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Rick Dimino
The impacts from a changing climate are happening now and projections indicate the region will continue to experience rising summer temperatures, increased storm intensity and higher sea levels. Over just the last few years we have experienced record-breaking snowstorms, tornados in Revere and Springfield, heavy rains and flooding from Hurricane Irene, and a near-miss from Super Storm Sandy.
As a coastal city, Boston is especially vulnerable. Flood risks from rising seas, storm surges and heavy rains pose the most significant threats. Recent studies from The Boston Harbor Association and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) present a future where significant portions of South Boston, Financial District, Back Bay, South End and Cambridge face a real risk from flooding.
The quality of life and economic competitiveness of our region is threatened by these events and we must begin to identify opportunities to reduce the risk and increase the resilience of our communities, infrastructure and buildings. While there are many actions that can be implemented to protect and increase the resilience of an individual building, this approach may prove too costly for some and leave gaping holes that put large portions of Boston under water. For the region to succeed, it will take the participation and collaboration of the public sector, property owners, residents and non-governmental organizations to develop comprehensive plans and strategies that invest limited resources wisely for the greater benefit.
An Acceptable Level Of Risk
To accomplish this we must ask ourselves what an acceptable level of risk is from these events and how exposed we want to leave our city, our buildings and our infrastructure. We need to gather a deeper understanding about the threats to specific parcels of land, districts and neighborhoods so that those impacted have a truer understanding of the scenarios they may face and we can begin to prioritizing projects that have the greatest return on investment. We must educate building owners and residents about the strategies they can implement now to lower their risk and investigate new opportunities for district wide coordination. We need to identify regulatory and insurance changes that could facilitate greater investment in resilience.
A Better City (ABC) was recently tasked by the Boston Green Ribbon Commission (GRC) to further study resilience options for private-sector buildings and to answer some of these questions. Our report, “Enhancing Resilience in Boston: A Guide for Large Buildings and Institutions,” builds on a previous GRC-commissioned study “Building Resilience in Boston” and illustrates the climate-related risk potential for commercial buildings, and presents available technologies and solutions for retrofits and new construction. These tools are grouped for buildings inside and outside projected floodplains that enables building owners to assess their own level of acceptable risk in determining the threat to their specific property.
As a part of the research, ABC developed a database of 33 technologies and products available to building owners, including their costs, suppliers, regulatory requirements and applications for addressing storm water management, flood-proofing, sea level rise, and the urban heat island effect. This online database is free and available to the public and will be continually added to as new technologies and products are developed.
This report also includes case studies of ongoing and completed projects that enhance resilience in the built environment in the short term, and lays the framework for longer-term solutions such as district-level coordination and stakeholder engagement. Cities like Hamburg, Helsiniki and Rotterdam, which face threats similar to Boston and are currently undergoing major redevelopments of their historic waterfronts, are looking to district strategies to ensure resilient design. These resilient zones provide an added benefit of identifying mutual threats and pooling resources to fund projects that benefit all within the zone.
Finally, included are a number of recommendations for addressing regulatory barriers to facilitate collaboration and investment in adaptation and resilience in the built environment. It is hoped that these findings will encourage continued dialogue and collaboration to increase the resilience of the built environment in Boston.
