ResiliencyAmerican cities leading on climate change preparedness

Many mid-size American cities are becoming the most innovative responders when it comes to creating infrastructure which is ready for the consequences of climate change on the scale predicted by the National Climate Assessment.

As Governing reports, given the average temperature rising 1.5 degrees since 1895, storm damage and more unpredictable weather patterns will be the likely result should the trend continue. Additionally, the National Climate Assessment also predicts that sea-level rise related to rising temperatures could be even beyond four feet within the next 100 years.

With these scientific predictions in mind, and citing deadly and costly “super storms” such as Sandy in 2012 — which killed 130 people, destroyed 650,000 homes, and left 8.5 million people without power —cities have not only looked to rebuild following such natural disasters, but also to create “resiliency” within their infrastructure and communities.

Leading this charge are cities like Dubuque, Iowa along the Mississippi River, Norfolk, Virginia along the mid-Atlantic coast, and Miami Beach, Florida near the southern tip of the country.

Following the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities initiative, these urban centers have been identified as some of the leaders in a trend that will likely continue throughout the ensuing decades.

Dubuque leaders are working to end the repeated flooding that has plagued it of late. The city is planning on the construction of a large watershed park which would incorporate a channel that would not only be the centerpiece of the landscape, but also work as a creek to contain and redirect polluted flood waters which normally overflow into the streets. Additionally, the city plans to update the storm water piping system to better manage the flow.

Norfolk has experienced many recent coastal storms, and in 2009 saw storms that would bring 7.4 inches of rain in a matter of hours and normal high-tide water levels that were five feet above the norm. In response, area planners have begun raising key structures such as roads, hospitals, and homes. Further, the city has hired a “chief resiliency officer” who can further direct planning and funding for better preparedness.

Miami is also planning on spending $300 million within the next five years to install over fifty new pumping stations for a storm water system in the hopes that it can contain rising sea-levels within the very low land environment in much of Florida. The city is also attempting to retreat toward a more natural shoreline after years of over-construction, and will require the minimum height for sea walls to be raised significantly. Also, there is an effort to invest more in natural defenses against the ocean, including the introduction of more sponges and corals which work to absorb much of the brunt of intense waves.

As Governing notes, these three towns are just a few of those which are working on a local level that “is as much about addressing longstanding problems as anticipating new ones.”