Resilience Matters: Flourishing in an Era of Extremes
Mar 26, 2024Season 2Episode 6
Booked on Planning
Our latest episode dives into the articles covered in the 2024 edition of Island Press's "Resilience Matters" compilation. We cover the growing needs of our aging population during environmental disasters, the essential role mental health plays for frontline climate workers, and how regenerative farming is forging a path toward a healthier planet among many other important resiliency topics.
Show Notes:
Get your copy of Resilience Matters: Flourishing in an Era of Extremes, a compilation of 50 hopeful and life-affirming articles written by leading experts on the topics of climate adaptation and justice; sustainable, equitable communities; policy and funding; and environment and health.
Check out the 2023 episode covering Resilience Matters: Collective Action for Healthier Communities at: https://www.bookedonplanning.com/podcast/episode/7822fd81/resilience-matters
Our latest episode dives into the articles covered in the 2024 edition of Island Press's "Resilience Matters" compilation. We cover the growing needs of our aging population during environmental disasters, the essential role mental health plays for frontline climate workers, and how regenerative farming is forging a path toward a healthier planet among many other important resiliency topics.
Show Notes:
Get your copy of Resilience Matters: Flourishing in an Era of Extremes, a compilation of 50 hopeful and life-affirming articles written by leading experts on the topics of climate adaptation and justice; sustainable, equitable communities; policy and funding; and environment and health.
Check out the 2023 episode covering Resilience Matters: Collective Action for Healthier Communities at: https://www.bookedonplanning.com/podcast/episode/7822fd81/resilience-matters
This episode is brought to you Lamp Rynearson. provides landscape architecture, planning and civil engineering services, from community-wide master plans to land development. incorporates sustainable design principles and equity in all of their projects. You're listening to the Booked On Planning podcast, a project of the Nebraska chapter of the American Planning Association. In each episode, we dive into how cities function by talking with authors on housing, transportation and everything in between. Join us as we get Booked On Planning. Welcome back, bookworms, to another episode of Booked On Planning. In this episode, we're covering the 2024 compilation of articles written last year by leading experts on the topics of climate adaptation and justice, sustainable, equitable communities, policy and funding, and environmental and health. That comprises Island Press' annual resilience matters publication. Last April, we covered the 2023 compilation, which focused on collective action for healthier communities. This year, the focus is on flourishing in an era of extremes. The document is comprised of four sections, which include climate adaptation and climate justice, sustainable equitable communities, policy and funding, and environmental and health.
Jennifer:
One article focuses on community-led solutions that were necessary to document the reality of climate change in communities. They found that generalized data from agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, noaa, or heat sensors at local airports weren't actually capturing the real problem. Partnering with foundations and local universities allowed these communities to collect the real localized data at locations where low and minority populations gathered, such as bus stops, to make the case for change. One example is a heat sensor project in Miami, which spurred appointment of the nation's very first chief heat office, responsible for developing and deploying a comprehensive action plan for extreme heat.
Stephanie:
What these studies are showing is the importance of thinking about microclimate urban design and ways to make conditions feel cooler Simple treatments like shade in the right location, painting surfaces a light color and blocking wind. In addition to impacting low-income and minority populations unequally, climate change is also threatening the fastest growing age demographic older adults, who regularly account for more than half the deaths in natural disasters. Two articles discuss this, one focused on aging women, and I was surprised to see that 96% of older adults reside in their homes and not in congregate living settings. With health and mobility challenges, they become dependent on others in times of emergency, whether that's family and friends or public transit. The article addressing this increasing issue outlines basic planning principles, more options beyond driving, and creating dense, resilient and affordable housing.
