In the News

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Christmas tree fire dangers explained

Do you know how quickly a Christmas tree can burn and what measures you can take to prevent this type of fire from happening in your home? Every year, WPI’s student chapter of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers conducts a tree burn demonstration in a laboratory in the Department of Fire protection Engineering to educate students and the public on the dangers and dynamics of Christmas tree fires. The event highlights fire prevention and safety measures during the holiday season and highlights the hands-on learning opportunities available to students in WPI’s fire protection engineering program. 

Boston 25 News, the Telegram & Gazette, and Spectrum News 1 reported on this year’s demonstration which, for the first time, included an artificial tree in addition to a real tree. Also, don’t miss a replay of WPI’s live stream of the burn and our recap video which helps explain some of the lessons learned.

BBC

The Global School professor and Venice Project Center director Fabio Carrera spoke with the BBC about the different plans and proposals to help Venice survive an existential crisis. As climate change causes sea levels to rise, the city is sinking and it could be underwater in a matter of decades. Carrera talked about how Venice needs to be more forward-looking than it has in the past - that the time for temporary fixes is over, and a longer-lasting solution is now necessary in order to save the city.

Condé Nast Traveler

The director of WPI’s Venice Project Center, Fabio Carrera, was interviewed for the Conde Nast Traveler article. Carrera argues that developing tech and other entrepreneurial industries independent of tourism will create a more livable Venice—and a more attractive home base for new residents. 

Travel Tourism News

Travel Tourism News interviewed Professor Fabio Carrera, director of WPI’s Venice Project Center, for the article, “How Venice is managing Europe’s worst tourism crisis.” “It is this focus on the livability of a city that Venetian data scientist Fabio Carrera believes is the key to Venice’s future. Because if a city cannot retain its own populace, no amount of tourist tax will be able to avert its inevitable decline and death,” the article stated. “As such, Carrera has dedicated 30 years of his academic life working on the Venice Project Centre, dividing his time between Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the prestigious Santa Fe Institute and Venice. During that time, he has supervised over 250 projects examining the city’s challenges: mapping every bridge, bell tower, well and water bus.”

The Guardian

Fabio Carrera, teaching professor and director of the Venice Project Center for 30 years, was interviewed for a lengthy feature story in The Guardian (UK) about the negative impact of tourism on Venice. In this article, Carrera, who tracks tourism flow and believes Venice’s maximum capacity for tourists per day should be better managed, noted that “no other city faces a bigger tourism challenge.”  

The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal cites data collected by Fabio Carrera, global studies teaching professor, in an article about Venice, Italy’s declining residential and tourist population.