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.
Resources are automatically presented by rating, but can also be sorted by date and title. Apply additional filters to narrow the list by climate impact, region, transportation mode or stage of decision-making, state, or jurisdictional focus.
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Resource
March 2013
The City of Waveland, Mississippi developed its Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) in 2013 to update its 2007 plan, document the city’s hazard mitigation planning process, and identify relevant vulnerabilities and strategies to increase resiliency. The 2013 LHMP added climate change as a new hazard not previously addressed, as well as several other climate-related hazards such as coastal erosion, drought, extreme heat, and flooding. The LHMP assesses Waveland’s vulnerability to the hazards identified, as well as its hazard mitigation capabilities, and identifies evacuation planning as a high priority action item in light of the vulnerabilities identified.
Related Organizations: City of Waveland, Mississippi
Resource Category: Planning
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2013
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) allocated $4. 3 billion of its disaster recovery money specifically for projects in the Sandy-impacted areas that increase the resilience of public transportation systems and facilities to future disasters and the impacts of climate change. Funding for resilience projects was allocated in separate tiers. First, for “locally-prioritized projects,” which include resilience improvements made in conjunction with other recovery and rebuilding projects or lower cost stand-alone projects that could be implemented quickly.
Related Organizations: Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Resource Category: Funding
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2013
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) developed Report 753: A Pre-Event Recovery Planning Guide for Transportation, which provides an overview of steps involved in planning and preparing for the recovery of critical transportation infrastructure after a catastrophic event such as a severe storm or wildfire. The Guide was developed to assist transportation owners, operators and planners with pre-event recovery planning.
Related Organizations: Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies , The National Academies
Resource Category: Planning
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December 28, 2012
On December 28, 2012, then-Governor of Maryland, Martin O’Malley, Executive Order 01.01.2012.29, Climate Change and “Coast Smart” Construction, directing all state agencies to consider the risk of coastal flooding and sea level rise in the siting and design of state structures to avoid or minimize impacts. The order applies to all state facilities and structures, including transportation facilities.
Related Organizations: Maryland Department of Natural Resources, State of Maryland
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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March 2010
The Pennsylvania Climate Adaptation Planning Report presents climate adaptation recommendations and strategies developed by stakeholder working groups from key sectors, including the infrastructure sector with a focus on transportation. The Infrastructure working group identified the key focus areas, vulnerabilities and risks to infrastructure assets; and prioritized actions (high, medium or low) based upon specific criteria including cost, timeliness of implementation, political support, data availability, planning, risk level, co-benefits, and risks to public health and safety.
Related Organizations: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
Resource Category: Planning
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2010
Edmonston, a small town near Washington DC in Prince George’s County, MD, created a “green street” to address previous problems with flooding on Decatur Street near the Anacostia River. The town wanted to better manage that flooding and improve water quality, as well as to manage traffic by narrowing the street. The project utilizes a variety of green infrastructure tools to reduce stormwater runoff, thereby decreasing the amount of polluted water that enters the Anacostia River. While the project does not specifically reference climate change as a motivation, the methodology and considerations for this project, could be useful for a jurisdiction that will experience heavier precipitation due to climate change.
Resource Category: Solutions
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2011
Researchers at Portland State University (PSU) and the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium developed a framework for assessing climate change vulnerabilities to multi-modal transportation systems using a geographic information system (GIS). They used Portland as a case study for testing the GIS model and provided recommendations for how the GIS could be used to develop adaptive responses in the transportation sector. In the study, the researchers focused on two climate impacts that could affect surface transportation networks in Portland – flooding and landslides - and used GIS to model hazard locations in Portland.
Related Organizations: Portland State University, Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC)
Authors or Affiliated Users: Lindsay Walker, Miguel A. Figliozzi, Ashley R. Haire, John MacArthur
Resource Category: Data and tools
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April 2011
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) conducted a vulnerability and risk assessment of the agency’s critical infrastructure to the anticipated effects of climate change, including sea-level rise and increased storm surge, precipitation, and temperatures. PANYNJ analyzed climate-related vulnerability and level of risk for a wide variety of agency infrastructure, including airports, marine terminals, tunnels and bridges, rails, bus stations, and other facilities. The risk analysis was used to prioritize the highest risk assets and develop adaptation strategies for those assets.
Related Organizations: The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Resource Category: Assessments
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2011
The City of Bainbridge Island redesigned its main downtown street to update aging water infrastructure, improve walkability and multimodal uses, and better manage stormwater using more natural and vegetated solutions. The new design is more walkable and accessible, supports biking, better manages stormwater with green infrastructure practices, and encourages social cohesion through smart design. Over half a mile in length, this innovative redesign protects street trees and incorporates stormwater planters, rain gardens, and other methods to retain stormwater and prevent flooding.
Resource Category: Solutions
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May 2013
Beginning in 2007, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) conducted a major research and development project to evaluate the impacts of climate change on Norwegian roads and recommend adaptation measures to be incorporated into road design, construction, operation, and maintenance and help ensure safety and accessibility of roads in a changing climate. The project, entitled “Climate and Transport,” has resulted in revised guidelines and specifications, to better plan and design for increasing risk related to flooding and sea-level rise.
Resource Category: Solutions
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