Book Talk | North: The Future of Post-Climate America

Climate change is already fundamentally reshaping where and how we live. Join Perry World House for a conversation with Jesse M. Keenan on his new book, North: The Future of Post-Climate America (Oxford University Press).

North offers a critical reframing of adaptation science and the role that people, markets, and public institutions play in shaping human mobility and the capacity of American communities to adapt. With fast-moving markets and slow-moving governments, everyday people are caught in the crosshairs. While some will seek to preserve the status quo, others will relocate from places that are increasingly uninhabitable, too risky, or too expensive for permanent settlement. As the era of Sun Belt migration comes to an end and climate impacts accelerate, everything from local relocations to transcontinental climate migrations are already well underway.

At the same time, new geographies of opportunity are receiving zones for those who are seeking a more sustainable and less precarious way of life. North is not just a collection of scientific observations and projections about America's future in the face of climate change. It is also a projection of optimism about America’s capacity for decarbonization, environmental stewardship, and population mobility.

The discussion will explore how shifting climates are altering the physical and demographic landscape of the United States, creating a new era of migration, market adaptation, and transformed electoral politics.

Jesse M. Keenan is the Favrot II Associate Professor of Sustainable Real Estate and Urban Planning, Director of the Center on Climate Change and Urbanism, and Director of the Climate Change Science and Practice Minor Program at Tulane University. Keenan’s research focuses on the intersection of climate change mitigation and adaptation in the built environment, including aspects of design, engineering, regulation, planning and financing. Keenan has previously advised on matters concerning the built environment for 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 Built Environment on the faculty of the Harvard Graduate School of Design; Fellow of Science, Technology and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government; 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, as well as visiting appointments at the University of Pennsylvania and Oxford University.

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