California Case Studies

This tab includes case studies of adaptation efforts in California communities.

 

 

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Adapting to Rising Tides - Addressing Social Vulnerability and Equity in Climate Change Adaptation Planning in the San Francisco Bay Area

June 2012

Designed to inform the Adapting to Rising Tides project (ART) being led by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the purpose of the white paper is to integrate social equity into adaptation planning for sea level rise and storm events. The report describes a social vulnerability assessment completed for the study area and the results; presents case studies which integrate equity into adaptation planning; and provides decision support tools and recommendations to inform social equity and coastal planning for the San Francisco Bay Area of California.

Author or Affiliated User: Heidi Nutters

Resource Category: Planning

 

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SPUR Ocean Beach Master Plan for San Francisco – Strategies for Great Highway

May 21, 2012

Developed by the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), the Ocean Beach Master Plan (OBMP) provides a long-term strategy for responding to current and future sea-level rise impacts along the 3. 5-mile stretch of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach, and provides recommendations for adapting the Great Highway, which runs adjacent to the beach. The strategy focuses on the protection and relocation of transportation infrastructure, including: (1) rerouting the southern portion of the Great Highway; (2) protecting and restoring the shoreline and beach; (3) reducing the width of the Great Highway; (4) repairing seaside dunes; (5) facilitating faster travel between Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach; and (6) improving bicycle paths and sidewalks near Ocean Beach.

Resource Category: Planning

 

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USGS Integrated Watershed Scale Response to Global Change in Selected Basins Across the United States

May 16, 2012

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has utilized water availability models to project local-level climate change impacts in 14 water basins. To determine the sensitivity and potential effect of long-term climate change on the freshwater resources of the U. S. , the USGS Global Change study, “An integrated watershed scale response to global change in selected basins across the United States” was started in 2008 and published its results in 2012. The long-term goal of this study is to provide the foundation for hydrologically based climate change studies across the nation.

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Innovative Approaches for Adapting to Water Variability in the West

May 2012

This brief reviews three approaches that communities are pursuing to adapt to climate change:

  • New Mexico's Active Water Resource Management program, which put rules into place that allow for temporary water use changes in real time in case of drought.
  • The Water Utility Climate Alliance (WUCA), which was founded by water managers concerned by a gap in climate assessment and adaptation science needed to support their decisions.
  • Colorado's Joint Front Range Climate Change Vulnerability Study, which brings together the state and water utilities to assess climate change's impact on local water availability.

Author or Affiliated User: Sarah Cottrell Propst

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Community School Parks Program - Los Angeles, California

2012

The Community School Parks program is a partnership service agreement and shared use policy that enables community members in under-resourced neighborhoods to access school parks and playgrounds during off-school hours when they would normally be closed to the public. People for Parks, now a program of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust (LANLT), opened the first Community School Parks in 2012 and has expanded the program since with the partnership with LANLT and the development of the shared use policy with the LA Unified School District that enables expanded access to school parks. These Community School Parks (CSPs) provide opportunities for youth, families, and neighbors within the community to connect, recreate, and enjoy green and open space in a safe environment. The program targets dense neighborhoods, typically low-income and communities of color, that are park-scarce and would not otherwise have access to open space within walking distance. In addition to Community School Parks, LANLT works to create new green space in communities of color, engaging community members from concept development through to implementation and park stewardship. 

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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EPA Vulnerability Assessments in Support of the Climate Ready Estuaries Program: A Novel Approach Using Expert Judgment, Volume I: Results for the San Francisco Estuary Partnership (Final Report)

January 2012

The San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP) and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) have been collaborating with the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on an ecologic vulnerability assessment of the San Francisco estuary system to climate change under EPA’s Climate Ready Estuaries (CRE) Program.

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Airport Climate Adaptation and Resilience

January 1, 2012

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) produced ACRP Synthesis 33 - Airport Climate Adaptation and Resilience: A Synthesis of Airport Practice through its Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) with funding from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Adaptation Case Studies in the Western United States

October 31, 2011

From the Georgetown Climate Center, this report contains two case studies from the Western United States that explore water shortages in the West, water rights along the Colorado River, and the protection of an endangered ground-dwelling bird: the greater sage grouse.  In doing so, the report also examines the role of states in adaptation planning and the intersection between state and federal authority.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Joel B. Smith, Jason Vogel, Karen Carney, Colleen Donovan

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Thirsty for Answers: Preparing for the Water-related Impacts of Climate Change in American Cities

August 2011

In this report the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has compiled local and regional research findings about the water-related impacts of climate change in 12 U. S. cities. NRDC examined more than 75 scientific studies, as well as data and reports generated by government agencies and nonprofit organizations. The report makes clear that some of the most profound effects of climate change are water-related, such as sea-level rise, increased rain and storms, flooding, and drought, and that these kinds of events are likely to increase in the coming years as a result of climate change.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Mark Dorfman, Michelle Mehta, Ben Chou, Steve Fleischli, Kirsten Sinclair Rosselot

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Flooded Bus Barns and Buckled Rails: Public Transportation and Climate Change Adaptation

August 2011

This report from the Federal Transit Administration compiles climate change adaptation analyses and information for use in adapting U.S. public transportation assets and services to climate change impacts. The report is targeted at transit professionals and aims to prompt the consideration of climate resiliency in the transit industry by providing sector-specific adaptation information.

Author or Affiliated User: Tina Hodges

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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