With climate change experts predicting a much drier American West, Western cities must invest in new, innovative designs to cope with a changing climate. Hadley Arnold and Peter Arnold, founding co-directors of the Arid Lands Institute (ALI), will speak about how innovations in design can make Western cities more adaptable in the face of climate change. ALI trains designers and citizens to respond to water variability through innovative design, with the vision of creating a “water-smart built environment” that serves as a model for arid regions globally. ALI seeks answers to questions such as, “What role can design play beyond technical fixes?” and “What are the full potentials of place-making in water-stressed environments?”