Jennifer:
With so many negative predictions and news on climate change, it's easy to see how working in this field day in and day out, could be very draining. One article covered the Adaptive Mind Project, which focuses on making sure that those working on the front lines of climate change have the psychological skills, capacities and peer and institutional support to effectively and compassionately face the challenges of rapidly, continually, sometimes dramatically and profoundly changing the world. The pandemic really taught us the importance of mental health, creating more recognition in the climate community as well to avoid burnout and I know, Stephanie, you and I have talked about, like our professions, a caring profession and we can really quickly get burnt out too. So I can't imagine if you add all of the trauma of climate change on top of what we already do.
Stephanie:
Yes, all the doom and gloom of what the future could hold if we don't act now. And we talked about avoiding burnout with author Veronica Davis last year, which is a real issue, as you mentioned, with any career that spends time advocating for change, especially those that are fighting something so detrimental as climate change or, as one of the articles described, a poly crisis, the convergence of multiple forces that results in a disaster. An example was the Maui wildfires that were magnified by a freak windstorm coupled with the failure of communication systems and water supply. The lesson from this article is that more attention needs to be paid to improving resilience by adopting a strategy to embrace change rather than preserve normal operations.
Jennifer:
You know, interestingly, nebraska saw this too. Just a few weeks ago, we actually ended up with two crises that almost never happened all at once. We ended up with one snowstorm that dropped almost three feet of snow, coupled with like negative 30 and 45 degree temperatures, and it caused a real problem here.
Stephanie:
And it made it hard for a lot of our local planners to get back from our state conference that day. Yes, it did.
Jennifer:
And actually that's a theme that occurs throughout several articles not building back the same or in the quickest and cheapest manner, but actually considering how to rebuild in a more resilient manner, one that addresses several issues together to improve resilience. And other articles covered approaches to help reduce risk and negative impacts, such as regenerative farming, cattle grazing to create fire buffers, which I think is so interesting. Using Juneteenth to honor ancestors that proved an alternative economy and lifestyle of interdependence, cooperation and respect for nature. And unbuilding using plantings and landscaping instead of concrete and steel that last one.
Stephanie:
unbuilding can serve multiple purposes in low income communities, which often have less green space than wealthier neighborhoods. To begin with, I've seen some really neat green space projects that, during most days of the year, serve the neighborhood as a park space, but are designed to handle significant rain events and flooding when necessary. Transitioning to the Sustainable, equitable Community section, they kick it off with an article on shared mobility, which discusses how our streets were once made for various modes of movement but have been all but given over to cars. And I thought back to the article on our aging population and if, in the near future, there will be more adults of 65 and older than there are under the age of 18, and 96% of those older adults are living on their own and unable to drive at some point in their life, we really need to seriously consider how we allocate space on our roadways.
Jennifer:
The article called into question the hype for autonomous vehicles and electric cars as the promise for new ways of moving. There are major complications and safety concerns with autonomous vehicles, and electrification alone will not really solve the problem of too many cars on the road or, as you mentioned, providing a way for people who can't drive to get around.
Stephanie:
One article on housing was critical of accessory dwelling units as a solution, saying they only preserve the single family neighborhood mentality that has created the housing issues America faces. In the first place, it points out that tucking units in the backyard does nothing to help create more community, as those tenants are harder to get to know. The article instead promotes duplexes, foreplexes and small apartments facing the street as a better option to increase density. Another article called out the approach to building our way to net zero and identified the significant carbon impacts of new construction. This also aligns with the shift from energy efficiency to carbon reduction as the focus of a project. As the preservationist in the group, I'm always more supportive of adapter, reuse and rehab projects over new construction, for the dual benefits that it provides.
Jennifer:
An article that resonated with the work we're doing in Lincoln focused on replacement of lead water lines. Stephanie and I actually just spent our evening last night going through and talking to people who have historic homes and lead water lines, so it's really hitting home. Yeah, the community of Hazelcrest worked with two nonprofits to analyze building records and demographic data to predict the number of lines that were likely lead and then identified residents with the greatest risk. This allowed them to apply for a grant funding to update the lines and remove the lead hazard. Urban Development's GIS person, kurt, who was on the podcast two years back, completed a similar assessment for Lincoln.
