ClimateIQ
An AI Climate Risk Tool for Cities to Advance Preparedness and Adaptation
About
ClimateIQ is an AI driven, multi-hazard exposure assessment tool leveraging Machine Learning, Big Data, and multiple climate hazard model environments. The tool aims to aid communities in accessing high resolution hazard exposure information, and to advance risk assessment in urbanized regions worldwide.
ClimateIQ drives innovation in providing urgently needed climate hazard information by uniting advances in hydrological flood exposure modeling with urban heat island models, drought and extreme rainfall projections together with critical infrastructure and social vulnerability data supported by AI. This unique integration takes advantage of multiple modeling approaches, remote sensing data, municipal data, and machine learning to provide high spatial resolution, multi-hazard risk data that can be used across multiple sectors and scales linking direct human exposure and vulnerability with ability to assess risk to critical infrastructure and services. The tool will especially serve cities and town planners, and low-income, minority and immigrant communities looking for local climate risk data to prioritize interventions, create resilience adaptation plans, and to plan and prepare for emergency response where risks are likely to be greatest from coastal flooding, extreme rainfall, drought, air quality, and heatwaves.
The Challenge
New York City’s FDR Drive after Hurricane Sandy. Photo by Chris Ford via Flickr.com
Queens Heat Wave 2011. Photo by Chris Gold via Flickr.com
Sea-level rise, rapid urbanization, extreme weather and loss of coastal ecosystems together pose new and emerging threats to cities, and increasingly threaten life and economies of communities worldwide. Yet, most solutions address single hazards or sectors and lack open access to next generation climate risk assessment. This lack of data and decision-support plagues cities and communities seeking to protect residents, economies, and infrastructure, particularly those vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
While growing volumes of data provide vast potential for Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support urban planning and adaptation, there is limited access and availability of products that are free, easily accessible, intuitive, and built on advanced science and technology. If improved analyses and resources are not provided at high spatial and temporal resolution to community, city, and regional decision-makers, there is a high likelihood of significant economic damages, loss of life, and an increase in vulnerability in cities, especially among marginalized communities.
Goal
Our goal at ClimateIQ is to advance city and regional climate resilience actions from local to global scales to decrease the impacts of disasters on the most vulnerable, save lives, and improve effective adaptation and response.
ClimateIQ will enable communities to improve risk planning, management and protection through an open access and intuitive digital dashboard to allow cities and communities to understand current, near term and future risk exposure, and to advance effective risk reduction, adaptation, and emergency management.
Benefits
We anticipate the tool will enable cities to spatially prioritize investments, including both where hazard exposure is highest, and also to take action on climate justice goals to prioritize solutions in the locations where the most vulnerable live. Equipped with such high resolution multi-hazard climate risk data, decision-makers across scales and sectors will be able to better plan and prioritize where to invest in multiple types of risk reduction strategies, to target operations and emergency response where they are most needed, and to invest in social capacity for community resilience in climate vulnerable locations.
Our Team
The ClimateIQ team brings extensive experience in climate risk modeling, AI applications, data analysis and visualization, as well as working with diverse stakeholders in cities. Led by Dr. Timon McPhearson, Director of the Urban Systems Lab (USL) at the New School in New York City, the core team includes Daniel Sauter, Associate Director of the Urban Systems Lab and Professor of Data Visualization at the New School, Joseph Glesta, Co-Founder and CEO of Climasens, Dr. Victor Galaz deputy director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) and Associate Professor at Beijer Institute of Ecological Economics, Dr. Ahmed Mustafa, Assistant Director of Geospatial Research at the Urban Systems Lab along with partners at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and George Mason University. Support provided in part by Google.org Impact Challenge on Climate Innovation.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, or would like to partner on ClimateIQ please contact us at: urbansystemslab@newschool.edu