An Evening with Jesse M. Keenan

Join us for a timely conversation with Jesse M. Keenan, author of North: The Future of Post-Climate America. In this groundbreaking book, Keenan explores how climate change is reshaping where Americans live—and how these shifts will transform cities, economies, and politics in the decades ahead. Blending adaptation science, mobility trends, and real-world case studies, North offers both a stark look at the challenges ahead and an optimistic vision for how communities can adapt, decarbonize, and build more sustainable futures. Don’t miss this important discussion about the choices, movements, and opportunities that will define post-climate America.

🎟 This event is FREE with RSVP. Seats are limited and not guaranteed.

Climate change is already influencing how and where people live. In North, Jesse M. Keenan argues that America is entering a new era marked by shifts in population that will transform everything from the physical landscape of cities to electoral politics. First, Keenan examines how human mobility is shaped by the environment and the economy. Next, he provides a conceptual and empirical overview of adaptation science, with a focus on how people, governments, and markets are preparing for and responding to climate impacts. He documents how physical impacts in the built environment, escalating costs, and public sector inertia are converging to drive people out of high-risk areas, while, at the same time, certain other areas are attracting people who seek a more sustainable way of life. North is not just a collection of scientific observations and projections about the peril of those left behind. It is also a projection of optimism about America's capacity for decarbonization, environmental stewardship, and economic mobility for those on the move.

Jesse M. Keenan is the Favrot II Associate Professor of Sustainable Real Estate and Urban Planning and the Director of the Center on Climate Change and Urbanism at Tulane University. Keenan's research focuses on the intersection of climate change adaptation and the built environment, including aspects of applied science, design, regulation, and planning. Keenan has previously advised agencies of the U.S. government, governors, mayors, Fortune 500 companies, technology ventures, community enterprises, and international NGOs. Keenan formerly served as the Director and Area Head for Real Estate and the Built Environment on the faculty of the Harvard Graduate School of Design and as the Research Director of the Center for Urban Real Estate on the faculty of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Books & Books