Appendix D
Communities the Committee Visited
As part of its ground truthing of community resilience efforts in communities, the committee conferred with eight communities across the country.
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
Baton Rouge’s most recent disaster—a pluvial flood in August 2016—pro-duced catastrophic flooding in the region. Prior to this event, the city had experienced an influx of people displaced by disasters, most notably by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (Grier, 2005). Since the 2016 flood, Baton Rouge has undertaken efforts to address post-disaster recovery challenges (e.g., housing shortages, rent increases) and repetitive flooding in the city. Baton Rouge’s comprehensive plan, “Future BR,” provides new building regulations that promote resilience. The city is also working with the Center for Planning Excellence on infrastructure resilience and with Louisiana State University to develop watershed-wide storm runoff models and storm scenarios to better manage the potential impacts in the region.
For more information, see:
- Baton Rouge Comprehensive Plan: Future BR: https://www.brla.gov/662/FUTUREBR
- Baton Rouge Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2016: https://www.brla.gov/1370/Hazard-Mitigation-Plan
- Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Flood Risk and Resilience Viewer tool: http://coastal.la.gov/flood-risk-resilience-viewer/
- Louisiana Smart Growth Summit: https://summit.cpex.org/resilience-as-a-framework
GULFPORT, MISSISSIPPI
Gulfport, a coastal community, was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, with more than 9,500 houses damaged or destroyed. The city received more than $300 million in federal aid to rebuild after Katrina. Today, Gulfport has a new harbor, new infrastructure, restored historic buildings, and a downtown with new restaurants and urban art (Brown, 2015). The 2010 BP oil spill had a negative impact on the economy, livelihoods, and public health along the Gulf Coast, including Gulfport (Gill, Picou, and Ritchie, 2012; Gill et al., 2014; Lee and Blanchard, 2010, 2011; Ritchie, Gill, and Long, 2018). Community stakeholders shared with the committee how Gulfport is focused on preparedness and long-term recovery that will support the financial strength of local city government.
For more information, see:
- Gulfport 2030 Comprehensive Plan: http://media.sunherald.com/static/images/graphics/0331%20Gulfport%20Comprehensive%20Plan.pdf
- Gulfport Hazard Mitigation Flood Protection Plan, 2013-2017: http://msrestoreteam.com/docs/Gulfport%20Hazard%20Mitigation%20Plan_2013.pdf
- Gulfport Resilience Essays: http://www.resilientus.org/publications/gulfport-resilience-essays
MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA
The City of Minot’s resilience initiatives are shaped by the severe flooding in 2011 when the Souris River overtopped levees and caused the evacuation of 12,000 residents. More than 3,100 homes were damaged or destroyed, and the surrounding rural areas suffered losses of cattle and crops (City of Minot, 2013; RF, 2016). Minot is an isolated, tightly knit community of about 50,000 people with a strong sense of community self-reliance and a neighbor-helping-neighbor spirit. In 2016, the city received a $74 million Community Development Block Grant through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s National Disaster Resilience Competition. The city is using this grant to buy out properties, develop a downtown gathering space, develop a vulnerable population action plan and family shelter, build affordable housing, and create a Souris River Decision-making Tool for river management modeling (City of Minot, 2015). The City of Minot is in transition from flood recovery to building community resilience with support for its resilience initiatives from local residents and state and federal governments.
For more information, see:
- City of Minot Comprehensive Plan, 2012: https://www.minotnd.org/233/Comprehensive-Plan
- Pathway to a Resilient Future: Housing, Economy and the River that Connects Us, 2015: https://www.minotnd.org/DocumentCenter/View/617/NDRC_Phase1_Submissionpdf?bidId=
- Ward County, ND Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2017: https://www.minotnd.org/646/Hazard-Mitigation-Plan
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was the biggest acute shock in New Orleans’ recent history, resulting in over 1,000 deaths, more than one million people displaced, and about $151 billion in damage (Plyer, Shrinath, and Mack, 2015). Since then, New Orleans has undertaken several initiatives to build community resilience. In 2013, the city became a founding member of the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities initiative and released its first resilience strategy, Resilient New Orleans, in 2015. This strategy provides a roadmap for building urban resilience and is central to ongoing initiatives (City of New Orleans, 2015).
As part of its resilience-building efforts, New Orleans is incorporating a broader set of shocks and stresses into its emergency management, planning, and preparedness activities. In 2014, the city created the Network for Economic Opportunity to connect unemployed and at-risk jobseekers to the opportunities created by funded projects such as the airport. Within the Regional Planning Commission, New Orleans led the regional Resilience Committee (2015) to integrate resilience thinking across neighboring jurisdictions into the existing work of economic development, environmental planning, and transportation planning in greater New Orleans. Other initiatives include a climate action plan (City of New Orleans, 2017); adoption of the principles and goals of the Paris Climate Agreement; membership to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy; creation of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority Community Adaptation Program; establishment of the Adopt a Catch Basin program; and wetland restoration.
