designing the city

I had a nice talk to a friend from the Chicago area who started to describe the plans being made by city designers in that area preparing for what the city would be like in 50 years. Planning has to take decades into consideration and it seemed clear that the architects, landscapers, infrastructure engineers were all on the same page: Global warming is a fact and cities have to plan for new climates that will take place because of it. So roadways and walkways have to be more permeable. Chicago is going to get more rain. Tree and shrubs have to change. The estimate is that Chicago's climate will be more like Baton Rouge's in 50 years, so what kinds of trees should be planted now to deal with such changes?

Just the discussions of these preparations means a number of things: the serious people who have to act like adults and actually plan and build have decided that science and its ability to measure makes it clear that temperatures are going up. Let people who have the time debate. Builders and designers and engineers have to get ready for the future now. I am guessing that many other cities are preparing in similar ways. While talking heads chatter about the "many sides to the arguments about global warming" people who are asked to measure, design and build have to work off of far more accurate calculations.

One day we will have a city planner write for this site and hopefully this person can expound on the problems they see with future plans with rising temperatures in mind. Till then we can think about it, watch films like Wall-E and Bladerunner or documentaries that examine the issues of cities in change like Dark Days , The Unforseen or Into Eternity, but by looking at the work of the planners and builders it seems that the narrative is now established and in place: the world is getting seriously warmer.