addressing climate change adaptation in regional transportation plans

State-of-the-Practice Climate Change Adaptation Activities for California MPOs and RTPAsAppendix1.0 State-of-the-PracticeAdaptation PlanningIn recent years, new ways of approaching climate change adaptation are beingdeveloped at every level. This chapter reviews several key conceptualframeworks for how climate change adaptation can be incorporated intransportation planning, as well as a list of approaches and case studiesconducted at the statewide, and then MPO and regional levels.1.1 CLIMATE CHANGE CONCEPTUAL PLANNINGFRAMEWORKSSeveral conceptual frameworks have emerged in recent years on how to thinkabout climate change and transportation.Federal Highways Administration Conceptual Risk AssessmentModel and Pilot Vulnerability/Risk Assessment ProjectsFHWA’s Sustainable Transport and Climate Change Team developed a conceptualRisk Assessment Model (FHWA, “Assessing Vulnerability…”) to assisttransportation planners, asset managers, and system operators in identifyinginfrastructure at the greatest risk for exposure to climate change stressors anddetermine which threats carry the most significant consequences. The model,shown in Figure 1, includes three primary steps. The first two steps should beexecuted concurrently and then integrated for the performance of the third step.1. Build an inventory of relevant assets and determine which are critical tosystem performance;2. Gather information on potential future climate scenarios, including thepossible magnitude and likelihood of the changes; and3. Starting with the most critical assets and severe climate stressors, assessthe potential vulnerability and resilience of the asset.Cambridge Systematics, Inc. B-1