Jesse M. Keenan is the Favrot II Associate Professor of Sustainable Real Estate and Urban Planning at the School of Architecture and the Built Environment at Tulane University. In his upcoming book North: The Future of Post-Climate America, he outlines the complexities of America’s handling of climate change and its effects on not only migration, mitigation, and real estate, but also our institutions and societal fabric. Simultaneous conclusions: There are no climate havens, but adapt we will. Join us for the fascinating Unfrozen interview.
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Intro/Outro: “System Error,” by The Cooper Vane
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Discussed:
San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank report on reversal of the migration to the Sun Belt
“What Climate Change Will Do to America by Mid-Century” - The Atlantic
Climate gentrification: from theory to empiricism in Miami-Dade County, Florida
Sean Becketti, Freddie Mac, April 2016: Will Markets Absorb Climate Change?
A Climate Minsky Moment?
Mitigation vs adaptation vs resilience
Rachel Minnery’s efforts at the AIA to include climate adaptation as part of architects’ standards and duty of care
“Climate-proof Duluth” in the New York Times
There were never any climate havens: The Guardian
The lesson of Asheville: The flooding was the beginning of its role as a “receiving zone,” not the end
“Climate havens” = media clickbait
Marketing of Buffalo as a “climate haven” by Mayor Byron R. Brown
Alan Mallach’s Unfrozen take on reviving legacy cities
“This is about growth management and urban planning 101 at the regional and local level”
For many “climate havens” rhetoric is not about recruiting new residents; climate mobility is a rhetorical arm for the existing residents for core sustainability development.
“The Midwest will ultimately grow for the exact same reason the Sun Belt grew”
Storming the Wall by Todd Miller
The Climate Credit Score
Hurricane Pass, Pinellas County, Florida
“Sodom & Gorlando”
Climate intelligence arms race, e.g., AlphaGeo
Spencer Glendon – “The money is slow and dumb”
18 Oct 2025
107. Spectropolis
Just in time for Halloween comes a spooky story of speculation and specters in the world of real estate. Joshua Comaroff, a professor at National University of Singapore, is the author of Spectropolis: The Enchantment of Capital in Singapore. He tells Unfrozen that, despite being one of the most assertively modern nations in the world, mysticism and geomancy are very much part of the design and construction process in the island nation-state. Woe be to the development (and its occupants) that does not undertake elaborate rituals and pay the requisite respect (and sometimes burnt “hell money” offerings) to ghosts that may be resident on the site. We hope you enjoy this tale of spirits and the material world…
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Intro/Outro: “Beancounter,” by the Cooper Vane
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Discussed:
Hell money, in sextillion-dollar denominations
Feng shui
People’s Action Party
Ghost Month (Ghost Festival)
Bomoh (Malay spirit doctor)
Winchester Mystery House
ION Orchard
Gateway, by I.M. Pei
AI Ghosts
John Calvin’s hatred of speculation
The Clayford Sisters
Thanatechnology
15 Oct 2025
106. Insurrection
Depending on how you look at it, it is either a great or rough time out there for speculative fiction, as reality continues to bite at the heels of even the most dystopian visions. Jason Tester is a futurist with a knack for telling prescient stories about our imminent urban realities, in a startlingly graphic way. The visually compelling Insurrection: an American Future predicted troop deployments in San Francisco in early January 2025; by June, a real-life version of that story began unfolding in Los Angeles, then Washington, Chicago, and Portland. Tester gazes into the abyss with Unfrozen, in another episode a bit too close for comfort.
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Intro/Outro:“System Error,” by The Cooper Vane
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Discussed:
Institute for the Future
What Is The Insurrection Act? Here’s What Happens If Trump Invokes Law
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
Frogs of Portland
Ilana Lipsett
Meta Ray-Bans
Frend.AI
ImmigrationOS
San Francisco Proposition E - Police drone authorization
The beleaguered Whole Foods on Market
ICE Ramming in Chicago
Grand juries say no to sandwich crimes
DDS Waymo Jam
Barbara Walter at UC San Diego: How Civil Wars Start
Abyss gazing
UrbanistAI
One Big Beautiful Bill
One Big Beautiful Aftermath
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Robert Sharoff
William Zbaren
Michele Champagne
Kate Wagner
Marisa Moran Jahn
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