As part of the First Wednesdays series at the Aquarium of the Pacific, urban ethnographer and sociologist Dr. Liz Koslov will present “Life on a Changing Coast,” a discussion of how climate change is reshaping beach cities, where inequality and the density of people, property and infrastructure create unique and daunting challenges for communities trying to adapt to extreme weather and sea-level rise.
Koslov, author of “Retreat: Moving to Higher Ground in a Climate-Changed City,” is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA. Specializing in the social dimensions of climate change, she’s studied at MIT, New York University, the London School of Economics and George Washington University.
When it comes to the ways climate change is already threatening coastal communities, Koslov will ask listeners to consider how decisions will be made about which places to protect, and by what means, as well as who decides when it is time to retreat and resettle somewhere safer.
The free presentation with Q&A — capped off with a cash bar cocktail hour, music and a paint-a-fish art and crafts activity — will take place from 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 2, in the Honda Pacific Visions Theater. Reservations are required and may be made online or by calling 562-590-3100.