By Climate-change-related disasters threaten industry profitability, and may drive less-prepared companies from a variety of asset and risk classes. A reduction in the availability and affordability of insurance and risk management services can threaten the economy…
By The old way: build a wall. The new way: work with nature.
A nice illustration of the difference between old and new approaches to resilient design: In flood-prone Holland, the old approach was just: build a wall. The new approach is: work with nature, not against it, where you can. For centuries dikes (and natural dunes where they exist) have provided the
By Making Los Angeles Resilient
Lisa Novick has a very good blog on what Los Angeles should do to boost it’s resilience on the Huff Post Los Angeles. The blog includes a nice definition of resilience: “Resilience is defined as the capacity of a system to absorb shock and still maintain its identity and function.
Re-imagining Manhattan
You might have missed this in your holiday busy-ness, as we did: In December, Atlantic Cities reported on a project by a team of architect and planners from the University of Michigan to rethink Manhattan in the light of the clear danger of damage from future versions of Hurricane Sandy: From
Artificial reefs for tsunami protection
In Sumatra, new methods are under development to protect cities from tsunamis: “It uses the concept of cathode accretion–putting a small electrical charge in the water that draws calcium carbonate (the stuff reefs are made of) out of solution and onto an iron-based skeleton. The calcium slowly accumulates, creating an
Facing extended drought, Texas policy makers focus on water planning
Stunted corn due to extended drought. Photo: Tim McCabe, National Resources Conservation Service An article in today’s New York Times paints a surprising picture of bipartisan support for planning in Texas–a state known for neither planning nor bipartisanship. With a two-year drought continuing and being called the third-worst in the
Why the Dutch Can Implement Flood-Control Measures
There’s a fascinating article in today’s online issue of The Atlantic Cities: “We’re In This Together: What the Dutch Know About Flooding That We Don’t. The short article explores why residents of The Netherlands can pull together to put in place flood-control measures, even if they cost a lot of
RDI Advisory Board member David Orr was quoted recently in the New York Times on the topic of ergonomic seating in school classroooms. While classroom chairs may not represent mainstream resilient design, it’s a good example of the need to rethink how everything is designed in response to the challenges
Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and the Need For Resilience in the Western U.S.
The January, 2013 issue of Land Lines, a publication of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, has an excellent article on climate change impacts in the Intermountain West and the need for resilience. “Uncertainty and Risk: Building a Resilient West” addresses drought, growing incidence of wildfire, population growth, and factors
Biomimicry and Resilience
There was a great online article in the New York Times yesterday (1/4/13), “Will Biomimicry Offer a Way Forward, Post-Sandy?” about the relationship between resilience and biomimicry. This is an issue I’ve thought about quite a bit recently: the idea that nature can provide models of how to incorporate resilience
Maryland taking sea level rise seriously
On December 28, 2012, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed an executive order that will boost Maryland’s resilience. The executive order, “Climate Change and Coast Smart Construction,” requires sea level rise, flooding, and extreme weather to be taken into account in the construction or reconstruction of all state buildings and facilities.
Good neighbors make resilience
In an NPR interview, sociologist Eric Klinenberg reminds us that resilience involves not only smartly designed systems, buildings and infrastructure (our focus here at RDI). It’s also about the quality of communities and neighborhoods. “Vibrant, tight-knit neighborhoods could fare better in a disaster.” Interview is based on Klinenberg’s article “Adaptation”
Kunstler’s calamities
If James Howard Kunstler’s predictions for 2013 (warning: salty-language) turn out to be right, we are going to need lots of resilient design to cope with the impacts. The peak-oil prophet lays out his case for calamities that include a market crash to Dow 4000, massive US gasoline shortages, continued Midwest drought,
