly owned clean energy in New York State.
This residency invites him to bring that expertise into conversation with architects, designers, and community stakeholders, positioning CSI at the center of a cutting-edge dialogue about how cities can adapt to environmental change while strengthening democratic participation.
The Center for Architecture also selected the team known as Friends Making Work—Christine Giorgio, Amelyn Ng, and Gabriel Vergara—as the other 2026 resident group for their project “DEPAVE: An Ecological Repair of the Ground.” Their work will focus on reclaiming paved urban surfaces to reduce heat-island effects, increase biodiversity, and imagine new ecological futures for public spaces.
As Dawson and Johnson begin their residency, their work promises to deepen public understanding of the connections between energy, equity, and the built environment. Their contributions will not only inform the design community but also shape conversations about climate justice and sustainable urban futures.
