About

We Choose Hope

The practical visionaries profiled in Building Hope view environmental hope as fuel to confront the interlinked crises of climate action and social justice with can-do creativity. 

As students and new graduates of the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, they challenge our legacy industries to address society’s most pressing problems. Their projects soar beyond the status quo. Their optimism is infectious and inspiring. 

Listen in as these creative young people talk about their work—integrative, practical approaches stemming from radical imagination. With a focus on master’s thesis projects, the podcast and its accompanying website feature climate resilience, community collaboration, low-carbon materials, food justice, housing equity, biophilic design, and more. 

We look forward to hearing your thoughts as you take this creative journey with us.

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Jazmin Inoa

Jemimah Asamoah

Christian Romero

Curriculum Materials 

This podcast is suitable for use in any of the courses in the Sustainability Studies minor at the University of Maryland. We are developing companion material to supplement each episode, to be released with the podcast in April and May 2023.

Land Acknowledgement

Every community owes its existence and strength to the generations before them, around the world, who contributed their hopes, dreams, and energy into making the history that led to this moment. Truth and acknowledgement are critical in building mutual respect and connections across all barriers of heritage and difference. 

So, we acknowledge the truth that is often buried: This project was produced on the ancestral lands of the Piscataway People, who are the ancestral stewards of this sacred land. It is their historical responsibility to advocate for the four-legged, the winged, those that crawl and those that swim. They remind us that clean air and pristine waterways are essential to all life. 

This Land Acknowledgement is a vocal reminder for each of us as two-leggeds to ensure our physical environment is in better condition than what we inherited, for the health and prosperity of future generations. 

We also acknowledge that throughout our history, our university has not always lived up to our ideals of diversity, equity and inclusion. Today we reaffirm our commitment to building and celebrating a multicultural community. 

Please take a moment to consider these many legacies of bias, prejudice, violence, and settlement that bring us here today.

Grant Acknowledgements

This project is supported by a Faculty-Student Research Award from the Graduate School, University of Maryland, as well as grants from the University’s Sustainability Fund and the School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation.