New York State Infrastructure | Rebuild By Design

WE CANNOT WAIT ANY LONGER

Mohawk Valley Flooding, Times Union

New York State Resilient Infrastructure Fund

Over the last 10 years, every county in New York State was impacted by severe storms and flooding, tropical storms, or hurricanes. More than half were affected by 5 or more disaster events. The major federal disaster declarations for these counties totaled $35.5 billion in federal aid for recovery efforts. Scientists estimate the costs of climate change in New York State will rise to $10 billion annually by 2050, while damage to property values will increase to $100 billion.

To confront the new reality of climate change and extreme weather, New York State will need to invest billions of dollars in flood control and reconstruction of existing infrastructure.

We need to:

1) Create a statewide fund for infrastructure projects to protect communities against climate-related flood and prepare our State for the future.

2) Help communities understand the costs and impacts of climate change already underway, and on the real and urgent need to limit additional climate change impacts.

Mohawk River on a dry day, Schenectady, NY

Federal and State Disaster Declarations

In the past ten years, every county in New York State has experienced federal or state disaster declarations for flooding. More than half of the counties were affected by five or more events. Click here to see the Federal and State disaster declarations by county.

NYS Disaster Declaration Frequency Map

Every county in NYS has experienced severe storms and flooding. Click here to see the counties which have been hit the hardest, and rainfall data for the past decade.

Climate Change Exasperates Inequity

The impacts of storms and flooding disproportionately affect the most vulnerable people. Disasters are not created by natural events alone; rather, they are the product of natural events and a combination of social, political, and economic stressors. Therefore, as climate change increases the frequency of flooding, it will further reinforce underlying vulnerabilities and systemic inequality. Click on the image to see how:

The Public Health Consequences of Floods

Hurricanes, storms and floods lead to short-term and long-term health risks which include respiratory illness, drinking water contamination and in some cases death. Click the image to see the cascading health effects from flooding.

We Can Do This Together

A NYS Resilient Infrastructure Fund could be an inclusive program that will use funding to incentivize regional planning to design and build infrastructure with multiple benefits to address physical and social vulnerabilities. This initiative will create and fund a roadmap of unique interventions-- from the systems scale to the individual scale-- statewide that can be implemented through this program. This program builds on the successes of Rebuild by Design and the National Disaster Resilience Competition models, and will incorporate the great work that has already been done in the State of New York while becoming a model for other states.

Like Rebuild by Design and the National Disaster Resilience Competition, there will be two-stages: (1) research, risk assessment and planning aka Collaborative Research; and (2) design and implementation aka Collaborative Design. Communities will be supported through this process by technical experts if requested by the locality.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Ensure a community understand their specific risks, as well as the interdependencies of infrastructural, ecological and social systems that will be further affected by flooding. Communities will be encouraged to take a systems approach, for example, by addressing all the issues that arise from a full watershed, by protecting a highway from flooding through a crucial corridor, or by creating a buy-out program that identifies places for new investment. In addition to technical assistance, communities will have access to advisors in sectors such as climate science, hydrology, finance, design, community outreach, history, geography, geology, data processing, mapping etc. Universities located around the State can play this crucial role.

COLLABORATIVE DESIGN: Applicants and co-applicants will demonstrate project feasibility and effectiveness, and create a cost benefit analysis that includes valuation of ecosystem services, GHG emissions reduction, improved social and economic equity, safety, monetize some of the long-term value that resilience creates such as future loss avoidance (insurance) and future cost avoidance (public and mental health). Applicants will also demonstrate strong stakeholder support for the initiative and identify any local and federal funds which could be leveraged. The end result will be a comprehensive vision with specific fundable projects, policies or initiatives.

Will You Join us?

Rebuild by Design's Resilient Infrastructure Fund Advisory Board:

Associated General Contractors of New York State • Association of Towns of the State of New York • Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York • Construction Industry Council of Westchester and the Hudson Valley • Environmental Advocates of New York • Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation • Long Island Builders Institute • Natural Resources Defense Council • New York Building Congress • New York League of Conservation Voters • Riverkeeper • Scenic Hudson • The Nature Conservancy • The Trust for Public Land

Contact

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

Rebuild by Design has organized a number of public programs and events to hear from you. We also encourage you to reach out on Twitter and Facebook and tell us what you are up to at info@rebuildbydesign.org. To learn more about when and where public programs and events are happening you can sign up for our newsletter.