CLIMATE CASE: Subtropical Urbanism

This project-based seminar focuses on applied climate research and adaptation design, examining in detail and through both analytical and projective text and drawings the climate changes that are impacting a densified urban center. The work will focus on uncovering current and impending climate threats; how these threats may have been amplified by current urban development; pre-development conditions, ecologies and cultures that might point toward more holistic, multi-species approaches to human habitation; case studies and precedents for climate adaptation and resilience strategies from around the world; and speculations on a range of tactics that could allow for ways to live with and adapt to ongoing and projected changes in the environment. The seminar will be run as a true collaborative laboratory, with workshop sessions, research-sharing, and student-run seminars incorporated into class meetings.

The work will focus on the bayfront of Sarasota, Florida, a subtropical urban center noted for its cultural institutions (Ringling Museum, Architecture Sarasota, etc.), its architectural legacies in the form of the Sarasota School of Architecture, beaches, and outdoor lifestyle. Sarasota is known more recently due to the direct impacts it has suffered from a series of climate-induced storms. The city was hit by two hurricanes (Helene and Milton) in the fall of 2024, in addition to a number of other unprecedented tropical storms and flooding events throughout the two years prior. Temperatures are rising, and most of the core parts of the city have been declared heat emergency zones.

We will explore, analyze, and document (in text and drawings) a wide range of topics, impacts, and implications, including the following:

• Current and future climate threats and impacts: sea level rise, storms, stormwater, wind, heat, biodiversity loss (land, water)
• Indigenous history, settlement patterns, historical shorelines, and urban development
• Resilient ecological and engineering practices
• Governance issues, policy, jurisdiction, regulations, and stakeholders
• Documentation and communication strategies for conveying the threats and possibilities to wide public audiences

The seminar will be open to students from all departments and programs, including MDes. Drawing skills are required.

A trip to Sarasota, FL will take place the weekend of March 7. The cost will be $150 (term-billed) plus meals and incidentals. Please refer to the GSD Travel Guidelines Website for additional information on student travel.