Essential Capacities for Urban Climate Adaptation
January 7, 2018 | Cities, Climate Adaptation, Equity, Innovation Network for Communities, Reports, Sea Level Riseby
In a scan of the climate adaptation plans, strategies, and actions of dozens of U.S. cities, INC developed a new framework for understanding what it takes to plan and implement adaptation and how to further develop the emerging field of practice for urban adaptation. We identified seven essential capacities that cities have begun to develop:
1 SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION - Capacity to assess and understand climate risks and vulnerabilities of city’s built, natural, and economic assets and its populations, and use these analyses for ongoing adaptation planning.
2 COMMUNICATIONS - Capacity to communicate with and educate civic leaders and community members in ways that build and sustain a sense of urgency to adapt for climate changes.
3 EQUITABLE ADAPTATION - Capacity to make social and economic equity a central driver of the city’s adaptation approach.
4 INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT - Capacity to fully engage stakeholders and the public, especially vulnerable and underrepresented populations, in developing, implementing, and monitoring adaptation plans
5 INTERGOVERNMENTAL ALIGNMENT - Capacity to coordinate planning and action across governments at local, regional, state, tribal, and federal levels.
6 TECHNICAL DESIGN - Capacity to design, test, and implement adaptation actions that require engineering, legal, and other highly specialized details, as well as performance metrics for monitoring
7 FINANCIAL RESOURCES - Capacity to repurpose, leverage, and obtain public and private funds to invest in infrastructure development and other adaptation actions.
This work was supported by the Summit Foundation and the willingness of 35 city practitioners, climate-adaptation experts,city-supporting and conservation NGOs, and funders of urban adaptation work to share their knowledge with us. See report
