Designing for Future Climate Disruption and Displacement

As climate change accelerates displacement across the globe, architects and planners are increasingly called upon to design for communities in transition. This panel discussion, co-organized by AIA New York’s Design for Risk and Reconstruction Committee and the Planning and Urban Design Committee, brings together Hillary Brown, FAIA, and Bonnie A. Harken, AIA, WEDG, President of Nautilus International Development Consulting, to explore how the built environment can support equitable, place-based responses to climate-driven relocation.

The program draws from Brown’s new book Revitalize I Resettle: How Main Street USA Can Offer New Beginnings for America's Climate-Displaced (Palmetto Publishing, 2025) and Harken’s international planning work in the Amazon basin. Panelists will provide an overview of US and global climate migration and the upcoming 2025 UN Climate Change Conference COP30 in Brazil and examine strategies for revitalizing small-town America and adapting to ecological disruption in the Amazon. Join us to explore how design can promote health, safety, and welfare for displaced populations through resilient infrastructure, inclusive planning, and sustainable development.

Speakers:
Hillary Brown, FAIA, Professor Emerita of Architecture, Spitzer School of Architecture 
Bonnie Harken, AIA, WEDG, President, Nautilus International Development Consulting

Moderator:
Eric Fang, FAIA, Principal, Perkins Eastman