For our latest episode, we (Lindsay Baker and Kira Gould) had a conversation with Janice Barnes, Ph.D. She is founder of Climate Adaptation Partners. She uses her training in architecture and organizational behavior to help clients understand risks and evaluate adaptation pathways and link these to design and financing options. She works at the intersection of climate change, design, and public health and uses the inviting question “how might we?” to frame her work.
We talked with Janice about her advocacy and education work, her current client and project work, and more. "Climate adaptation," she says, "is part of design. We have a professional obligation to consider climate projections, explore what those mean, and then decide what you are going to do about that.”
Janice uses a musical metaphor to talk about team collaboration. She says that she plays rhythm guitar and brings unconventional bandmates to the session. “In this way, I have found that I can contribute design thinking and bring climate science experts and epidemiologists to the table. What we come up with together is so much better -- a system of solutions that do multiple things for stakeholders, ecosystem, and community.”
Listen at https://www.designthefuturepodcast.com/episodes/janice-barnes or on your favorite podcast platform. Please consider leaving a review on Apple; it helps people find us.
related links:
AMA Climate and Health Emergency Declaration
https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/advocacy-action-combatting-health-effects-climate-change
New York State Climate Impact Assessment (with Perry Sheffield & others)
https://nysclimateimpacts.org/
https://nysclimateimpacts.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Assessment-ch7-human-health-safety-01-31-24.pdf
New York City Panel on Climate Change
https://climate.cityofnewyork.us/initiatives/nyc-panel-on-climate-change-npcc/
National Academies Community-Driven Relocation Consensus Study
https://nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/27213/interactive/