Three Takeaways for Climate Adaptation Planning

Preparing for storms can help residents stay safe and protect their homes from damage. With the promise of increased storms due to climate change, cities can play a crucial role in helping residents prepare and stay safe.

What networks of care and knowledge are already in place in communities, and how can city planners better hear and support what community members are already doing to keep each other safe?

In "Closing the Climate Gap" (Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 90, No. 4) Katherine Lieberknecht, Nancy Carlson, Keri Stephens, Fernanda Leite, Frances Acuña, and Jonathan Lowell conducted interviews to assess how local knowledge could be used for climate adaptation planning.

Climate Navigators

This case study took place in the Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos metropolitan area in Texas. The area was described as a one-way street for knowledge transfer, from city to residents, with little local knowledge and feedback incorporated into climate adaptation planning by the city.

The community organization 'Go! Austin/Vamos! Austin' aimed to change that. They created the Climate Navigators program, a participatory design process for a data portal. The organization worked in tandem with municipal staff to open a bidirectional flow of local knowledge and climate information.

Figure 1: Dove Springs Neighborhood

Eroded Trust

Through interviews with 25 Climate Navigators and six municipal staff involved in adaptation-related work, the authors heard frontline residents identify the need for increased attention to mental health, community capacity, and trust building. Interviewees explained how they and their neighbors became tense and anxious every time it rained.

They saw this reaction contributing to severe illness from house damage, mold, and the financial strain of repairs. Many interviewees emphasized trauma stemming from repeated, and future risks of, flooding.

"I used to love and enjoy thunder and lightning and pouring rain because that's the way it was in Mexico. The best thing was seeing God himself. But now, you don't. And it's sad because this is something that you enjoyed. And now, you're thinking — 3 a.m., you're thinking, 'Should I go and check to see if my neighbors are flooded?'"
— Excerpt from an interview with a Climate Navigator

Interviewees shared stories of reporting clogged storm drains and the city declining to clean them, then preventing residents from clearing the drains themselves. Some residents' homes ended up with flood damage, and they blamed the city's inaction.

The displacement of residents due to climate-related damage only intensifies this gap in trust and communication between the city and its residents.

Community Care

Several navigators noted that their neighborhood experience contributed to greater preparedness. They witnessed increased communication and preparation stemming from previous flood events. Interviews described how residents checked on each other before, during, and after climate-related events.

Residents emphasized mental health and trauma-related harms in adaptation planning, suggesting planners address ongoing and future mental health needs.

They also highlighted the need for green amenities and community capacity. The authors note that incorporating resident feedback into climate adaptive planning can build trust.

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