ABSTRACT
There is no shortage of good ideas about how to mitigate and adapt to climate change but there is a shortage of leaders with the will to take action. City managers and elected officials are not trained to think about the future, and the author suspect that they will learn to rely more on future-oriented urban planners as the climate worsens, the world’s climate ethic builds, and more is demanded of local leadership. Urban planners have the power to educate elected leaders and the public and build systems that will reduce future damage. Climate planning is the new focus. The other goals remain, but climate must be first. The urgency of the other goals will begin to pale by comparison. The field of urban planning is less about what should happen and more about what can happen. City planning is less an arena of good ideas than one of interests.
