Implications for Future Risk Management Strategies - Climate Change and Infrastructure, Urban Systems, and Vulnerabilities - page 55

Chapter 5
Implications for Future Risk
Management Strategies
A. Overview
Although risks to infrastructures and urban systems from climate change are significant,
especially if climate change is substantial rather than moderate, risk management strate-
gies offer impressive prospects to reduce those risks and thereby reduce the likelihood
of disruptive impacts in the future.
Most of the atention to risk management for infrastructures has been infrastructure-
specific, such as (TRB, 2008, SAP 4.5, 2005), although the need for a more integrative
systems approach is widely recognized (see Section VI below).
The major exception to date has been initiatives by some cities to promote inte-
grated “green infrastructure” strategies, in some cases pursuing synergies between
cli-mate change adaptation and climate change mitigation (Box 2). These innovative
programs offer examples of efforts to convert infrastructure systems from inflexible con-
straints on adaptation to leaders in making urban systems (and, in principle, other infra-
structure systems) more adaptable overall. Two leading examples are Philadelphia and
New York City:
1) PHILADELPHIA
In 2006, the Philadelphia Water Department began a program to develop a green storm-
water infrastructure, intended to convert more than one-third of the city's impervious
land cover to “Greened Acres:” green facilities, green streets, green open spaces, green
homes, etc., along with stream corridor restoration and preservation. This Green City,
Clean Waters program is being implemented over the next 25 years without the expen-
diture of billions of dollars on new pipes, tunnels, and treatment systems, in part due
to leveraged funding from the development community as a part of every new devel-
opment project. In the process, it has catalyzed the development of a Model Neighbor-
hoods program to encourage broad-based community participation in greening the city
of Philadelphia.
2) NEW YORK CITY
As a part of its comprehensive, participative PlaNYC effort, New York City has devel-
oped an extensive program to increase the resilience of its built and natural environ-
ments and to protect its critical infrastructures, in part to respond to concerns about
climate change (see case study below). Among its many components are plans to protect
the city's coastal areas, to reduce the urban heat island effect, and to improve emergency