Adam Freed On Climate-Proofing Cities

City leaders are up to their necks in climate risks. They need help to harden their people and places against floods, storms, and heat waves. 

Why not call Adam Freed? Today’s Climate Proofers guest is a Principal at Bloomberg Associates, an organization which provides adaptation and resilience consulting to Mayors and their staff — pro bono.

Adam breaks down the reasons why cities are susceptible to climate shocks — from outdated infrastructure to rapid urban growth — and the changes in governance and governing that could help scale resilience solutions. 

He also shares some success stories, like London’s flood prevention efforts and Phoenix’s ambitious shade plan, and touts the opportunities for governments, businesses, and startups that are piling into the urban resilience space.

Listen below, download from the Podcasts page on Climate Proof, or tune in via Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

We talk about:

👉 The factors that make cities especially vulnerable to climate risks

👉 Why urban heat island effects in cities are “racism you can see from space”

👉 The importance of breaking down bureaucratic silos and making connections horizontally across cities and vertically between different levels of government to building urban climate resilience

👉 How public financing options, like “resilience taxes” and stormwater credits, could help close the adaptation financing gap

👉 How AI and high-tech solutions are giving cities greater options to address climate risks

Future guests include Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the London Climate Resilience Review and Harish Pesala, CEO of SmartResilience.

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Thanks for listening!

Louie Woodall
Editor