Stephanie:
The bigger hurdle, however, is a common one navigating the maze of agencies and applications and figuring out which programs are the right ones to seek out For lead surface line replacement. This can include state revolving funds, american Rescue Plan, act dollars and the IIJA, which earmarked $15 billion for addressing lead and drinking water. For Hazelcrest. They were able to go after funds transferred from the Clean Water and Drinking Water. Srf and the Illinois EPA earmarked $108 million in principal forgiveness for lead replacement projects.
Jennifer:
Some other notable projects include battery-equipped appliances to increase resilience. Changing the approach to designing sustainable projects with aesthetics and not just performance in mind. Solar for low-income communities through panel donation, loans, technical assistance, funding re-granting and capacity building.
Stephanie:
And actually we talked about a number of these solutions in our last episode that was out on March 12th rural renaissance. So it gets into a lot of these energy upgrade approaches from a rural cooperative perspective. The second section of the compilation ends with a few articles on social capital and its ability to increase resilience. Master Plan communities can be designed to encourage social connections that are important during weather-related events and disasters. One article points to building more walkable communities, which increase the likelihood of getting to know your neighbors. There are many versions of this, including the complete neighborhood, 15-minute city, super blocks and super neighborhoods that are taking off all across the world.
Jennifer:
So, moving on, section 3 focuses on policy and funding, Two of my favorite things. My favorite article focusing on policy from this section was actually written by Michelle Moore, our author from the last episode, and focuses on how to turn the tide against nimbyism around renewable energy sources. I have seen more than my fair share of anti-renewable antics and it never made sense to me. There are absolutely valid questions around renewables and the land use that is needed to create renewable energy. In the last section of the article, we've seen a lot of comments, since the article discusses sacrificing productive timberland to produce energy. Should we really be felling trees to put in solar panels? But a lot of the misinformation is actually a product of fossil fuel lobbies that are fomenting unrealistic concerns.
Stephanie:
The article makes the point, which is a theme that we find woven throughout the podcast, that thoughtful planning is beneficial for everyone. We can also use the term prime agricultural land. Through good planning, communities can also use community benefit agreements to make sure that everyone is on the same page and all sides find benefits to renewable energy development. These can include commitments to local hiring, job training opportunities, shared savings and any other innovative ideas the community finds important.
Jennifer:
This is how community-based climate partnerships are poised to gain from new green bank funding, green bank and quotation marks there. The federal government recently announced a new greenhouse gas reduction fund which consists of money from two pots $27 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act or the IRA, and $22 billion in additional funding for state-level climate action. The Environmental Protection Agency is tasked with administering the program, and the competitive grants will be awarded to nonprofits with an eye toward leveraging private capital for clean energy and pollution reduction projects located in low-income communities.
Stephanie:
The article points out that community-based organizations are already in the best position to leverage this fund. These types of organizations already have relationships with advocacy groups, research institutions, government leaders and private investors, and can bring all parties to the table. There are already some good examples to learn from, including Elevate Energy in Chicago, the Green Lining Institute in Stockholm, california a community that we will learn more about in our next episode and the sewer authority in Buffalo, new.
Jennifer:
York. Other articles in the section address the new direction that the US Supreme Court is taking on environmental and administrative regulations, making electric vehicles more affordable, which maybe you should read how to make electric vehicles more affordable. But then read the article that Stephanie mentioned talking about why autonomous and electric vehicles maybe aren't going to be our savior and a paradigm switch proposal to consider the demand side of environmental justice, not just the supply side.
Stephanie:
Yeah, that brings up a good point that all of these articles show how complex this issue is and how tackling it takes a little bit of a nuanced approach.
Jennifer:
Yeah, even as I was kind of skimming through. So Stephanie covered sections one and two and I covered sections three and four and as I was kind of skimming through your notes on section one and two, the same themes are just showing up over and over again throughout every section in this article and there's just like there are so many ways you have to think about, even just like excess heat. It's crazy, yep.
