What happens when cities expand into fire-prone landscapes—and what can we do about it? Jonah Susskind, Director of Climate Strategy at SWA, unpacks the overlooked realities of wildfire risk, why most modern cities are spreading in all the wrong directions, and how smart design can turn parks, neighborhoods, and planning policies into climate-resilient systems. From the “wildland-urban interface” to shelter-in-place strategies, this conversation blends environmental science, urban planning, and design thinking to illuminate the future of where and how we live.

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Links & References

Jonah Susskind - https://www.swagroup.com/principals/jonah-susskind/SWA Group - https://www.swagroup.com/Playbook for the Pyroscene (Free PDF) - https://www.swagroup.com/ideas/playbook-for-the-pyroscene

Chapters

0:00 – Intro: Urban Futures in a Burning World

2:11 – What Is a Landscape Urbanist?

5:24 – Why “Natural Disasters” Aren’t Natural Anymore

8:16 – What Is Wildfire, Really?13:20 – Smoke, Soil, and the Carbon Cost

13:44 – Designing for Fire: Myths and Realities

16:10 – Lessons from Australia and the U.S.18:26 – Who’s Responsible at the Edge?

19:30 – What Homeowners Need to Know

21:54 – Policy, Enforcement, and the Zone Zero Debate

25:36 – Why We Need Local, Nuanced Research30:56 – Rethinking the Wildland-Urban Interface

33:10 – The WUI: Conflict, Desire, and Inequality

37:12 – Building Pragmatic, Resilient Communities

39:07 – Why East Coast Listeners Should Care Too

42:35 – This Moment: On the Precipice

44:12 – Where to Learn More

Keywords

wildfire resilience, built environment, suburbanization, urbanism, architecture, landscape architecture, design, urban planning, climate adaptation, landscape urbanism, wildland-urban interface, Jonah Susskind, SWA Group, climate strategy, suburban development, wildfire design, zone California, fireproof cities, smoke exposure effects, urban development