Resilient Cambridge Plan Released


7/9/2021 • 3 years ago

caution sign The information on this page may be outdated as it was published 3 years ago.

Cover of Resilient Cambridge report

The Resilient Cambridge Plan, the roadmap for climate change preparedness and resilience for Cambridge, has been released.  The plan addresses the climate change driven risks from increasing temperatures, increasing precipitation, and rising sea levels looking out to 2030 and 2070. The plan is based on the idea that Cambridge is built for the climate of the past and that it must adapt to the shifting climate of the future.  The 34 strategies in the plan aim to increase physical and social resilience through four categories of actions:  Closer Neighborhoods, Better Buildings, Stronger Infrastructure, and Greener City.

The plan consists of the main document, a handbook of strategies, and six technical memos to support the plan.  A summary report titled Resilient City Resilient People provides a short overview of the plan.  There are four StoryMaps, which explain how heat and flood risks affect Cambridge and how the strategies in the plan would reduce risks and adapt the city. 

The plan grew out of a community-driven process that started with the Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment – a “climate stress test” of Cambridge – and two neighborhood scale plans for the Alewife area and The Port which helped develop the understanding of climate risks and how different strategies might work.  The process involved expert and stakeholder advisory committees, public meetings and workshops, focus groups, presentations to community groups, engagement at public events, and surveys.

The webpage also provides Climate Resilience Toolkits for renters, homeowners, small businesses, and large organizations.  The toolkits provide recommendations and a description of resources on how to respond to extreme heat and flooding and how to prepare for the long term.

The Resilient Cambridge Plan has been coordinated with the Urban Forest Master Plan, Envision Cambridge comprehensive plan, the Net Zero Action Plan, and the Community Health Improvement Plan.  The work that went into the Resilient Cambridge Plan informed the Climate Resilience Zoning Task Force and many actions including flood protection guidance for new development that is based on 2070 flood elevations, siting of new stormwater infrastructure such as The Port Infrastructure Project, urban forest planting and management goals, a developing community microgrid project, and regional collaborations including the Metro Mayors Climate Preparedness Task Force, the Resilient Mystic Collaborative, and the Charles River Climate Compact.

Comments on the plan may be submitted with the comment form, https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Z9Q8SCM, or by emailing them to John Bolduc, jbolduc@cambridgema.gov