Transportation Sector Case Studies
These resources include case studies of adaptation in the transportation sector, developed by the Georgetown Climate Center as part of a cooperative agreement with the Federal Highway Administration. The case studies include examples of how adaptation has been incorporated into decisionmaking at all stages of the transportation lifecycle: assessing vulnerability, planning, design, and operations and maintenance. Apply additional filters to narrow the list by climate impact, region, transportation mode or stage of decision-making, state, or jurisdictional focus.
176 results are shown below.
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September 16, 2014
The City and County of San Francisco (CCSF) adopted Guidance on how city and county agencies must consider sea-level rise for new capital improvement projects, including transportation improvements. The Guidance was adopted by the Capital Planning Committee (CPC) in September 2014 and revised in December 2015; the CPC makes recommendations to the Mayor and Board of Supervisors on all capital expenditures and approves the City’s 10-year Capital Improvement Plan. The Guidance provides direction to all CCSF departments on how to consider sea-level rise in all new construction, capital improvement, and maintenance projects.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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September 2014
The Danish Road Directorate (DRD) developed a Blue Spot Analysis to identify roadways vulnerable to flooding under present conditions and future climate projections and to inform its climate change adaptation response. A “Blue Spot” is a section of road where there is both a high risk of flooding and significant consequences from flooding. Road flooding is the primary climate adaptation challenge for Denmark and is the focus of the DRD’s climate adaptation planning. The DRD’s strategy to adapt to road flooding is to manage flooding that occurs, improve roads when financially feasible, and to prevent climate-related impacts whenever possible.
Resource Category: Data and tools
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August 2014
The Coastal Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (CORE MPO) adopted the Total Mobility Plan: 2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (“plan”) to help guide officials responsible for planning and preparing Chatham County-Savannah infrastructure for changes the region will see in the upcoming decades, including the impacts of climate change and sea-level rise. Required by federal law to be updated every five years, the plan updates the region’s 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan and puts a greater emphasis on sustainability, complete streets, context-sensitive design and non-motorized transportation options.
Resource Category: Planning
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June 2014
New York City has been awarded $335 million to build a flood protection system around lower Manhattan and protect the critical ground transportation artery FDR Drive, as envisioned in the Big U project proposal developed for Rebuild by Design. The Big U proposal was one of six winners of the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Rebuild by Design Competition and was developed by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). The BIG U project proposes to build deployable walls that swing down from the underside of FDR Drive, which runs along the East River on the eastern side of Manhattan and has been an inlet for flood waters into Manhattan during extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy.
Resource Category: Planning
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June 2014
The proposed Commercial Corridor Resiliency Project included an element designed to improve the resiliency of a Queens, New York subway station by elevating the platform at Far Rockaway. The project proposal was developed and was selected as a finalist as part of the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Rebuild by Design Competition by the design team HR&A/Cooper Robertson. This proposal shows how the impacts of climate change like flooding can be addressed through elevating critical infrastructure while expanding access to commercial hubs.
Resource Category: Planning
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June 2014
The New Meadowlands project was proposed as part of the post-Sandy Rebuild by Design competition and involves the integration of flood protection structures with transportation assets. The proposal includes two components: (1) “Meadowpark,”a series of green berms integrated with a large natural reserve of tidal wetlands and freshwater basins designed to provide flood protection; and (2) the “Meadowband,” a berm covered by a street designed to integrate a Bus Rapid Transit line and provide multi-modal transportation options to the region.
Resource Category: Solutions
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June 2014
The Hoboken Rebuild by Design project proposal uses a combination of urban water management strategies to protect Hoboken, New Jersey, including the region’s transportation hubs, from flash floods and storm surge. Hoboken is a low-elevation, high-density urban environment on the west bank of the Hudson River that was severely flooded in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy hit the eastern coast of the U. S. The project uses a combination of flood defenses, green infrastructure (such as green roofs, constructed wetlands, rain gardens), and stormwater pumps to increase the city’s resilience to flooding.
Resource Category: Solutions
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June 2014
The Hunts Point Lifelines proposal envisions the construction of pier infrastructure and a levee in the Bronx neighborhood of New York to expand intermodal transportation options and to provide flood protection. The project proposal was one of six winners of the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Rebuild by Design Competition, a competition that was designed to inspire innovative climate-smart rebuilding projects in the disaster recovery effort after Hurricane Sandy.
Resource Category: Planning
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June 2014
The City of Sydney Australia is exploring the use of “cool pavements” (i. e. , lighter colored pavement) on roads to reduce the urban heat island effect in the city. The City is evaluating the effectiveness of cool pavements through a demonstration project in which they propose to repave 600 sq. meters of a street in Chippendale, a suburb of Sydney, with lighter colored pavements. Cool pavements are one method of reducing higher temperatures in urban environments because lighter colored pavements absorb less heat energy.
Resource Category: Solutions
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May 2014
New York State’s Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP) outlines an investment strategy, framework and process to preserve and manage the multimodal transportation assets in New York State, and identifies climate change as a key risk to the state's highway and bridge assets and New York State Department of Transportation’s (NYSDOT's) ability to manage those assets effectively. At a high level, the TAMP also identifies climate-related impacts to the transportation system, and outlines strategies the state can take to mitigate the risk.
Resource Category: Planning
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