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PODCAST · business

Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment

by Monika Serrano; Jessica Mederson

Hosts Mónika Serrano and Jessica Mederson interview people across the private and public sectors to discuss adapting the built environment to a changing climate. While climate mitigation and sustainability get most of the attention and financial investments, climate resiliency and adaptation are just as crucial because we are already experiencing the impacts of changes to our climate. Ensuring that we are adapting to extreme weather and evolving climate patterns requires us to reexamine what it takes to make our buildings, infrastructure, and communities safe and resilient both now and in the future, so that people, buildings, and businesses can continue to thrive for years and decades to come.

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Episodes

  1. Bridging the Gap: Finding Funds to Build (and Build Back) Better

    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...

  2. Resilient Waterfronts: Designing for the Future

    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…

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  3. Messing with the Mississippi: Lessons Learned from the Great River

    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…

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  4. Future-Proofing Business: The Chamber's Work on Climate Resilience

    Monika Serrano and Jessica Mederson speak with Chuck Chaitovitz, Vice President for environmental affairs and sustainability 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...

  5. Healthy Buildings, Smarter Leases: Climate Law in Action

    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...

  6. Home Insurance: Will it Weather the Storm?

    Carolyn Kousky, Acting Chief Economist at Environmental Defense Fund and founder of Insurance for Good 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...

  7. Three Solutions for Climate Ready Construction

    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...

  8. Hot Lessons, Cool Solutions: The Miami-Dade Story

    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...

  9. Are Real Estate Investors Addressing Climate Risk?

    Jessica Mederson and Mónika Serrano speak with Julie Manning, 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...

  10. Beavers: Nature's Climate Resilience Engineers

    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...

  11. From The Ground Up: Local Efforts to Create Resilient Cities

    Jessica Mederson and Mónika Serrano speak with Alison Sant, author of the book From the Ground Up: Local Efforts to Create Resilient Cities. They discuss how empowered local communities have created and led valuable efforts towards climate adaptation. From small, actionable steps to large-scale...

  12. The Money Will Follow: Investors on Climate Risk and Migration

    Mónika Serrano and Jessica Mederson talk to Greg Lindsey of Alpha Geo to explore how investors evaluate risks and opportunities in the face of climate change and climate migration. We also discuss public versus private investments, what the money follows, and the challenges individuals and...

  13. A New Standard For Property Resilience

    Mónika Serrano and Jessica Mederson talk to Holly Neber, CEO of AEI Consultants, and chair of the development of the recently approved ASTM International Standard Guide for the assessment of physical climate risk and resilience for commercial properties known as the Property Resilience Assessment...

  14. Concrete Conversations: Resiliency, Sustainability, & Innovation

    Mónika Serrano and Jessica Mederson talk to Jim Schneider, Executive Director of PCI Mountain States, a chapter of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) covering Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. They discuss concrete's role in increasing the built environment's resiliency…

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  15. Working with Resiliency Consultants to Adapt the Built Environment

    Mónika and Jessica talk to Amy Macdonald, Founder & Principal of Ripple Resilience. Formerly a principal and founder of Thornton Tomasetti's Resilience Practice, her career spans four continents, with leadership roles responding to catastrophes including Sandy, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria,...

  16. Building a Resilient Tomorrow: Federal Policy Perspective

    Jessica Mederson and Monika Serrano speak to Alice C. Hill, an expert in resilience to catastrophic risks, having served as Special Assistant to President Obama and Senior Director for Resilience Policy on the National Security Council. She led policy development on natural disasters, national...

  17. Resilience Pays: Insurance Companies Fund Climate-Resilient Buildings Research

    Jessica Mederson and Monika Serrano close the first season speaking with Dr. Anne Cope, Chief Engineer at IBHS, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, a nonprofit supported by property insurers, reinsurers, and affiliated companies. Anne leads the engineering team, researching the...

  18. The Legal Landscape of Climate Adaptation

    Mónika 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…

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  19. Keeping US diplomats safe abroad

    Jessica and Monika speak with Dr. Cassandra Smith and David Keller, from the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations, US Department of State. Their Climate Security and Resilience program works to understand and generate awareness of outposts' vulnerability to natural hazards and to enhance their...

  20. New Orleans and Resilience Realities

    Mónika and Jessica discuss living in New Orleans with Ashley Robinson, a construction lawyer with a civil engineering degree who lives and works in New Orleans. We discuss living in New Orleans post Katrina – from work being done to prepare for future hurricanes to the multiple rounds of…

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  21. Heat Hazards in Construction: Building a Healthier Future

    Mónika and Jessica interview Jason Glaser, CEO of La Isla network, an occupational health research organization and consultancy dedicated to protecting workers in a warming world. La Isla Network studies the effects of heat on workers and advices organizations on how to adapt to extreme heat…

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  22. New York State's Climate-Responsive Built Environment Initiatives

    Mónika and Jessica interview Susanne DesRoches, Vice President, Clean and Resilient Buildings, at New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), about how New York is modernizing its building stock to be both sustainable and resilient in the face of climate change. This work...

  23. Adapting Buildings to Climate Change 101

    Mónika and Jessica talk to Dr. Klaus Jacob, geophysicist and Emeritus Research Professor at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Dr. Jacob takes us back to basics, defining climate mitigation and adaptation, discussing synergies between sustainability and resilience (renewable...

  24. Community Resilience, Money, and Infrastructure

    Mónika and Jessica talk to Shalini Vajjhala, the Executive Director of Pre Collective and a nationally recognized infrastructure and climate resilience expert with more than 15 years of experience designing, funding, and financing community-centered resilient infrastructure solutions. Shalini...

  25. Trailer: Season One Launches!

    This trailer sets the stage for the first season of Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment, a podcast devoted to discussing the importance of, challenges of, and issues to address in incorporating resiliency into the built environment in the face of climate change. Hosted by Monika...

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

Hosts Mónika Serrano and Jessica Mederson interview people across the private and public sectors to discuss adapting the built environment to a changing climate. While climate mitigation and sustainability get most of the attention and financial investments, climate resiliency and adaptation are just as crucial because we are already experiencing the impacts of changes to our climate. Ensuring that we are adapting to extreme weather and evolving climate patterns requires us to reexamine what it takes to make our buildings, infrastructure, and communities safe and resilient both now and in the future, so that people, buildings, and businesses can continue to thrive for years and decades to come.

HOSTED BY

Monika Serrano; Jessica Mederson

CATEGORIES

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment have?

Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment currently has 25 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment about?

Hosts Mónika Serrano and Jessica Mederson interview people across the private and public sectors to discuss adapting the built environment to a changing climate. While climate mitigation and sustainability get most of the attention and financial investments, climate resiliency and adaptation are...

How often does Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment release new episodes?

Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment has 25 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment?

You can listen to Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment?

Adapt: Climate Change and the Built Environment is created and hosted by Monika Serrano; Jessica Mederson.
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