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 vulnerability and risk assessments that consider socioeconomic factors along with climate risks. 

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54 results are shown below.

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Minnesota Climate Adaptation Framework and Menu of Climate Adaptation Strategies

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.

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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County of San Mateo, California Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment

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.

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Rhode Island Socioeconomics of Sea Level Rise

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.

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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NYSERDA - Population Vulnerability to Climate Change in New York State

October 2017

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) identified current and future vulnerability to extreme heat across New York State, focusing on community and individual health risk factors.  A heat-vulnerability index was developed, and a heat-health impact assessment was conducted using ClimAID climate projections.  The study included an assessment of the adequacy and accessibility of cooling centers, and the public’s awareness of cooling centers and heat warning systems or adaptation resources across New York.

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Maine Flood Resilience Checklist

August 2017

The Maine Flood Resilience Checklist is a non-regulatory self-assessment tool that allows coastal and inland communities of all sizes to evaluate their vulnerability to flooding and sea level rise, examine areas where current policy and action could use improvements to better address the vulnerabilities, and identify specific strategies and actions to enhance flood resilience. The Checklist is designed to be completed through an interdepartmental, facilitated discussion between decision-makers and key municipal planning, management, emergency and enforcement staff.

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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When Rising Seas Hit Home

July 12, 2017

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), hundreds of coastal communities in the U. S. have, or can expect to have, chronic and disruptive flooding inundation from sea level rise in the next few decades. This study identifies all of these communities that will experience enough severe flooding to require either large investments to defend or accommodate sea level rise, or, have to retreat and relocate. The analysis also identifies the “response time” remaining before such flooding occurs, and therefore gives affected communities perspective on the time they have to prepare.

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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An Equitable Water Future - A National Briefing Paper

June 6, 2017

From the U. S. Water Alliance, An Equitable Water Future explores the implications of water supply stress and management on vulnerable or disadvantaged communities and discusses the opportunities to build more equitable water systems. The report identifies the ways in which water issues like affordability and aging infrastructure disproportionately impact vulnerable communities, and highlights the potential to leverage water systems to build water equity. The Alliance determined that the focal elements to building water equity are to ensure that all people have access to safe, clean water; benefit from water infrastructure investments; and are climate resilient.

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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California Communities Environmental Health Screening Tool - CalEnviroScreen 3.0

January 30, 2017

Developed by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment at the request of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA), CalEnviroScreen is a science-based tool that identifies the California communities most burdened by pollution from multiple sources and most vulnerable to its effects. The tool uses existing environmental, health, demographic and socioeconomic data to create a screening score for communities across the state. Specifically, the tool uses data on 20 indicators covering pollution and population characteristics to create scores for each of the state’s 8,000 census tracts.

Resource Category: Data and tools

 

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Climate Ready Boston Final Report (2016)

December 8, 2016

Climate Ready Boston is an initiative to enhance near- and long-term climate change preparedness and resiliency in Boston, Massachusetts. The comprehensive 400-page final report from the initiative uses updated climate projections to predict how climate change will impact Boston, and details the findings on vulnerable populations, buildings, infrastructure, the shoreline, and the economy. The report also provides an extensive analysis of climate resilience initiatives and a roadmap for strategic implementation.

Resource Category: Planning

 

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Putting on a Resilience Lens: BoCo Strong Resilience Assessment for Boulder County

December 2016

BoCo Strong uses this county-wide assessment to develop a shared vision of resilience and to better understand the steps that Boulder County, Colorado should take to build resilience. The report defines resilience, outlines a framework to assess if something is resilient, and reviews the challenges and opportunities to build resilience within six sectors: Community, Economy, Health and Social, Housing, Infrastructure, and Natural Environment. The report concludes with cross-sector and sector-specific recommendations to inform work, build partnerships, fill gaps, and increase capacity in the region.

Author or Affiliated User: Karen MacClune

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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