The Legal Landscape of Climate Adaptation
Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment
Release Date: 04/10/2024
Bridging the Gap: Finding Funds to Build (and Build Back) Better
Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment
Monika and Jessica talk to Abby Ross, the founder of The Resiliency Company, focused on helping communities adapt to climate risk. Abby has used her background as an entrepreneur and experience working with charitable giving to identify the funding gaps holding communities back from fully recovering from natural disasters and find ways to fund those gaps. The Resiliency Company mobilizes the funding, policies, and innovation required to shift markets and minds toward resiliency. Links and articles discussed on the show include the following:
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Resilient Waterfronts: Designing for the Future
Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment
Dena Prastos, CEO and Founder of Indigo River Studios, joins Monika and Jessica to discuss waterfront resilience in NYC and beyond. Indigo River Studios is a women-owned design firm specializing in waterfront infrastructure, climate adaptation, and regulatory innovation. Dena is both a AIA licensed architect and civil engineer. She leads transformative public and private projects across New York and beyond, including work with NYCEDC, the Trust for Governors Island, and the Hudson River Park Trust. Dena chairs the NCARB Futures Collaborative, has served as a guest lecturer at Yale and...
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Messing with the Mississippi: Lessons Learned from the Great River
Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment
Monika and Jessica speak with Boyce Upholt, a writer and "nature critic," about his first book, The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi. They discuss the long history of American efforts to control and corral the Mississippi River, the engineering feats that have gone into that project, and some of the consequences of those actions. Links discussed in the show include:
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Future-Proofing Business: The Chamber's Work on Climate Resilience
Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment
Monika Serrano and Jessica Mederson speak with Chuck Chaitovitz, Vice President for at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. They discuss the work being done by the Chamber as well as the Chamber's foundation to help businesses improve resiliency in the face of climate change. Chuck brings to the Chamber twenty-five years of experience focused on environment and energy issues, working with companies on strategies to improve their bottom line and competitive positioning. At the Chamber, Chaitovitz is launching a new environment and sustainability capability to give businesses the tools they need to...
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Healthy Buildings, Smarter Leases: Climate Law in Action
Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment
Nicole DeNamur joins the podcast this week, along with co-hosts Jessica Mederson and Monika Serrano, they talk about emerging state and city climate-related laws, climate-aligned contracts and leases, and how they intersect with issues like water shortages, indoor air quality, occupant health and other climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. Nicole DeNamur (she/her), J.D., Hon. AIA, WELL AP, LFA, Fitwel Ambassador, LEED Green Associate, is the founder of Climate Aligned Law, a climate-focused law firm, and Sustainable Strategies, a consulting firm dedicated to creating...
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Home Insurance: Will it Weather the Storm?
Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment
Carolyn Kousky, Acting Chief Economist at Environmental Defense Fund and founder of joins Jessica Mederson and Monika Serrano, to discuss the current and future status of home insurance, the relationship between insurance at the individual level vs. community, what home owners can do today and much more. Dr. Kousky’s research examines multiple aspects of climate risk management and policy approaches for increasing resilience. She is the author of and an editor of . She has published numerous articles, reports, and book chapters on the economics and policy of climate risk...
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Three Solutions for Climate Ready Construction
Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment
Mónika Serrano and Jessica Mederson talk to three entrepreneurs about their solutions to problems the construction industry faces on the job site, particurarly in the face of extreme heat, poor air conditions, and lack of water. They first talk to Zachary Kiehl, CEO and principal engineer of VigiLife, a connected health and safety technology company dedicated to protecting and enriching the lives of individuals at risk through innovative solutions. Then Mónika and Jessica speak with Tracie Wagman, CEO of ColdVest, a company dedicated to expanding its life-saving cooling technology...
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Hot Lessons, Cool Solutions: The Miami-Dade Story
Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment
Jessica Mederson and Mónika Serrano sit down with Jane Gilbert, Miami-Dade County's Chief Heat Officer. Together, they dive into the growing threat of extreme heat for cities, its disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities, and how communities leaders can respond through thoughtful design and policy. Jane shares how her groundbreaking role has shaping heat mitigation strategies—from education strategies to tree canopy initiatives—and what is next. Links:
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Are Real Estate Investors Addressing Climate Risk?
Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment
Jessica Mederson and Mónika Serrano speak with , Global Head of Climate and Carbon Strategy at La Salle Investments. This conversation explores if real estate investors are factoring climate risk into their decision-making, what resilience actions are taking place, the challenges of evaluating climate risk across portfolios while considering the unique characteristics of buildings and surrounding communities, and more. Links:
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Beavers: Nature's Climate Resilience Engineers
Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment
Drought. Flooding. Wildfires. These are all risks our communities and built environment face and these risks are increasing as our planet warms. Beavers, nature's engineers and a keystone species, can help us fight all of these risks. Beavers are central to water management (reducing flooding and droughts and mitigating wildfires) because of how they handle water: they slow it, spread it, store it, and sink it. Mónika and Jessica interview Ben Goldfarb, author of Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter. They discuss beavers' past, present, and future -...
info_outlineMónika and Jessica interview Professor Michael Gerrard, founder and director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School. We discuss issues such as building codes and FEMA flood maps, government regulations that could be used to improve resiliency in the built environment but only if communities use the latest versions of these regulations, which are beginning to incorporate future climate modeling--not just historical climate date. We also discuss potential liability for parties to a construction project, particularly design professionals. And we come back to one of our favorite topics--extreme heat.
Resources and stories discussed include:
Sabin Center for Climate Change Law: Sabin Center for Climate Change Law (columbia.edu)
Legal pathways for deep decarbonization: https://lpdd.org/
FEMA's BRIC program: https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/building-resilient-infrastructure-communities
Renewable energy legal defense initiative: https://climate.law.columbia.edu/content/renewable-energy-legal-defense-initiative
Skanska's Hurricane Sally lawsuit: https://www.enr.com/articles/53351-skanska-found-negligent-for-damages-from-breakaway-barges
Texas's efforts to ban protecting workers from extreme heat: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/23/greg-abbott-texas-governor-bill-water-breaks-heatwave
Arizona renter's right to air conditioning: https://landlordtenantresource.com/arizona-renters-rights-air-conditioning/#google_vignette