Stormwater Reform Won’t Be Enough – We Need ‘Sponge Cities’ To Avoid Future Disasters
August 15th, 2023 Via The Conversation, a look at how – during the 2023 Auckland floods – people recognized that even stormwater reform won’t be enough and there is a need for ‘sponge cities’ to [...]
Building Foundations For Safe, Green and Inclusive Cities in Sub-Saharan Africa
August 15th, 2023 Via The World Bank, a look at efforts to ensure that development in the world’s fastest growing regions incorporates the latest “green” thinking: A new report provides a snapshot of [...]
Cool It On City Playgrounds: Swings and Slides Get Hot Enough to Burn
August 14th, 2023 Courtesy of The Washington Post, a report on the impact of urban heat on playgrounds and some green solutions to help cool things down: In a child’s imagination, a climbing frame can become a [...]
We’re Building Harder, Hotter Cities: It’s Vital To Protect and Grow Urban Green Spaces
August 14th, 2023 Via The Conversation, commentary on the urgent need to protect and expand urban green spaces: Recent extreme weather events have provided a foretaste of how supercharged storms might threaten our [...]
What Cities Can Teach Countries About Tackling Climate Change
August 14th, 2023 Courtesy of Foreign Policy, a look at how urban areas have made more progress than national governments on climate change—and offer a compelling political roadmap: Unprecedented heatwaves, storms, [...]
Creating ‘Sponge Cities’ Needn’t Cost Billions
August 14th, 2023 Via The Conversation, an article on the urgent need for sponge cities in New Zealand: Tune into news from about any part of the planet, and there will likely be a headline about extreme weather. [...]

ABOUT
BLACK SWANS GREEN SHOOTS
Black Swans / Green Shoots examines the collision between urbanization and resource scarcity in a world affected by climate change, identifying opportunities to build sustainable cities and resilient infrastructure through the use of revolutionary capital, increased awareness, innovative technologies, and smart design to make a difference in the face of global and local climate perils.

'Black Swans' are highly improbable events that come as a surprise, have major disruptive effects, and that are often rationalized after the fact as if they had been predictable to begin with. In our rapidly warming world, such events are occurring ever more frequently and include wildfires, floods, extreme heat, and drought.

'Green Shoots' is a term used to describe signs of economic recovery or positive data during a downturn. It references a period of growth and recovery, when plants start to show signs of health and life, and, therefore, has been employed as a metaphor for a recovering economy.

It is my hope that Black Swans / Green Shoots will help readers understand both climate-activated risk and opportunity so that you may invest in, advise, or lead organizations in the context of increasing pressures of global urbanization, resource scarcity, and perils relating to climate change. I believe that the tools of business and finance can help individuals, businesses, and global society make informed choices about who and what to protect, and I hope that this blog provides some insight into the policy and private sector tools used to assess investments in resilient reinforcement, response, or recovery.