New York City’s post-Hurricane Sandy resiliency efforts hailed as exemplar

The Urban Climate Change Research Network (UCCRN) says that many cities could learn from the post-Hurricane Sandy rebuilding efforts of New York City to better cope with the impact of climate change.

Sandy was a wake-up call that bared the city’s vulnerabilities to extreme climate events and prompted extensive resiliency efforts. In the storm’s aftermath, New York proceeded on the premise that it had enough information to act on climate change today based on the best-available science.

New York’s planning included aspects of the entire metropolitan region such as transportation, water supply, and other utilities. The city brought together government decision-makers, infrastructure managers, citizens groups, and others, along with researchers, to develop a shared understanding of its specific climate change vulnerabilities and climate science needs. 

Other cities should follow this approach, UCCRN says, because climate change will impact cities around the world in different ways.