Guidelines, Tools, and Assessments
This tab includes tools and guides for how to conduct vulnerability assessments and develop adaptation plans with a focus on "frontline communities." It also includes vullnerability and risk assessments that consider socioeconomic factors along with climate risks.
Resources are automatically presented by date, but you may also sort by network rating or title. Apply additional filters to narrow the list by organization type of author, state, jurisdictional focus, region, or tool type.
51 results are shown below.
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Resource
October 2020
The Greening in Place guide serves to assist public agencies and developers in pursuing equitable green development and combating the displacement impacts that green investments can invoke. It includes an assessment of the displacement risks associated with green investment, a framework for equitable green development, several case studies, and a range of policies and strategies that can be used in partnership with the affected communities. By pursuing these strategies, park agencies and community advocates can advance racial and economic equity and promote healthy, sustainable, and inclusive green development.
Resource Category: Data and tools
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July 2019
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has evaluated how climate change will contribute to increasing incidence of dangerous high heat days across the U. S. This includes an analysis of the growing number of high heat days across various regions of the country, described under three climate change scenarios. The report also details the public health consequences of extreme heat and the populations that are particularly vulnerable to these threats. Policy recommendations are offered with adaptation measures that can be implemented at all levels of government to address rising temperatures.
Related Organizations: Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Authors or Affiliated Users: Kristina Dahl, Erika Spanger-Siegfried, Rachel Licker, Astrid Caldas, John Abatzoglou, Nicholas Mailloux, Rachel Cleetus, Shana Udvardy, Juan Declet-Barreto, Pamela Worth
Resource Category: Assessments
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April 29, 2019
From the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), this comprehensive Toolkit provides a series of modules to help NAACP chapters and other advocates mediate climate adaptation planning processes and ensure that adaptation plans and policies meet local needs, while focusing on frontline communities, environmental and climate justice, and equity. The Toolkit provides guidance to help community groups and advocates develop an Environmental and Climate Justice (ECJ) Committee to inform adaptation planning and policy through 19 different Modules.
Related Organizations: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Author or Affiliated User: Jacqui Patterson
Resource Category: Planning
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2019
The California Heat Assessment Tool (CHAT) was developed to help state and local public health officials understand how heat vulnerability will change with increasing temperatures due to climate change. The tool helps users identify heat vulnerable areas based upon changes in high heat days under different climate scenarios and social, health and environmental vulnerability factors. The study defines "Heat Health Events" (HHEs) as heat events that cause negative public health impacts - and the study found that vulnerable groups may be more sensitive to high-heat days by as much as 6 to 8 degrees Fahrenheit as compared to the general population.
Related Organizations: California Natural Resources Agency, Four Twenty Seven
Resource Category: Assessments
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January 2019
The Maryland Environmental Justice Screen Tool (MD EJSCREEN) assesses environmental justice risks among census tracts in the state of Maryland. Developed by the Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health Laboratory at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, this tool combines the average pollution burden of a community with the average population demographic characteristics to produce an Environmental Justice (EJ) score. Stakeholders advocacy resulted in the inclusion of six indicators of EJ risk specific to Maryland: asthma, emergency room discharges, percent non-White, proximity to treatment, storage and disposal facilities, myocardial infarction discharges, low birth weight infants, and particulate matter. Through this tool, Maryland residents can be better informed of disparities in EJ risk among different communities and their associated health impacts.
Related Organizations: University of Maryland
Resource Category: Data and tools
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November 23, 2018
On November 23, 2018, the U. S. Global Change Research Program released Volume II of the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4) entitled Impacts, Risks and Adaptation in the United States. NCA4 includes sixteen chapters focusing on national topics and specific sectors, nine chapters focusing on different regions of the country, and two chapters focusing on both mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas emissions) and adaptation responses to climate change. NCA4 concludes that: “ [o]bservations collected around the world provide significant, clear, and compelling evidence that global average temperature is much higher, and is rising more rapidly, than anything modern civilization has experienced, with widespread and growing impacts.
Related Organizations: U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)
Resource Category: Assessments
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August 27, 2018
California’s statewide assessment of climate change impacts utilizes updated climate science to investigate vulnerability at the local scale and inform adaptation and resilience planning. The fourth climate change assessment includes 44 technical reports on projected impacts to specific sectors and potential responses, 30 summary reports, 9 regional reports, and 3 statewide topical reports on oceans and coasts, tribal and indigenous communities, and environmental justice impacts of climate change.
Related Organizations: State of California, California Natural Resources Agency, California Energy Commission , California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR)
Authors or Affiliated Users: Jennifer Phillips , Sarah Lindbergh
Resource Category: Assessments
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May 2018
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is working with the organization paleBLUEdot and other agencies to provide assessment services and funding for 23 cities throughout Minnesota to identify climate-vulnerable populations, resilience indicators, and strategies to reduce climate risks. The report includes a climate adaptation Goals for local communities across Minnesota, as well as a comprehensive list of adaptation strategies. The project initiates the development of adaptation implementation plans for these communities to conserve resources, prioritize cost and benefit balanced strategies, and protect the most vulnerable populations from climate change impacts.
Related Organizations: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Resource Category: Assessments
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March 13, 2018
San Mateo County, California is particularly vulnerable to sea level rise as it is bound by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the San Francisco Bay to the east. This comprehensive 200+ page sea level rise vulnerability assessment offers a highly detailed analysis of the current and future coastal flooding and erosion risks for the County in terms of various sectors and networked infrastructure including critical infrastructure assets, impacts on human mental and physical health, vulnerable populations, and natural communities and ecosystems.
Related Organizations: San Mateo County, California
Resource Category: Assessments
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2016/2017
A project from the Rhode Island Division of Statewide Planning, Socioeconomics of Sea Level Rise (SLR) identifies the demographic and socioeconomic makeup of the communities located within multiple sea level rise inundation scenarios in Rhode Island. Serving as a resource in sea level rise planning, the Division suggests that data included in this project can be used for capital improvement planning, transportation planning, and overall long-range planning in communities.
Related Organizations: Rhode Island State Planning Program
Resource Category: Assessments
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