New York City, June 18, 2025 – The Columbia Climate School concluded its signature “Mobility, Adaptation, and Wellbeing in a Changing Climate” (MR2025) conference today, marking the culmination of a three-day dialogue on climate-driven social and infrastructural transformation. Held from June 16 to June 18 at Columbia University’s Forum, the event convened hundreds of stakeholders—including researchers, policymakers, community activists, and nonprofit leaders—for a series of panels and workshops focused on equitable climate adaptation, managed retreat, green infrastructure, and resilience strategies .
Originating in 2019 as the “Managed Retreat” conference, the biennial forum has grown in scope. This year’s rebranding to MR underscores a broader thematic evolution, reflecting a shift toward embracing mobility, planned relocation, and community resilience as central pillars of climate strategy.
Broadening the Conversation: From Retreat to Resilience
One of MR2025’s chief goals was to transcend traditional, technocratic debates about retreat—typically centered on zoning, insurance, and real estate—and expand the conversation to include migration, community agency, and broader governance frameworks. Alex de Sherbinin, senior research scientist and chair of the conference organizing committee, emphasized that climate mobility must account for both voluntary and forced population movements, including individuals who risk becoming “trapped” in increasingly hazardous environments.
“The concept of managed retreat sometimes feels limited to a technocratic discussion… but we’ve started opening the door to larger conversations around how climate change might shape future population geography,” said de Sherbinin. Sessions explored who stays, who must move, and why—highlighting perspectives from both high-income nations and agrarian communities in the global South.
Community-Led Adaptation & Equity in Focus
Equity was a central theme, woven through nearly every discussion. Organizers emphasized that climate resilience must be rooted in community agency and historically marginalized voices. Sheehan Moore, a postdoctoral fellow at the Climate School and lead organizer, highlighted workshops showcasing successful non-federal buyout programs, tools for community-led planning, and legal frameworks designed to redistribute power back to affected communities.
Sessions such as “Environmental justice and equity,” “Community resilience,” and “Legal and governance tools” addressed challenges and opportunities around centering historically sidelined communities in resilience planning. Speakers urged policies that direct resources to communities disproportionately impacted by climate disasters, including flood-prone and fire-prone zones.
Spotlight on Global Perspectives: Coastal Bangladesh to California Wildfires
MR2025 offered a global lens. Experts from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory presented case studies ranging from coastal elevation change in Bangladesh to resilience in the face of drought and wildfire. One pre-conference webinar focused on January 2025’s devastating wildfires across Los Angeles County—the Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst fires—which destroyed over 16,000 structures and prompted questions about whether rebuilding or retreating is viable—especially as major insurers withdraw.
Panelists, including representatives from the National Center for Disaster Preparedness and the Climigration Network, suggested higher-risk zones might be better suited to retreat or stricter development standards, and emphasized affordable access to rebuilding for low-income residents.
Policy Innovation: Housing, Insurance, and Non‑Federal Funding
Policy frameworks occupied a central role at MR2025. Dialogue ranged from revising the National Flood Insurance Program to crafting laws that facilitate managed retreats and fund green infrastructure. Sessions such as “Housing markets,” “Insurance markets,” and “Non‑federal funding: creating and supporting voluntary home-buyouts” explored the role of market signals, federal programs, and community-level financing in supporting just outcomes.
With shifting federal policy under the current U.S. administration, organizers highlighted the need for state and municipal leadership in climate resilience, encouraging local innovations in buyout programs and cross-sector collaborations .
Green Infrastructure, Planning, and Migration Pathways
MR2025 emphasized integrated solutions. Workshops engaged architects, urban planners, and ecologists to reimagine land-use in hazard zones—offering alternatives like bioswales and nature-based protections—versus traditional seawalls . Migration emerged as a tool of adaptation—not merely a problem: seasonal labor migration, rural-to-urban shifts, and resettlement were discussed as essential components of climate resilience.
The conference also tackled “trapped populations”—people unable to move due to poverty or social constraints—sparking debate on when adequate adaptation infrastructure might be more equitable than displacement .
Strengthening Networks & Shaping Future Research
Organizers celebrated MR2025’s success in fostering a vibrant professional and interdisciplinary network. Participants engaged in session-led conversations with practitioners from Bangladesh to Alaska, creating enduring connections between academics, city planners, insurers, and community advocates.
De Sherbinin remarked that the conference has catalyzed high-profile academic outputs—special editions in Science and Frontiers in Climate—but stressed that personal connections forged here are equally vital.
Looking Ahead
MR2025 set the stage for a departure from narrow, retreat-centric models of climate adaptation toward a more holistic, equity-driven, and localized approach. By confronting questions of who moves, who stays, and who pays, the conference laid groundwork for integrated policymaking and community resilience strategies that transcend political boundaries.
As the Columbia Climate School’s Dean Alexis Abramson noted in her opening remarks, climate adaptation requires not just scientific innovation, but moral leadership and inclusive governance. MR2025 reaffirmed this vision—with insights from wildfire-ravaged California to flood-prone Bangladesh—while charting a course toward justice-centered resilience in the decades ahead.
