Adapting to Multiple and Cascading Climate Change Hazards and Risks

A report developed as part of the Civic-led Urban Adaptation Research Center (CIVIC-UARC)

Team: Timon McPhearson, Luis E. Ortiz Uriarte, Christopher Kennedy, Ishita Mouri, Rahman, Benjamin Wilde, Claire Fisher, Victoria A. Beard, George Del Barrio, Jeanne DuPont, Elizabeth Cook, and Avery Sirwatka

On February 14, 2024, a team of researchers co-led by Timon McPhearson (The New School) and Luis E. Ortiz (George Mason University), in partnership with the community-based organizations RISE and Universe City NYC, hosted the “Adapting to Multiple and Cascading Climate Change Hazards and Risks” workshop. The participants were academic and municipal experts assembled through targeted outreach. The project team started with their own professional networks, which include leading experts in a variety of disciplines relevant to climate change adaptation in New York City. The project team also identified and invited potential participants from city government by searching through the websites of critical public sector agencies, then reached out to community members through our civil society partner’s networks.

Altogether, 24 people attended the workshop, including 11 from academia (both faculty members and students), 11 officials from New York City public agencies, and two representatives of community-based organizations. The workshop was organized around three topics: (1) climate hazards; (2) climate risks, vulnerability, and equity; and (3) compound hazards, cascading impacts, and relevant solutions. The participants were divided into small groups to discuss how New York City can best prepare for and adapt to two climate hazards—flooding and extreme heat—and address poor air quality, which can be exacerbated by climate change. Facilitators from the project team helped to structure the discussion and gather insights to better understand the impacts of current and future climate hazards in the city, as well as potential solutions and examples of effective response and preparedness.

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation award #2334311