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Case Studies
100 Resilient Cities (100RC)
Dedicated to helping cities around the world become more resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century. Supports a view of resilience that includes not just the shocks – earthquakes, fires, floods, etc. – but also the stresses that weaken the fabric of a city on a day to day or cyclical basis. Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation.
Adapting Cities for Climate Change: The Role of the Green Infrastructure
The urban environment has distinctive biophysical eatures in relation to surrounding rural areas. These include an altered energy exchange creating an urban heat island, and changes to hydrology such as increased surface runoff of rainwater. Such changes are, in part, a result of the altered surface cover of the urban area. Climate change will amplify these distinctive features. This paper explores the important role that the green infrastructure, i.e. the greenspace network, of a city can play in adapting for climate change. It uses the conurbation of Greater Manchester as a case study site. The paper presents output from energy exchange and hydrological models showing surface temperature and surface runoff in relation to the green infrastructure under current and future climate scenarios.
Bay Area Climate Adaptation and Resilience: Nine County-Level Snapshots: Projects, Plans, Structures and Needs
This report provides "snapshots" of county-level climate adaptation and resilience initiatives in each of the nine Bay Area counties. The Bay Area Climate & Energy Resilience Project (BACERP) gathered the information from November 2013 to February 2014 through individual and group interviews, email correspondence, and web searches.
Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE) > Case Studies
The Case Study Database profiles on the ground adaptation projects and links to complete project information.
Cool Policies for Cool Cities: Best Practices for Mitigating Urban Heat Islands in North American Cities
The urban heat island (UHI) effect is a global phenomenon in which dark, impermeable surfaces and concentrated human activity cause urban temperatures to be several degrees hotter than those in surrounding areas. Urban heat islands impose negative effects on local and global public health, air quality, energy consumption, resilience, quality of life, stormwater management, and environmental justice. Cities across North America experience and mitigate the impacts of UHIs. We conducted a review of the UHI mitigation activities of 26 North American cities and distributed a questionnaire to local government contacts to gather information. This report profiles the causes, impacts, strategies, and social and institutional context of city action in the sampled cities.
Explore The Rockefeller Foundation Resilient Cities
ESRI has mapped all of the cities participating in the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities project. Each point on the map links to the case study for that city.
Financing Sustainable Water > Resources
Includes a wealth of information on financing water, including case studies.
Great Lakes Shoreline Cities Green Infrastructure Grants
In July 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency invited Great Lakes shoreline cities to apply for the first round of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Shoreline Cities grants. These grants will be used to fund 50 percent of the cost of green infrastructure projects on public property to reduce urban runoff and sewer overflows that foul beaches and impair Great Lakes water quality. Sixteen cities will receive grants under the initial round of funding. Project summaries are included on the web site.
Great Lakes Water Management
A team led by the Great Lakes Commission is working with communities in the United States and Canada to identify and test the ecological and financial rationales for pursuing water conservation and green infrastructure practices, and pilot how this information can drive better water management throughout the Great Lakes region.
Green Infrastructure Case Studies
Green infrastructure first emerged as an alternative approach to stormwater management in the early 1990s. Since then, stormwater professionals have accumulated an extensive body of knowledge on the design of green infrastructure practices that improve the triple bottom line, and on the development of policies that support this approach. Case studies offer a particularly effective way of sharing this body of knowledge. By telling the story of how green infrastructure was planned, designed, and built in a particular location, case studies illustrate how the concept of green infrastructure can be adapted to particular contexts.
Greening Local Government Case Studies
This Greening Local Government Project is designed to address both the concept of green municipalities and state governments, as well as advance the implementation of energy conservation methods, while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. As funding for this project came from an EPA Region 8 Grant, the case studies come from states in this geographic region.
GreenStep Cities
List of actions taken by Minnesota GreenStep cities.
Managing Vacant and Abandoned Property in the Green Zone of Saginaw, Michigan
This report focuses on the reuse of vacant and abandoned property in the city of Saginaw, Michigan. In 2010, the city requested assistance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to identify options for managing land use and infrastructure in the Green Zone, a 350-acre neighborhood in northeast Saginaw that has the largest concentration of vacant and abandoned property in the city. This report details the results of EPA's study, and is informative for the
city of Saginaw, as well as other communities around the country that are facing similar development challenges.
Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure: Municipal Handbook: Green Infrastructure Retrofit Policies
This paper will explore the policies and incentives that municipalities have used to facilitate the use of green infrastructure within their stormwater programs. While the benefits of green infrastructure are increasingly understood, incorporating green retrofits into municipal infrastructure has presented institutional and regulatory challenges. The solutions to overcome these barriers are often dependent upon the water quality objectives and technologies employed. The policies are presented in this paper by technology type, but often approaches used for one green infrastructure practice are applicable to another
or there is overlap among goals and outcomes.
NOAA Coastal Services Center Digital Coast Stories from the Field
This NOAA-sponsored website is focused on helping communities address coastal issues. These case studies have been submitted by cities partnering with NOAA on the Digital Coast initiative.
Planning for Flood Recovery and Long-Term Resilience in Vermont: Smart Growth Approaches for Disaster-Resilient Communities
Flooding from extreme storm events has affected many communities across the country, causing billions of dollars of damage annually. Moreover, climate change projections suggest that storms will likely become more powerful in many regions of the country in the future. In light of these trends, many communities are recognizing the need to improve disaster recovery and long-term flood resilience planning.
Reducing Urban Heat Islands: Compendium of Strategies
Reducing Urban Heat Islands: Compendium of Strategies (October 2008) describes the causes and impacts of summertime urban heat islands and promotes strategies for lowering temperatures in U.S. communities. It provides an overview of heat islands, how they form, and their impacts, and describes key urban heat island reduction strategies in depth. It also describes voluntary and policy efforts undertaken by state and local governments to mitigate urban heat islands.
Resilient Communities Project (RCP) (Minnesota)
The mission of the Resilient Communities Project is to connect communities in Minnesota with the wide-ranging expertise of University of Minnesota faculty and students to address pressing local issues in ways that advance sustainability and resilience.
Resilient Monroe Resource Atlas
Resilient Monroe is a land-use planning and community design project in southeast Michigan sponsored by the City of Monroe, Frenchtown Charter Township and Monroe Charter Township. Together, these three local governments are planning for successful, resilient community adaptation to the social, environmental and economic challenges presented by climate change.
State and Local Adaptation Plans
States and communities around the country have begun to prepare for the climate changes that are already underway. This planning process typically results in a document called an adaptation plan. The site provides a map that highlights the status of state adaptation efforts. Click on a state to view a summary of its progress to date and to access its full profile page. State profile pages include a detailed breakdown of each state's adaptation work and links to local adaptation plans and resources.
Trees & Stormwater
This tool helps local decision makers throughout the U.S. integrate trees into facility design regulations and policies for new and retro-fitted installations.
A Triple Bottom Line Assessment of Traditional and Green Infrastructure Options for Controlling CSO Events in Philadelphia's Watersheds
The City of Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) is considering a wide array of options for controlling Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) events in its four relevant watershed areas. The options range from traditional infrastructure-based approaches (e.g., storage tunnels) to more innovative "green infrastructure" approaches based largely on Low Impact Development (LID) elements (e.g., tree planting, permeable pavement, green roofs). PWD is especially interested in gaining a more complete understanding of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) implications of the green and traditional infrastructure approaches in terms of their respective ability to provide environmental, social, public health, and other values. Accordingly, this report provides a TBL-oriented benefit-cost assessment of the CSO control alternatives under consideration by PWD.
Using Nature to Address Flooding
This guide of nature-based solutions to flooding includes case studies of successful projects from across the country.
Water/Wastewater Utilities and Extreme Climate and Weather Events: Case Studies on Community Response, Lessons Learned, Adaptation, and Planning Needs for the Future
This report examines how water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities - and other local water resource managers - make decisions in response to recent extreme weather events. The report is based on the results of six local workshops, organized to include participants that experienced different types of extreme events throughout a river basin or watershed in various regions of the U.S. The study examines what happened, how information was used to inform decisions, what institutional dynamics helped or hindered, and how water utilities and their communities plan to manage impacts and build resiliency for future extreme events. The research was jointly sponsored by EPA, NOAA, Water Environment Research Foundation, Water Research Foundation, Concurrent Technologies Corporation, and Noblis.
With a Green Makeover, Philadelphia Is Tackling Its Stormwater Problem
In a major initiative, Philadelphia is building an extensive network of rain gardens, green roofs, wetlands, and other infrastructure to capture stormwater. The goal is to prevent runoff from overwhelming sewers and polluting waterways and to help green America’s fifth-largest city.
