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In How To Live A Meaningful Life, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans write about thinking like a designer. They talk about a process called “radical acceptance” in which accepting reality is the only choice or option in designing your life which gives one’s life meaning and then helps identify the ways to be fully alive.

“Accepting the reality of your world, and accepting the constraints that reality imposes, is always the first step to designing your better future. Designers take a view of the world that is brutually realistic because a good design can only start in the actual real circumstances, even if those circumstances aren’t good or fair. This is sometimes misunderstood as capitulating or settling for things as they are, but that couldn’t be further from what we mean. Accepting reality as it is, is not an endorsement of that reality. For instance, accepting that the world is full of inequality is not the same thing as endorsing it – not at all. You’ll be more effective redesigning the situation if you understand and accept the reality of the circumstances on the ground and up front. Then you are set up for a more powerful reframe, a way of looking at reality that offers more options and the freedom to design solutions that are unique,” stated Burnett and Evans.

In reading their book, I wonder if the same advice the authors are giving individuals could also be applicable to a city like Duluth. Wonder if the political and business leaders who are responsible for the development of downtown and the future of our city have adopted a radical acceptance perspective and approach to planning and designing Duluth, especially when it comes to climate change. Are we being brutually honest about the increasing number of climate events that have hit this city by the lake?

There’s a growing concern that many of our leaders are simply out of touch with the climate reality that surrounds us. Just look at Washington, D.C. and St. Paul, and you have to wonder and question the political rhetoric and decision-making of our elected officials who represent Duluth and northeastern Minnesota. Why can’t they accept the reality of climate change? What prevents them from acknowledging and accepting what is already happening in Minnesota and Duluth?

For all of us, is it our fear of uncertainty and the unknown? Is it our reluctance to acknowledge or resistance to accept the validity of what we’re actually seeing and experiencing? Is it our desire and wish that maybe technology or God will answer our prayers?

So, what are the real actual circumstances with regards to climate change and its current and potential impacts on our city? In a climate briefing that we presented on April 22 to community leaders in Duluth, there is clear evidence that there is a continuous ride in global temperatures and CO2 levels, more droughts and extreme weather events, and more public health risks, especially for children and adults over 60.

And it appears that the most sustainable cities are prioritizing the reduction in the use of fossil fuels and cars, promoting public transportation along with biking and walking, protecting public spaces and planting of trees, and addressing the needs of their most vulnerable populations.
Given the growing concerns over the current conditions of the downtown area, with businesses moving out and leaving more empty storefronts, not enough affordable housing, and fewer visitors and tourists, will Duluth seriously consider any future plans and developments that incorporate climate change protocols, policies and programs? Maybe, designing the downtown as an incubator for climate initiatives, research and development, entrepreneurial ventures and climate education could help Duluth become a more sustainable city for the future.   

If we could accept the reality of the climate emergency which was acknowledged by the Duluth City Council in the spring of 2021, then our city has a better chance and opportunity to what Burnett and Evans refer to as having a “powerful reframe” which could give us more options and design solutions to effectively address the various impacts of climate change in Duluth.

At this moment, we have to ask if all the conversations and plans about the future downtown district of Duluth by our political and business leaders include research and studies about climate change. If not, will excluding climate change from how we frame any options or solutions to creating a more resilient and healthy city result in greater instability with the local economy, higher public health risks and more environmental crises?