How a Changing Climate Will Transform Urban Design

A warming climate is inevitable, and is happening much faster than scientists thought likely, even a few years ago. The practice of urban design is already changing, and will be transformed by mid-century because the environmental context for designing cities will be so different. This essay discusses how cities would be influenced by climate change consequences of flooding, wildfire, heat waves, and shortages of fresh water and food and how urban design should respond to the crisis.