For more information, see:
- New Orleans Preliminary Resilience Assessment, 2015: https://www.nola.gov/resilience/resources/nola-preliminary-resilience-assessment-6-15
- Resilient New Orleans Strategic Actions to Shape Our Future City, 2015: http://resilientnola.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Resilient_New_Orleans_Strategy.pdf
- Plan for the 21st Century: New Orleans 2030: https://www.nola.gov/city-planning/master-plan
- Hazard Mitigation Plan: City of New Orleans, LA, 2015: https://www.nola.gov/hazard-mitigation
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
At the time of the committee’s visit, New York City was approaching the 5-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, which struck the east coast in October 2012. Sandy resulted in 43 deaths and $19 billion in damage (City of New York, 2013). Nursing homes were evacuated and more than one million children were out of school for a week.
In 2013, New York City joined the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities initiative and published its resilience strategy in 2015, which guides the city as it addresses challenges around climate change, extreme heat, hurricanes, flooding, sea level rise, and severe storms. According to city government staff, New York City has a $20 billion portfolio of resilience projects; $15 billion is federally funded. The city’s plan, “One New York: The Plan for a Strong and Just City” (OneNYC), has four visions focused on sustainability, resilience, equity, and growth. The city is considering ways to finance and continue its resilience work, through resilience projects and by embedding resilience into other city actions and plans.
For more information, see:
- OneNYC: The Plan for a Strong and Just City: https://onenyc.cityofnewyork.us/#content
- NYC Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2016: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/em/ready/hazard-mitigation.page
- MTA Climate Adaptation Task Force Resiliency Report, 2017: http://web.mta.info/sustainability/pdf/ResiliencyReport.pdf
PINE RIDGE RESERVATION, SOUTH DAKOTA
Pine Ridge Reservation has experienced several disasters in recent years including the May/June 2015 windstorm; September 2016 tornado; December 2016 winter storm; July 2017 tornado; and severe storms in August 2017. Pine Ridge Reservation has the lowest life expectancy and some of the poorest communities in the United States. Some of its most pressing priorities include tackling the chronic housing shortage, addressing day-to-day crises, and spurring economic development. The Pine Ridge Long-Term Recovery Committee, formed in early 2016, consists of more than 100 local, state, and national partners who are working together to repair and rebuild homes, as well as meet other disaster-related needs of residents. Local tribal members are also taking action. For example, The
Guardians is a grassroots effort composed of volunteers who carry out a range of initiatives, including emergency response during disasters (Rooks, 2016).
For more information, see:
- Partnership With Native Americans, “South Dakota: Pine Ridge Reservation”: http://www.nativepartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=PWNA_Native_Reservations_PineRidge
- Slate.com, Feb 20, 2014, “A Photographer’s Moving Tribute to the Pine Ridge Reservation”: https://slate.com/culture/2014/02/aaron-huey-photographs-the-pine-ridgereservation-in-south-dakota-in-his-book-mitakuye-oyasin-photos.html
RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA
Rapid City was devastated by the Black Hills flood of 1972. Since then, the city has implemented mitigation measures to protect against future floods. In early October 2013, Winter Storm Atlas, an early-season blizzard, hit the South Dakota region. The storm’s severity and unexpected timing for the season left the region with devastating livestock and agricultural losses, power and heat outages, damaged homes and buildings, and debris that obstructed transportation. A few months later, in April 2014, an ice storm hit the city, creating many of the same challenges as Atlas. To address its many weather-related events, the City of Rapid City has incorporated resilience planning and zoning components into its comprehensive plan, highlighting the community’s seven core values: growth; livability; health and wellbeing; efficient transportation and infrastructure systems; economic stability; recreation and culture; and responsive, effective governance (Rapid City, 2014).
For more information, see:
- Plan Rapid City: Our Community. Our Future, 2014: http://planrapidcity.com/images/uploads/documents/Rapid_City_Comprehensive_Plan_Adopted_April_2014_with_Maps__Appendices.pdf
WAVELAND, MISSISSIPPI
Located on the Gulf Coast, Waveland was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The community’s population is still below its pre-Katrina level, its recovery further hindered by the 2010 BP oil spill. The community is still in the process of rebuilding its main business district and has made strides to update its pipe and drainage infrastructure to newer materials, harden its communication systems, and improve its plans and procedures for emergency response.
For more information, see:
- About Waveland: http://waveland.ms.gov/about-waveland
- City of Waveland Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2013: http://waveland.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/LocalHazardMitigationPlan2013r1.pdf
- Ground Zero Hurricane Museum: https://www.wavelandgroundzero.com