Highly Rated Resources

This tab features resources that are rated highly by other members of the Local Government Professionals Network. Local Government Professionals members like you may influence this list by rating resources.  Just click on a resource and assign it a 1 (low) to 5 (high) star rating.  The highest ratings (4 and 5) should be granted to resources that you have found useful in your own work.  

 

 
 

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Climate Ready Boston: Municipal Vulnerability to Climate Change (2013)

October 29, 2013

Boston, Massachusetts' Mayor Thomas M. Menino administration’s report 'Climate Ready Boston: Municipal Vulnerability to Climate Change' identifies ways in which the City has and will prepare for the impacts of climate change on municipal operations. The report presents the assessments and key findings of Boston's Climate Preparedness Task Force. Short- and long-term vulnerabilities were examined for the City's sectors: Facilities and Capital Planning, Transportation and Water Infrastructure, Neighborhoods, and Public Health and Heat.

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Baltimore, Maryland Disaster Preparedness and Planning Project (DP3) 2013

October 15, 2013

The City of Baltimore Maryland’s Disaster Preparedness and Planning Project (DP3) was created by the Department of Planning as an effort to address existing hazards while simultaneously preparing for predicted hazards due to climate change. This project develops a program that integrates an All Hazards Mitigation Plan (AHMP), floodplain mapping, and climate adaptation planning. DP3 links research, outreach, and actions to create a comprehensive and new risk-preparedness system for addressing existing and future impacts.

Author or Affiliated User: Kristin Baja, CFM

Resource Category: Planning

 

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Adapting to Climate Change and Variability Marquette, Michigan

September 2013

This assessment outlines the climate concerns of the city of Marquette, Michigan - which is the largest city in the Upper Peninsula region. Marquette’s economy relies on tourism, timber, mining, health care, education, and high tech manufacturing. The city is already seeing climate impacts in Lake Superior’s warmer waters that has raised bacterial levels high enough to force Marquette to close a public beach. The plan drew on a series of public meetings and small group sessions where participants assessed strategies related to: Transportation, Tourism, Agriculture, Land Use, Forests, Natural Resources, and Public Health.

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Linn County, Iowa Comprehensive Plan - A Smarter Course: Building on the Past and Embracing the Future of Rural Linn County

July 19, 2013

The 2013 Linn County Comprehensive Plan, effective July 19, 2013, broadens the scope of previous comprehensive plans beyond land use planning to include a broad range of goals such as economic development, sustainability, hazard planning, and renewable energy. While climate adaptation is only briefly mentioned, the plan does describe the expected risk from climate change to the county (including increased floods, heat waves, and other severe weather events).   Additionally, the plan encourages the use of green infrastructure to achieve sustainability and hazard mitigation goals.

Resource Category: Planning

 

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Case Studies in Floodplain Regulation

May 2013

This Georgetown Law student report highlights the efforts of two communities to strengthen regulations after catastrophic flood events: Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Waveland, Mississippi. These case studies discuss the regulatory reforms the communities implemented and the lessons that can be learned from their experience.

Author or Affiliated User: Emily Maus

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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Resilient Coastal Development Through Land Use Planning: Tools and Management Techniques in the Gulf of Mexico

April 11, 2013

This toolkit identifies ways to strengthen community resilience through land use planning, focusing specifically on options for the Gulf Coast and the unique considerations related to state laws. The resource also discusses the side benefits of resiliency, like participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and a preferred score on the Community Rating System to achieve discounts on flood insurance premiums in qualifying communities.

Author or Affiliated User: Niki L. Pace

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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District of Columbia Department of Transportation: Climate Change Adaptation Plan

February 2013

The District of Columbia Department of Transportation’s (DDOT) Climate Change Adaptation Plan describes the impacts that the District is likely to experience due to climate change, outlines a framework for identifying priority assets, and sets forth a series of action items for implementing the Plan. The target audience for this framework plan is decision makers, engineers, designers, planners, and other transportation professionals in DDOT. The plan focuses only on transportation and was developed based on the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) research and guidance.

Resource Category: Planning

 

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Mapping Our Future: A Work Plan for Public Engagement and Equity in Climate Adaptation Planning in the San Francisco Bay Area

February 2013

This report presents a work plan for regional agencies to partner with community groups on climate adaptation, and support local governments in doing so as well. It also provides parallel recommendations for funders and community groups.

Author or Affiliated User: Kirsten Schwind

Resource Category: Education and Outreach

 

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VIMS Recurrent Flooding Study for Tidewater Virginia

January 14, 2013

In March 2012, the Virginia Legislature passed House Joint Resolution No. 50, which directed the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) to study the impacts of recurrent flooding in Tidewater and the Eastern Shore, and to identify adaptation strategies. The Recurrent Flooding Study makes projections for recurrent flooding due to sea-level rise, storm surge, and heavy rainfall, addressing all localities in Virginia's coastal zone.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Molly Mitchell, Carl Hershner, Julie Herman, Dan Schatt, Pam Mason, Emily Eggington

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Adapting to Urban Heat: A Tool Kit for Local Governments

August 2012

This tool kit is designed to help local governments reduce the effects of increased heat on their communities and citizens. It provides an analytic tool for policy makers to consider a combination of four built-environment changes (cool roofs, green roofs, cool pavements, and urban forestry), providing clear criteria for selecting among these approaches. 

Author or Affiliated User: Sara Hoverter

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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