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Climate Change and Infrastructure, Urban Systems, and Vulnerabilities

Technical Report for the U.S. Department of Energy in Support of the National Climate Assessment

  • Book
  • © 2014

Overview

Editors:
  1. Thomas J. Wilbanks

    1. Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA

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    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  2. Steven Fernandez

    1. Computational Science & Engineering Div, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA

    View editor publications

    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Essential guidance for decision-makers seeking to better understand how climate variability and change impact urban infrastructure
  • Rich in science and case studies, this report allows decision-and policymakers to prepare for climate change
  • The definitive input report on climate change and infrastructure for the 2013 National Climate Assessment
  • Critical state of the art information from a broad range of climate change experts in academia, private industry, state and local governments, NGOs, professional societies, and impacted communities

Part of the book series: NCA Regional Input Reports (NCARIR)

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Thomas J. Wilbanks, Steven Fernandez
    Pages 1-2

  3. Background

    • Thomas J. Wilbanks, Steven Fernandez
    Pages 3-16

  4. Framing Climate Change Implications for Infrastructures and Urban Systems

    • Thomas J. Wilbanks, Steven Fernandez
    Pages 17-40

  5. Urban Systems As Place-Based Foci For Infrastructure Interactions

    • Thomas J. Wilbanks, Steven Fernandez
    Pages 41-54

  6. Implications for Future Risk Management Strategies

    • Thomas J. Wilbanks, Steven Fernandez
    Pages 55-68

  7. Knowledge, Uncertainties, And Research Gaps

    • Thomas J. Wilbanks, Steven Fernandez
    Pages 69-72

  8. Developing a Self-sustained Continuing Capacity for Monitoring, Evaluation, and Informing Decisions

    • Thomas J. Wilbanks, Steven Fernandez
    Pages 73-74

  9. Back Matter

    Pages 167-188
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Keywords

About this book

Hurricane Irene ruptured a Baltimore sewer main, resulting in 100 million gallons of raw sewage flooding the local watershed. Levee failures during Hurricane Katrina resulted in massive flooding which did not recede for months. With temperatures becoming more extreme, and storms increasing in magnitude, American infrastructure and risk-management policies require close examination in order to decrease the damage wrought by natural disasters. Climate Change and Infrastructure, Urban Systems, and Vulnerabilities addresses these needs by examining how climate change affects urban buildings and communities, and determining which regions are the most vulnerable to environmental disaster. It looks at key elements of urban systems, including transportation, communication, drainage, and energy, in order to better understand the damages caused by climate change and extreme weather. How can urban systems become more resilient? How can citizens protect their cities from damage, and moreeasily rebound from destructive storms? This report not only breaks new ground as a component of climate change vulnerability and impact assessments but also highlights critical research gaps in the material. Implications of climate change are examined by assessing historical experience as well as simulating future conditions.

Developed to inform the 3rd National Climate Assessment, and a landmark study in terms of its breadth and depth of coverage and conducted under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy, Climate Change and Infrastructure, Urban Systems, and Vulnerabilities examines the known effects and relationships of climate change variables on American infrastructure and risk-management policies. Its rich science and case studies will enable policymakers, urban planners, and stakeholders to develop a long-term, self-sustained assessment capacity and more effective risk-management strategies.

Editors and Affiliations

  • Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA

    Thomas J. Wilbanks

  • Computational Science & Engineering Div, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA

    Steven Fernandez

About the editors

Thomas J. Wilbanks is a Corporate Research Fellow at ORNL and leads Global Change and Developing Country Programs at the Laboratory. The programs that he coordinates have undertaken more than 60 projects in 40 developing countries in the past two decades. Most of these projects are directly concerned with science and technology for sustainability, including enhancing local capacities for S&T innovation and application. In recent years, he has been involved in such activities as the USAID climate change initiative, the NASA-supported Association of American Geographers (AAG) project on Global Change in Local Places, the U.S. National Assessment of Possible Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, and IPCC Working Group II. He is a past President of the AAG and has served on numerous committees of NAS/NRC, including current membership in its committee on Human Dimensions of Global Change. Current activities include the development of tools to facilitate an integrated analysis of climate change impact response alternatives, assessments of climate change vulnerability and responses in developing countries, and potentials for accelerating clean energy technology use in developing countries.

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