Extreme Weather

Cars in the snow

Snowstorm That Stranded Thousands Prompts Questions About Auto-Centric Development

After thousands of motorists spent over a day on a snowbound Virginia highway, experts are warning that auto-centric sprawl will worsen the impacts of extreme weather events.

January 6, 2022 - Streetsblog USA

2020 California wildfires from Oakland, CA

California Insurers Call for Pricing Based on 'Catastrophic Modeling'

Home insurers argue they should be able to base policy costs on modeling that accounts for future risks from climate change and overdevelopment.

January 4, 2022 - Politico

Downtown Phoenix

To Combat Rising Heat Deaths, Phoenix Creates Heat Response and Mitigation Office

As more extreme temperatures lead to an alarming rise in heat-related deaths across the country, Phoenix is taking action with the nation's first public heat response office.

December 26, 2021 - High Country News

A footbrinde crosses over a small cascade of flowing water on a sunny day in Yonkers, New York.

'Daylighting' Project to Restore Nature in the Big Apple

More cities are returning waterways to a more natural state—in some cases unearthing them from subterranean pipes in a process known as "daylighting." A new example can be found, perhaps surprisingly, in New York City.

December 9, 2021 - The New York Times

Paradise, California

Study: Climate Change Overwhelmingly Responsible for 'Fire Weather'

New research points to global warming as the biggest factor in fueling longer, more destructive wildfire seasons.

November 7, 2021 - Los Angeles Times

Midwest Flooding

Rural Areas Left Behind in Climate Adaptation Plans

While resources pour in for urban climate resilience projects, smaller communities often bear the brunt of extreme weather events.

October 29, 2021 - The Architect's Newspaper

An illustration of rain clouds gathered over the U.S. Midwest, with the city of Detroit called out on the map.

Flooding in the Midwest Shows There's No Refuge From Climate Change

While projections say areas of the U.S. Midwest around the Great Lakes will become more hospitable as the climate changes, stormwater and flooding is still a challenge in a surprising number of locations.

September 16, 2021 - Yahoo News

New York politicians, including Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Bill de Blasio, gather in front of microphones for a press conference.

New Light on Basement Apartments in NYC After Ida's Tragedies

Basement apartments were the least safe place to be as the remnants of Hurricane Ida sent floodwaters ripping through the Northeast.

September 8, 2021 - The New York Times

Superstorm Sandy

How New York City Can Prepare for the Next Catastrophic Floods–Now

The city must take urgent action to mitigate the effects of increasingly damaging rainstorms.

September 6, 2021 - Slate

A sign indicates closures on the New York Subway as the result of heavy rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.

Ida Takes a Deadly Toll in the Northeast

Hurricane Ida passed through New Orleans, knocking out power causing extensive damage along the Gulf Coast. Then it moved to the Northeast, killing dozens of people with flooding caused by heavy rains.

September 3, 2021 - New York Post

Two people walk down a residential street in ankle high water after a summer-time flood in Ann Arbor.

A Natural Approach to Stormwater Proposed in Michigan

The realities of climate change have been on full display in Michigan this summer, and a crusading drain commissioner is pushing for stormwater infrastructure that uses natural features to capture and reuse water during extreme weather.

September 1, 2021 - WXYZ

Bus Stop and Bike Lane

As Heat Waves Become More Common, Bus Shelters Are Needed to Keep Transit Riders Onboard

As climate change brings prolonged, intense heat waves to cities once associated with rain and cold weather will have to attend to the lack of shelter provided to bus and transit riders.

August 30, 2021 - The Seattle Times

Portland Mobile Homes

Manufactured Home Residents Face Heightened Hurricane Risks

The unique construction and ownership structure of so-called 'mobile' homes put their residents at increased risk of property damage, financial loss, and death during extreme weather events.

July 25, 2021 - Atmos

Flood waters overwhelm a park, full of empty benches, on a sunny day.

Detroit Floods as the Pacific Northwest Bakes: It's Time to Shift the Conversation About Climate Change

The record-breaking heatwave in the Pacific Northwest has mostly been depicted in the media by kids running through fountains, but images of flooded highways and stranded vehicles in Detroit tell a more accurate story of climate change.

June 30, 2021 - Daily Detroit

Sea Level

The Changing Risks of Coastal Communities

An excerpt from "A Blueprint for Coastal Adaptation: Uniting Design, Economics, and Policy," published in May by Island Press.

June 17, 2021 - Carolyn Kousky

Climate Resilience Planning

'Zoning for Coastal Flood Resiliency' Wins Planning Commission Approval in NYC

Emergency responses to Hurricane Sandy have turned into long-term lessons in New York City, as the nation's largest city crafts a response to sea-level rise and extreme weather by making changes to the zoning code of coastal areas.

March 19, 2021 - Commercial Observer

Polar Vortex

Texas Grid Operator to Be Investigated by Congressional Subcommittee

Texas' costliest natural disaster will be the subject of a congressional investigation by a House Oversight subcommittee thanks to Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who is concerned about ERCOT's lack of preparation for extreme winter weather.

March 7, 2021 - The Texas Tribune

HEB Grocery Store

Blaming ERCOT

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the nonprofit, independent power grid operator for 90 percent of the nation's second-largest state, has become the convenient fall guy for the epic power failure caused by an extreme weather event.

February 22, 2021 - Austin American-Statesman

Polar Vortex

California-Style Rolling Blackouts Come to Texas

As bad as the power outages are in Texas, they would be much worse if the independent energy grid operator hadn't initiated rolling blackouts. In an extensive interview with CBS Austin, Bill Magness, the head of ERCOT, explains what went wrong.

February 18, 2021 - CBS Austin

San Francisco, California

2020 Was a Landmark Year for Climate Change

Many companies set goals to achieve by 2020 and came up short, while the effects of climate change were more obvious than ever in the year that was 2020.

February 3, 2021 - James Brasuell

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.

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