Stephanie:
So section four focuses on environment and health. Many of the articles focused on the consequences of extreme heat, including impacts on human health and economic loss, especially as in an increasingly hotter world. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 700 people die, over 67,000 people visit the emergency room and more than 9,000 people are hospitalized due to heat each year. This is especially tragic because heat-related illness and death is entirely preventable.
Jennifer:
Multiple of the articles mentioned that we can tackle this problem in two ways. The first, and probably the quickest way, is by protecting our most vulnerable populations right now. This includes creating extreme heat action plans, as we talked about at the top of this episode, as Miami Florida did, enacting laws and policies requiring protections for outdoor laborers, which I cannot believe does not already exist. Yeah, so simple, so simple. Assisting those in need with replacing air conditioning units and providing public cool off locations where people can come to escape the heat, and ensuring that those cool off locations are equipped with backup generators just in case of a brownout.
Stephanie:
And sustainable ones, if we're going to take a cue from our last episode.
Jennifer:
Hey yo.
Stephanie:
The other way to combat extreme heat is to reduce temperatures overall. Some of the most interesting ways communities are doing so include installing cooling pavement that can retain moisture or better reflect solar energy, planting trees and cultivating green spaces, incentivizing the creation of green roofs and bringing heat management strategies into building codes and ordinances.
Jennifer:
Knowing what we know now about how darker roofs and asphalt and whatever absorb heat and whiter or lighter reflect it, I'm really surprised that we're still driving on blacktop and somebody hasn't figured out how to drive on white top Good point. Another area that the articles focus on is plastics reduction. We all know that large corporations have been greenwashing their use of plastics and other petrochemical based products for years. We had the like let's start recycling. And then all these companies came out with it's okay, we've got eco friendly tactics, and those eco friendly tactics are generally meant to make the public feel better about using these so-called eco friendly plastics, all the while pushing and delaying real solutions. These greenwashing solutions also ultimately create more pollution in the end.
Stephanie:
Yeah, it's so frustrating as a consumer trying to figure out what products are the most sustainable, because the messaging might be there, but if you actually spend the time to dig into the products, they really aren't, and so it takes a lot of time and energy to really make the right choices on what you're purchasing. Yes, one of the more popular greenwashing fall solutions is the use of bioplastics, which are highly processed plant-based ingredients such as sugarcane, corn or potato starch. Instead of biodegrading, they end up breaking into small particles that travel around the ecosystems and eventually into our bodies.
Jennifer:
I have to admit that I am one of the people who fell victim to the bioplastics. So often this is marketed as plant-based, eco-friendly, whatever, and so you think, oh okay, well, if it's plant-based, obviously it's going to break down quicker, right? So I don't have to feel quite so bad about these plastic cups that I brought to a public input session or something. And that's just not true. Historically, markets and government have not adequately protected public from harmful and deceptive greenwashing, and no truly impactful regulations have been put in place to manage these types of greenwashing efforts. And, as Stephanie was talking about, until that happens, individuals have to learn to spot the difference between real and false solutions and take the actions necessary to reduce their own plastic waste consumptions, which can be incredibly difficult, even if you're a person who's very invested in doing so.
Stephanie:
It is, and I spent the first two years of the pandemic trying to alter my habits in order to reduce the amount of waste that I created, and it helped having a zero-waste shop just down the street from me where I could take my own containers and fill them up with household products and certain types of bulk foods. But, moving to Lincoln, we don't really have that, so it's incredibly hard to reduce your amount of waste when there isn't just the options to do so. Action 4 also touches on preventative action regarding childhood cancer and truly understanding the fossil fuel industry. We recommend everyone download a copy of Resilience Matters. There's so much information and actionable steps that the authors provide.
Jennifer:
We hope you enjoyed this conversation. Remember to subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts and please rate, review and share the show. Thank you for listening and we'll talk to you next time on Booked on Planning.