Living on the Edge Webinar Series

The Charleston region is home to over 700,000 people and is continuing to grow thanks to a diverse economy, infamous historic building stock, and coastal location. However, sea level rise, storm surge, and related flood risks endanger Charleston and the Low County’s economic, social, and physical well-being. Understanding these risks and opportunities are more important than ever with massive infrastructure projects in the design pipeline that could have major implications for the region’s economy and natural habitats.

ULI South Carolina and the ULI Urban Resilience program are proud to host this 5 part webinar series to help develop a deep understanding of the current practice for assessing and mitigating climate risk in real estate and land use along the South Carolina coast and to promote from best practices across the industry. Learn more here.

ULI Southeast Florida Business Case for Resilience Project

Due to more frequent and intense flooding events and rising sea levels in southeast Florida, the region will continue to face risks to their community’s social and economic wellbeing if no action is taken. 

The Urban Resilience program and ULI Southeast Florida/Caribbean District Council partnered to manage the “Business Case for Resilience” economic modelling analysis on behalf of the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact. The project includes a regional economic analysis, carried out by technical partner AECOM, that weighs the economic impacts of flooding versus the potential direct and indirect economic benefits of the implementation of resilience infrastructure. 

 This analysis will provide the region with a key tool to better understand the business case for resilience and advance climate adaptation efforts that may protect jobs, real estate values, and identify other potential economic opportunities associated with investments in resilience infrastructure. Learn more here.

ULI New York Technical Assistance Panels

ULI New York partnered with the Urban Resilience program to host a series of resilience-focused Technical Assistance Panels and workshops in New York City, with grant support from the New York Community Trust. The workshops addressing topics including extreme heat mitigation and rezoning and the development of the Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines. These TAPs included:  

• ULI New York Hunts Point TAP (March 2019): In partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), ULI New York held a Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) focused on Hunts Point, in the Bronx, which is a waterfront community vulnerable to climate change. ULI New York members and panelists focused on assessing the viability of hydropower in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx, and addressed solutions for a more balanced energy strategy which would include using geothermal energy as an effective and resilience alternative. Read the full final report here.
• ULI New York Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines TAP (August 2017): ULI New York partnered with Manhattan-based non-profit, Waterfront Alliance, to provide private sector feedback on their Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines (WEDG), an emerging framework which benchmarks the resilience of waterfront real estate projects and parks. Panelists and The Waterfront Alliance evaluated incentives for developers and landowners to engage with the WEDG ratings and certification program, surrounding primary incentives, economic benefits of using credit programs, developer engagement, and insurance and risk reduction incentives when making overall recommendations. The final TAP report can be found here. 
• ULI New York Gowanus TAP (April, 2017): ULI New York members completed a Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn in partnership with Brooklyn community-based organization the Fifth Avenue Committee. ULI New York and Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC) partnered to better understanding questions related to urban heat island (UHI) mitigation strategies in the context of rezoning of Gowanus and the Thomas Greene Park. The partners have since continued to collaborate with a technical modeling project on urban heat island and rezoning, completed in partnership with New York Institute for Technology. The final TAP report can be found here.