Fight or Flight? Communicating Science, Risk, and Urgency

*This event is occurring as a live webinar. Registrants will be emailed a link to access the program.*

“Fight or Flight? Rethinking the Urban Footprint“ is a four-part series that will address how the urgency of climate change requires design professionals to rethink the built environment. Rising seas, extreme heat, drought, and wildfires are among the environmental stressors that will continue to affect communities throughout the United States and the world. We are now confronted with the urgent need of creating relocation strategies for individual households, communities, and cities.  

As architects, planners, landscape architects, and related professionals, it is our ethical responsibility to integrate thinking about relocation into our practices. The economic, social, and environmental impacts associated with climate migration and relocation will be a large part of this conversation, along with equity and environmental justice. We recognize that it is incumbent upon us to find appropriate pathways forward as swiftly as possible. To that end, this series is organized into four sessions: 

• Session One – Fight or Flight? Communicating Science, Risk, and Urgency– December 14, 2020 
• Session Two – Fight or Flight? Overcoming the Crisis of Climate Grief– Janury 21, 2021
• Session Three – Fight of Flight? Pathways from Around the World– February 18, 2021 
• Session Four – Fight or Flight? Navigating Roadmaps to Success– April 1, 2021 

Communicating Science, Risk, and Urgency

This session is the first in this four-part series and will set the tone for the following sessions. The panel will address the latest climate migration and relocation statistics, discuss risk analysis and tolerance, and touch on how to develop clear guidance on communications. 

Speakers:
Orrin Pilkey, James B. Duke Professor of Geology, Earth & Ocean Sciences Division, Duke University
Rhonda Haag, Chief Resilience Officer, Monroe County, Florida
Adam Parris, Deputy Director for Climate Science and Risk Communication, Mayor’s Office of Resiliency

Moderator:
Janet Babin, Senior Producer and Host, The Wall Street Street Journal: The Future of Everything podcast