John Hennessy III,
P.E.
This report provides an approach for incorporating resilience into transportation planning and assessment for state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations. We build on the Federal Highway Administration’s Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Framework (VAF) to better incorporate principles of resilience into the decisionmaking process for long-term transportation planning.
View this complete post...
Written by Devin Morrissey Whether it’s a flood, earthquake, or landslide, natural disasters are devastating to human society and we need to protect ourselves as they continue to strike. They can ruin carefully crafted roadways and buildings of all shapes and sizes — not to mention the havoc they wreak on human life. The severity […]
View this complete post...
It is widely understood that roadway infrastructure is expensive, both in acquiring land for rights-of-way and in construction of improvements, and thus, decisions regarding alignment, crossing, and access made over a period of decades may have long-lasting consequences that are observable in traffic data today. Consequently, urban areas exhibit different unintentional traffic characteristics, including delays under normal and random stress conditions. Investments motivated exclusively by expected efficiencies under normal operating conditions are unreliable safeguards against loss of efficiency under stress conditions. Therefore, new analytic tools are required that allow designers to assess the adaptive capacity of roadway infrastructure and assess the potential of new investments to provide enhanced resilience.
View this complete post...
RE:FOCUS PARTNERS
Investing in resilience is complicated. Like healthcare, there are multiple strategies that can and should be combined to improve overall health. For example, there are things you can do regularly to ward off risks (preventative care), other options to address acute conditions (treatment or medical intervention), and finally actions you can take to ensure that illness doesn’t bankrupt you or those who depend on you (health and life insurance)…Strategies to protect communities from disasters follow a similar pattern. Projects to increase resilience—infrastructure upgrades or new protections—are designed to reduce the physical risks of damages. Once prevention is no longer an option, disaster response and recovery measures, including disaster aid and reconstruction funds, are designed to help the system recover and rebound back to health more quickly.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Changes in climate create diverse challenges across the U.S. energy system. Some energy infrastructure assets have already suffered damage or disruption in services from a variety of climate-related impacts, such as higher temperatures, rising sea levels, and more severe weather events. In the absence of concerted action to improve resilience, energy system vulnerabilities pose a threat to America’s national security, energy security, economic wellbeing, and quality of life.
MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE
Earthquakes are a reality in both Japan and California. Seismically active areas lie near and under high-speed rail systems in Japan and along the proposed route for the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s (CHSRA) developing system. Japanese high-speed lines have withstood significant earthquakes without a single loss of life. Their experiences are instructive for California as it develops its system.
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
According to the United States Global Change Research Program, the costs and impacts of weather disasters resulting from floods, drought, and other events are expected to increase in significance as previously “rare” events become more common and intense. These impacts pose financial risks to the federal government. While it is not possible to link any individual weather event to climate change, these events provide insight into the potential climate-related vulnerabilities the United States faces.
POST CARBON INSTITUTE
This study explored how some municipalities that are already leading the way on sustainability are now understanding and applying the concept of resilience. Senior staff at fourteen selected municipalities of various regions and sizes were surveyed on their communities’ perceived risks and vulnerabilities, and how these were being addressed.
    |
Follow InfrastructureUSA
Video, stills and tales. Share images of the Infra in your community that demands attention. Post your ideas about national Infra issues. Go ahead. Show Us Your Infra! Upload and instantly share your message.
Is the administration moving fast enough on Infra issues? Are Americans prepared to pay more taxes for repairs? Should job creation be the guiding determination? Vote now!
What do the experts think? This is where the nation's public policy organizations, trade associations and think tanks weigh in with analysis on Infra issues. Tell them what you think. Ask questions. Share a different view.
The Infra Blog offers cutting edge perspective on a broad spectrum of Infra topics. Frequent updates and provocative posts highlight hot button topics -- essential ingredients of a national Infra dialogue.
It is encouraging to finally see clear signs of federal action to support a comprehensive US infrastructure investment plan.
Now more than ever, our advocacy is needed to keep stakeholders informed and connected, and to hold politicians to their promises to finally fix our nation’s ailing infrastructure.
We have already engaged nearly 280,000 users, and hoping to add many more as interest continues to grow.
We require your support in order to rise to this occasion, to make the most of this opportunity. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to InfrastructureUSA.org.
Steve Anderson
Managing Director
SteveAnderson@InfrastructureUSA.org
917-940-7125
RSS Feed
© InfrastructureUSA | Terms of Use | Site developed by Andigo New Media
InfrastructureUSA.org is a nonprofit project fiscally sponsored by FJC, a Foundation of Philanthropic Funds.
