Climate Resilient Austin

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Climate Resilient Austin
Resilient cities are prepared for extreme
weather events resilience reduces impacts to
the community and requires less recovery time
from shocks and stressors. Austins Climate
Resilience Action Plan for City Assets and
Operations.
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As part of our effort to raise awareness of the
need to improve our home resilience and to
educate homeowners in the U.S on solutions to
climate risks, we gather information on resilient
actions, strategies, and challenges from key
cities in the U.S. In this blog, we focus on the
City of Austin, Texas, and its climate
resilience. Austin has been one of the
fastest-growing large cities in the U.S since
2010. It is located in Central Texas on the
Colorado River, at the intersection of four
major ecological regions. Its unique topography
contributes to its humid subtropical climate with
characteristics of the desert, the tropics, and
a wetter climate.
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Climate Risks

• Austins Climate Resilience Action Plan for
  City Assets and Operations further emphasizes
  the following key climate hazards as the most
  critical for short- and long-term planning
  efforts

Austins climate change risks projections are
stated in a report issued by the office of
sustainability. The main climate concerns
mentioned in the report are extreme
precipitation, extreme heat, and drought.
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Building Codes
The City of Austin follows the 2015 International
Building Code and local Building Technical Codes
containing regulations for Building, Electric,
Fire, Property Maintenance, Mechanical,
Plumbing, Residential, and Solar Energy.
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The Citys Climate-Resilient Actions
Here are several examples of Austins resilient
initiatives
Water Resource Protection from Extreme Drought
In Cases of Emergency
Wildfire Protection
Flood Protection
Handling Extreme Temperatures
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Promoted Residential Resilient Strategies
The city promotes many strategies for homeowners
to use for protection against extreme weather
events Through the Heat Island Mitigation
Program, the city promotes strategies to reduce
the heat island effect, reduce indoor
temperatures, and energy costs Austin Energy
allows residents to participate in a Community
Solar program to access locally generated solar
energy, without actually installing solar panels
on the property.
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Incentives Education
Austin Energy allows residents to participate in
a Community Solar program to access locally
generated solar energy, without actually
installing solar panels on the property.
Apart from the citys website, which hosts all
of the information brought in this blog, there
are additional forms of communication through
which homeowners in Austin can get educated
regarding exposure to the mentioned climate
risks
Coudert was right to call it a laundry list. The
incentives and rebates across several
organizations within the city promote various
climate adaptation strategies
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Final Thoughts
Austin faces multiple climate risks due to its
location and topography, and perhaps one leads to
another. Extreme heat is a risk on its own, but
it also leads to drought conditions, threatening
the citys water resources. Drought conditions,
in turn, tend to intensify incidents of floods
triggered by extreme precipitation. Austin sets
the right tone for climate resilience boldness by
taking brave steps toward protecting residents
from climate extremes. We support this approach
for cities in the reality of mounting weather
unpredictability. Cities climate actions should
be as proactive and aggressive as Austins in
the face of the current and approaching climate
challenges. Austin tackles each climate risk
from multiple angles, analyzing vulnerabilities
and opportunities, studying other cities
solutions, and researching available
technologies. Leaders in the City of Austin
realize that letting the public voluntarily adapt
to climate change will take too long. Instead,
the city positively uses its charter to set
local regulations and provide numerous incentives
to speed up the adoption of desired strategies.
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Residents and homeowners in Austin that want to
improve climate resilience in their homes have
significant support from the city. They can

• Explore and be aware of the climate risks in
  their community and their city and its
• challenges.
• Plan and be prepared to take action during a
  climate-related event. Tap into the city
  emergency apps, and know where the nearest city
  shelter is, which will hopefully
• become a resilience hub soon. Know what steps to
  take in the event of a severe flood.

Leverage the many offered incentives by the city
to make their home truly sustainable - resilient
to local risks, safe, and eco-friendly.
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4. Select licensed and accredited professionals
from the city records, that can build/fix to
code and get the best return on investment.
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Thank You!