Transportation Resilience: Adaptation to Climate Change (2016)

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17S e S S i o n 1 : m a n a g i n g t h e r i S k including a full spectrum of prevention, recovery, and impact costs in benefit–cost analyses. Research • One research topic some participants discussed focused on developing and applying methods to iden- tify critical and vulnerable transport infrastructure and operations, including cascading effects. • A second research topic focused on developing scenario-based adaptive policies, dynamic asset-manage- ment techniques, and pathways to resilience. Examin- ing both top-down and bottom-up approaches could be included in the research. • A third research topic discussed by participants was developing methods to reduce uncertainty through climate science and engineering partnerships. Trans- lating climate change data into usable information for transport planning, design, and operations was identi- fied as part of this research. • Another possible research topic focused on iden- tifying black swan scenarios—that is, rare catastrophic events—and responses to these types of events. • Examining the possible environmental impacts of adaptation was suggested as another possible research project. Exploring the impacts on wetlands, air quality, and water quality were a few of the topics identified by participants for inclusion in research projects. • Developing methods to quantify the damages to the transport system from extreme weather events, including infrastructure repairs, restarting operations, and economic impacts, was suggested by participants as another potential research topic. • Participants discussed how research examining stakeholder response, emergency management, and the media would be beneficial. Documenting examples of effective public information messages and interac- tion with the media was suggested for inclusion in this research. • Participants suggested that examining the roles that new technologies could play in planning for, responding to, and recovering from extreme weather events would likely be beneficial, including exploring the vulnerabili- ties of these new technologies. breaKout grouP d Richard Wright Challenges • One of the challenges with managing risks asso- ciated with climate change and extreme weather events discussed by participants was developing and sustaining collaborative relationships among the diverse agencies involved at the local, state, and national levels. It was further noted that involving social service agencies and private groups adds to this complexity. • A second challenge was the uncertainty of the frequency, duration, intensity, and location of extreme weather events. • A third challenge voiced by a number of partici- pants was the uncertainty associated with the potential demand for transportation based on different extreme weather conditions and scenarios. Participants sug- gested that a good understanding was lacking for pos- sible changes in travel behavior during different types of extreme weather events. • Another possible challenge was reversing unde- sirable land use and development trends, such as the increasing development of vulnerable coastal areas and related population growth. • The lack of adaptable infrastructure and institutions was also suggested as a challenge by some participants. • Participants discussed approaches to manage some of these challenges. Developing collaborative relation- ships among stakeholders was noted as one method to help address many of these challenges. The potential use of financial and other types of incentives to encourage collaboration among agencies, businesses, and other groups was also discussed. • Developing and using integrated information sys- tems was suggested by participants as another method to address some of the challenges, as was using fail-safe designs or systems that fail safely and not insuring prop- erty that is uninsurable in the long run. Research • Participants discussed the need for collabora- tive research focusing on using available climate data for transport planning and operations. It was noted that although a lot of valuable climate data exists, it is not always in forms that are easily used by transport planners, engineers, and decision makers. Involving climate and weather scientists, planners, engineers, operations personnel, social scientists, and other spe- cialists in this analysis was suggested as important by some participants. • Participants discussed potential research that could examine collaboration and coordination across modes during extreme weather events. It was suggested that providing recent examples of collaboration and coopera- tion among modes, as well as exploring new and innova- tive approaches, would be beneficial. • Another possible research topic was developing design standards and operating methods that address

18 t r a n s p o r t a t i o n r e s i l i e n c e changing climate conditions. It was suggested that mul- tiple projects focusing on different infrastructure and operation needs for pavements, bridges, tunnels, road- ways, and rail could address the broad impacts of climate change on the different elements of the transport system. • Participants discussed potential research related to vulnerability assessments. It was suggested that exam- ining the incorporation of changing land use patterns, socioeconomic trends, and other factors into vulnerabil- ity assessments would be beneficial. Some participants also noted that a multidisciplinary approach for this research would be helpful. • Participants discussed the need for research focusing on the interdependence of transport mitigation and adap- tation strategies. It was suggested that mitigation strategies will influence adaptation strategies and that considering different scenarios for both would be beneficial. • Possible research related to public transit, resil- ience, and extreme weather events could involve exam- ining issues associated with the resilience of the transit infrastructure at the local, state, and national levels. It was noted that exploring the impacts on transit services and on transit passengers as part of this research would be beneficial. • Another research topic could be developing and analyzing a broader range of scenarios and options related to transport and extreme weather events. Ele- ments identified for inclusion in the research were the use of greener infrastructure, advanced technologies, and smart materials. Examining methods to capture cobenefits from different approaches, developing tools for evaluating the flexibility of different combinations, and exploring alternative governance options were also suggested for inclusion in the research.