Laws, Regulations, Policy Analysis, and Strategies

This tab includes strategies for serving communities on the frontline of climate change, including best practices, legal and policy analysis, laws, regulations, agency guidance, and executive orders relevant to equity and adaptation.

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214 results are shown below.

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Climate Change, Resilience and Fairness - How Nonstructural Adaptation Can Protect and Empower Socially Vulnerable Communities on the Gulf Coast

April 2016

Utilizing case studies from extreme flooding events, this paper synthesizes lessons learned, hazard mitigation strategies, and best practices in adaptation. The focus is on nonstructural adaptation strategies such as disaster planning and mitigation, and property buyouts. The best practices for implementing nonstructural adaptation strategies are also discussed with respect to impacts on, and solutions for, vulnerable communities.  The paper is grounded in three case studies of flooding events that each caused widespread damage, occurred across a range of demographic and socio-economic conditions, and involved both structural and nonstructural post-disaster adaptation strategies.

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Resilient Midwestern Cities Improving Equity in a Changing Climate

April 2016

Developed by the Center for American Progress, Resilient Midwestern Cities Improving Equity in a Changing Climate provides users with guidance on how to concurrently address climate change and equity issues by implementing climate change resiliency measures in low-income areas.  The report showcases  existing initiatives employed in 5 Midwestern cities, and draws out recommendations for further action.  This report is primarily geared towards decision makers of Midwestern cities, but the lessons learned and recommendations apply to a much wider audience.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Miranda Peterson, Cathleen Kelly, Erin Auel, Philine Qian, Gwynne Taraska

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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NYC Climate Justice Agenda 2016: Strengthening the Mayor's OneNYC Plan

April 2016

In this report, the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance (NYC-EJA) presents an analysis of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s OneNYC Plan and recommends ways to strengthen the city government’s efforts to cultivate climate justice. The document is organized under five themes: (1) climate adaptation and mitigation, (2) equity and infrastructure, (3) public health, (4) community preparedness, and (5) community-based planning. Under each theme, NYC-EJA lists the strengths and shortcomings of OneNYC, as well as a set of recommendations to build a more just, equitable, and resilient city.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Eddie Bautista, Juan Camilo Osorio, Pamela Soto, Priya Mulgaonkar, Annel Hernandez, Case Wyse, Jose Medrano

Resource Category: Planning

 

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Multifamily Flood Insurance Affordability Study

April 2016

In order to help preserve the affordability and stability of New York City’s waterfront neighborhoods, this report seeks to develop meaningful policy recommendations for flood insurance for multifamily and mixed-used buildings. The authors note the importance of this analysis given recent reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and increasing flood risk due to extreme weather events and sea level rise. The study’s findings quantify the number of multifamily and mixed-use buildings in high-risk areas; determine the extent of flood insurance coverage; and seeks to understand potential rising costs and perceptions around future flood risk and attitudes toward investing in mitigation.

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Our People, Our Planet, Our Power: Community Led Research in South Seattle

March 12, 2016

Our People, Our Planet, Our Power is a compilation of. ndings, stories, and recommendations from community discussions in South Seattle/King County, Washington, facilitated by Puget Sound Sage and Got Green’s Climate Justice Project. This project was run by a steering committing of people of color, who designed and implemented a survey to identify the perspectives of people of color living in South Seattle related to climate change.  Over nine months, the research team interviewed 175 people and 30 organizations to determine collective priorities and initiate a process of equitable planning.

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Promising Practices for Environmental Justice Methodologies in NEPA Reviews

March 2016

The Promising Practices report was developed by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Committee and the Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice as a compilation of best practices that federal agencies can consider for conducting environmental justice analyses for NEPA reviews. These promising practices offer a variety of methodological approaches that may be suitable across various NEPA activities. The report provides recommendations, but is not formal agency guidance, and does not establish new requirements for NEPA analysis.

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Miami-Dade in Hot Water: Why Building Equitable Climate Resilience is Key to Public Health and Economic Stability in South Florida

January 2016

This Center for American Progress report analyzes many of the climate change vulnerabilities facing Miami-Dade County, Florida, with a focus on the county’s lowest-income residents. The report provides broad policy recommendations for the county to help combat the effects of climate change.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Miranda Peterson, Cathleen Kelly, Madeleine Boel

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Minot, North Dakota Floodplain Buyouts and Affordable, Resilient Housing “Buy-In” Program

January 2016

In January 2016, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the City of Minot, North Dakota $74.3 million through its National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC) to implement several projects to improve the city’s resilience to flooding from the Souris River. In June 2011, Minot experienced a catastrophic flood. The flood, in combination with a “boom-bust” oil economy and lack of affordable housing, motivated the city to envision a more resilient future for its residents, economy, and environment. Among its winning projects, the city will implement a voluntary buyout program for homes most vulnerable to flooding along the Souris River and make resilient, affordable housing investments in higher, upland “Resilient Neighborhoods” located outside of the city’s floodplain to relocate homeowners and renters. Minot’s unique “buyouts for buy-in” model will help to preserve the city’s tax base and community cohesion. The city will also undertake projects to restore the floodplain, preserve open space, create recreational greenways, and provide resilient city hubs that offer economic job development and other services. Local policymakers and planners can consider the Minot example to equitably relocate people and development out of vulnerable flood or coastal areas to safer, higher ground as a part of comprehensive managed retreat strategies. 

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Tidewater Rising Resiliency Design Challenge

January 2016

Wetlands Watch, Hampton University, and Old Dominion University collaborated to develop flooding resiliency designs for Chesterfield Heights, a neighborhood in Norfolk, VA. The Norfolk region has been named the 10th most at risk from sea level rise of the world’s port cities by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. This design proposal emphasizes adaptation solutions that protect the region’s coastal ecosystems, as well as conducting flooding and sea level rise adaptation at the street and parcel level.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Skip Stiles, Mason Andrews, Mujde Erten-Unal

Resource Category: Planning

 

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Rhode Island 2015 Climate Change and Health Resiliency Report

2015

The Rhode Island Department of Health’s Climate Change and Health Resiliency Report identifies the climate change impacts on public health in Rhode Island, and offers strategies that can strengthen the effectiveness of public health management for climate impacts in the state. The report describes the threats that climate change poses to the state and its vulnerable populations, and details ongoing and planned best practices to counter these threats and protect vulnerable groups. The Department of Health Climate Change Program (HEALTH) has implemented climate adaptation projects that are highlighted throughout the report, along with Rhode Island case studies, and examples of best practices from across the country.

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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