Events

Join J-WAFS for a seminar with Thomas Froehlich, a research fellow at King’s College London, on September 28, 2026, from noon to 1:30 p.m. ET. As communities grapple with a compounding "polycrisis" of cost-of-living pressures, fragile supply chains, and climate imperatives, this talk introduces Just Transition Micro-Clusters (JTMCs), place-based units that function simultaneously as governance bodies, planning methods, and development strategies. Local food systems are an excellent entry point for JTMCs, since food sits at the intersection of household budgets, infrastructure, and social wellbeing. The talk lays out a practical four-step planning sequence (asset diagnosis, community-legitimized visioning, roadmap development, and mobilization of higher-level finance) for embedding food interventions into just-transition planning. Drawing on cases from London, Brazil, and Senegal, the talk demonstrates how JTMCs can turn food systems into a concrete lever for building resilient, low-carbon, and equitable regional economies.

This talk is open to the MIT community as well as those from universities or organizations in the greater Cambridge and Boston area. You must RSVP using your organizational email address.