Earth’s climate is changing now faster than any other period in the history of modern civilization; this acceleration is primarily a result of human activities. Global climate change has already resulted in a wide range of impacts across every region of the country, and as we have seen throughout 2020, new approaches are needed to combat pathogen transmission and create next level healthy places. Many sectors of the economy are expected to grow related to climate and health in the coming decades.

Consequently, the design and retrofit of buildings, infrastructure, and cities will be a major part of future efforts.  The design and responsiveness of the built environment is the basis for inviting leading thinkers in the field of climate and sustainability research to help foster creativity, invention and entrepreneurship amongst participants with three primary goals: 

• Develop a baseline understanding of the current impacts and opportunities that the design, development, and responsiveness of the built environment has on climate change, and climate change has on the built environment.
• Increase understanding of the different communities and stakeholders that are involved in climate change debates via immersion in prescient topics formed around the design of the built environment: ethics, economics, health, equity, value, etc.  
• Create valuable dialogue that assists industry, government and academic leaders in understanding their role in how new environments, especially the social and habitable, can be reinvented in relation to emerging sustainability goals.