building a resilient pittsburgh

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City of Pittsburgh A217

Building a Resilient PittsburghResilient_BP1

Grant Ervin April 2016

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In 2015, the City of Pittsburgh was selected by the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities initiative to join the second wave of cities participating in the global network. The aim of the initiative is to help people, communities, and institutions prepare for, withstand, and bounce back more rapidly from acute shocks and stresses. Grant Ervin, Chief Resilience Officer of the City of Pittsburgh, will provide a brief update on the Resilient Pittsburgh initiative; share insights into the practice of urban resilience, focusing on the challenges and opportunities that this new urban systems management process presents; and discuss the implications for southwestern Pennsylvania’s built and natural environments, as well as lessons being applied through the development of the City's first resilience strategy.

CourseDescription

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LearningObjectives

At the end of the this course, participants will be able to:

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the 100 Resilient Cities initiative and the current status of Pittsburgh’s first resilience strategy.

2. Recognize the challenges and opportunities of urban resilience.

3. Discuss the implications of urban resilience for the built and natural environments.

4. Understand how the application of the “resilience lens” and “resilience

dividend” can integrate into transformations within the built and natural environments.

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Rebecca KiernanSenior Resilience Coordinator

City of Pittsburghrebecca.kiernan@pittsburghpa.gov

AIA Pittsburgh

Grant ErvinChief Resilience Officer City of Pittsburgh Grant.Ervin@Pittsburghpa.gov

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Agenda

• Introduction – Why Resilience?

• Preliminary Resilience Assessment and Regional Resilience Overview

• Air, Water and Soil Quality Issues and Opportunities

• Discovery Areas and Next Steps

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What is Resilience, and what are the benefits of being one of the

100 Resilient Cities?

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What is resilience?

100 Resilient Cities defines urban resilience asthe capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.

Why do we care?Urbanization, Globalization & Climate Change

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Value of being a 100 Resilient Cities Network Member

1. Chief Resilience Officer & staff

2. Planning support: The RAND Corporation

3. Implementation support: platform partners - $5m in services

4. Membership in network of 100 cities

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Identify priorities and measurable goals for governmental and non-governmental operations

Integrate and amplify existing plans and activities

Consolidate funding and leverage resources to achieve quantifiable success

Long-Term Benefits of Resilient Pittsburgh Strategy

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Overview of the 100RC Resilience Strategy Process 12

Phas

e 1Fall-Winter 2015

Objective:• Evaluate state of resilience

and city capacity, and generate broad support and engagement in discovery areas

Process:• Data collection• Stakeholder engagement

Outcome:• Preliminary Resilience

Assessment (PRA)

Phas

e 2Winter-Summer 2016

Objective:• Deep, rapid expert analysis,

and generation of solutions through a resilience lens. Practical action, and multiple benefit decisions made

Process:• Focused analysis• Generate solutions• Prioritization

Outcome:• City Resilience Strategy

Impl

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tatio

n

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• Agenda-setting workshop (5 June 2015)• Resilient Pittsburgh working team formed (August 2015)

• City of Pittsburgh• RAND• 100RC relationship manager

• Strategy kick-off (19-20 August 2015)• Stakeholder engagement activities (October – January)• Desktop research and secondary data collection (on-going)• Steering Committee oversight• Draft of Preliminary Resilience Assessment

Resilience strategy activities to date

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PHASE I OUTPUT: Preliminary Resilience

Assessment (PRA)March, 2016

Initial Workshop(June, 2015)

160+ participants identified shocks & stresses, strengths and weaknesses

Focus Groups(October, 2015)• Philanthropy• Business• Neighborhood• Civic• Academic • Regional

Deliberative Democracy(November, 2015)

Two sessions, 135+ city residents identified shock & stresses, strengths & weaknesses in neighborhoods and the city

Stakeholder Perceptions Workshop(October, 2015)

15-20 participants, mostly City department heads to integrate resilience into planning

Steering Committee (January, 2016; On-going)

43 organization leaders from various sectors, tasked with reviewing the PRA and leading/consulting with working groups in Phase II of the strategy process

Phase I Stakeholder Engagement

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Academia; 66

Citizen; 259

Consulting; 30Education; 9Faith-Based; 6For-Profit; 62

Local Govern-

ment; 139

Non-Profit; 154

Philanthropy; 46Utilities; 15

Participants in Phase I

Innovation

Public Health & Safety

Community, Culture & Cohesion

Education & Job Training

Transportation & Land Use

Economic Development

Energy

Water & Storm Water

Food & Agriculture

Housing

Physical Infrastructure

Waste

Natural Infrastructure

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

By sector By interest area

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16Themes and Discovery Areas for Phase II

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What are the acute shocks and chronic stresses that Pittsburgh and the region currently deal with or will

likely face in the future?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the City government

and the city as a whole?

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Pittsburgh’s risk profile: Shocks and stresses

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19Ongoing issues may be exacerbated by future conditions

• Pittsburgh’s water and sewer management infrastructure needs costly upgrades

• Northeast US is projected to see an 2-5x increase in heavy precipitation events due to climate change, depending on future emissions reductions

• Aging bridges and roads and energy grid are susceptible to failure, especially under extreme weather conditions

• Frequency of heat waves and severe winter storms also expected to increase

• Train derailments may escalate as oil and gas industry grows, increasing the risk for hazardous materials accidents

• 49 in Allegheny County between 2005-2014 (most of any PA county)

Sources: ALCOSAN, Pittsburgh Geological Society; 3 rd National Climate Assessment; Univ of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics; ACCD; USGCRP; Federal Railroad Administration

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Stakeholder perceptions: strengths & weaknesses

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21Seeking the Resilience Dividend:Solving Problems with Co-Benefits in mind

• How do we find ways to work better together? • How do we invest together? • How do we ensure shared success? • How do we solve complex, inter-disciplinary challenges

together, and not in a vacuum? • How do we kill a whole flock of birds with one stone?

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Designing with Co Benefits in Mind 22

Ecosystem Restoration• Risk Mitigation • Improved water quality • Increased storm-water capture• Improved soil quality• Improved air quality• Hillside stabilization• Environmental justice for

vulnerable populations• Connecting people to nature• Food security

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Addressing Air, Water and Soil Quality with Co Benefits

Reimaging within a Circular Economy:Turning Waste to Resources• Urban design and the built environment • Revitalized infrastructure• Improved water quality• Energy efficiency / generation• Improved soil quality• Improved air quality• Reduced waste

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Ongoing actions related to resilience

• Inventoried 187 (+) actions ongoing related to resilience

• Actions ongoing at multiple levels (neighborhood to county-wide)

• Breakdown by topic area• Health & Wellbeing: 14%• Economy & Society: 12%• Infrastructure & Environment: 60%• Leadership & Strategy: 14%

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Next Steps

Publish PRA & Public Comment (newsletter)

Discovery Area Working Groups

Engage Platform Partners

Resilience Strategy Launch: Summer-Fall

Implementation Projects- ongoing

Resilience Corps Fellows- Impact Volunteering

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This concludes The American Institute of Architects Continuing Education Systems Course

Grant Ervin

City of Pittsburgh

Grant.Ervin@Pittsburghpa.gov