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City of Cambridge
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Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and
Preparedness Planning in Cambridge, MA
by
Susanne Rasmussen Director of Environmental &Transporta9on Planning
City of Cambridge at
Massachuse@s Sustainable Communi9es Conference Worcester, MA April 24, 2013
§ Popula9on: 105,162 (2010) § Area: 6.26 square miles § Employment: 111,447 (2008) § Mixed-‐use, high-‐density
About Cambridge, MA
§ Significant buildings and infrastructure near Charles River and Alewife Brook
§ Neighborhoods on filled land
How Cambridge Got Started
1990 Recycling Ordinance, curbside recycling begins; Environment Program established
1992 Vehicle Trip Reduc9on Ordinance directs city toward emphasis on non-‐automobile transport
1995 Parking & Transporta9on Demand Management Ordinance
1999 Cambridge joins ICLEI-‐Local Governments for Sustainability & conducts GHG emissions inventory
§ Climate Ac9on Plan adopted by City Council late 2002
§ Focus on mi9ga9on
§ Climate Protec9on Advisory Commi@ee , represen9ng residents, business and universi9es, recommends adding adap9on focus in 2010
Mi=ga=on vs Adap=on?
Key Recommenda=ons • Some degree of climate change is unavoidable • Cambridge is vulnerable to sea level rise and storm surge flooding
• Climate change can cause a wide range of public health impacts
• Impacts to water supply, food supply, energy system reliability, surface water quality, and transporta9on are expected
• Physical impacts can lead to social and economic impacts
• It is important to start planning now
Temperature
Precipita9on Sea level rise
Extreme weather
Vulnerability: Key Concerns
Es9mated flooding on Oct. 29th
If surge had hit at high 9de Oct 29th
Surge at high 9de + 2.5 e SLR
Star=ng the Process
• Funding included in FY13 budget for vulnerability assessment and adapta9on plan
• RFP process to find consultant team with exper9se in climate change modeling and impact analysis
• Kleinfelder, Cambridge-‐based engineering firm with addi9onal experts in scenario development, risk modeling, public health, economic impacts and stakeholder engagement
1. Vulnerability Assessment (2012-‐2013) • Provide technical and scien9fic informa9on for assessing risk and vulnerability
• Iden9fy priority planning areas • Establish stakeholder engagement processes
2. Preparedness Planning (2014-‐2015) • Iden9fy measures to prepare for changes likely to occur from climate change
• Adopt implementa9on measures
Two stage process
Vulnerability Assessment Process
1. Climate Scenarios 2. Impact analyses • Infrastructure and buildings • Public health • Economic • Urban forest
3. Vulnerability analysis 4. Risk assessment 5. Priority preparedness planning areas
Vulnerability Ranking
Sensi=vity • Sensi9vity = Degree to which a built, natural, or human system is directly or indirectly affected by changes in climate condi9ons or specific climate change impacts.
• Example: A building without air condi9oning and housing elderly residents is highly sensi9ve to increased temperatures.
Adap=ve Capacity
• Adap9ve Capacity = The degree of built, natural, or human systems to accommodate changes in climate with minimal poten9al damage or cost, or to take advantage of opportuni9es presented by climate change.
• Example: Electrical systems fi@ed with equipment that is salt resistance have higher adap9ve capacity in terms of responding to flooding from the ocean.
6 members, climate experts from Harvard, MIT and BU • Small, highly technical mee9ngs • Key responsibili9es • Review technical approach by project team and give guidance/input on scenario development, modeling
• Lend credibility to study, basis for preparedness plan • LOTS of feedback already on: • Uncertainty of climate models and the challenges in downscaling an9cipated impacts
• Value of building on lessons from elsewhere, for example Hurricane Sandy, and use of “war gaming”
Expert Advisory Panel
• 16 members represen9ng key stakeholder groups (agencies, ins9tu9ons, businesses, residents, etc.)
• These mee9ngs will be somewhat technical • Key responsibili9es • To learn about the project • To share informa9on with technical team • To act as liaisons to their organiza9ons and agencies
• Also engaging with the City of Boston, e.g. Boston Water and Sewer Commission’s 25-‐year asset management plan
Technical Advisory CommiRee
• 3 Public Workshops (evenings or weekends) • Intent is to get 50-‐100 people to a@end, seeking wide par9cipa9on through many outreach strategies
• Designed so people can talk to each other • Key expecta9ons: • Provide input, local knowledge • Share perspec9ves on early work • Act as liaisons into the community about the project
• Hurricane Sandy greatly increased the public’s interest in preparedness planning
Public Workshops
• A@ending mee9ngs of neighborhood, business and interest groups
• Project website, listserv • Focus groups as needed • Surveys • CHALLENGES: • High degree of uncertainty • Poten9al impact are scary • But, not happening right now • Need to learn how to engage public as we go along
Other Engagement Strategies
Q & A
• For more informa9on: h@p://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/Projects/Climate/climatechangeresilianceandadapta9on.aspx
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