What Does a Resilient City of Tomorrow Look Like?

Earlier this month, Mayor DeBlasio unveiled a $10 billion resiliency plan for Lower Manhattan, the economic heart of NYC. Lower Manhattan is home to one out of every 10 jobs in NYC, 44% of which do not require a college degree. The Mayor’s plan comes at a salient time as Karp Strategies gets ready to kick off new projects that focus on resiliency.

We recently had the opportunity to learn more about other resiliency initiatives happening in the New York region at City of Tomorrow: Real Estate, Architecture & Design Summit at 92Y, where we heard from Illya Azaroff, Founding Director of +LAB Architect; Jainey Bavishi, NYC Office of Recovery and Resiliency Director; Justin Schultz, Principal of HR&A Advisors; and Lauren Zullo, Director of Sustainability at Jonathan Rose Companies.

The Karp Strategies team is encouraged by the multi-sector, multi-pronged efforts to prepare NYC for climate change impacts. Jonathan Rose Companies is in the process of building a new affordable housing development with considerations intentionally designed to combat urban heat island effect, mitigate flood impacts, and foster community connections. While sea level rise poses a serious threat to NYC, Justin Schultz of HR&A called attention to a different climate change risk: floods caused by rising groundwater levels, which could lead to frequent subway and electric grid outages. The city’s resiliency efforts aim to draw the development away from flood-prone areas on the shoreline through downzoning. In response, Illya Azaroff of +LAB Architect raised the issue of equity and the need to protect the home values of the residents who currently live in those neighborhoods.

To echo Azroff, both the private and public sectors need to recognize when climate change preparation calls for surgery instead of a band aid. Given the fact that over 400,000 New Yorkers currently live in potential flood zones, Karp Strategies is working hard to build a more resilient NY.

Missed us at the City of Tomorrow Summit? Connect with us at future events and let us know if you’d like Karp Strategies to attend your event.

How can businesses play a larger role in building resilience?

Resilience is often at the fore of public sector conversations, and rightfully so. Looking towards the private sector, how can businesses play a larger role in building resilience against climate-related disasters?

On March 5, Karp Strategies’ Graduate Associates Yuri Chang and Cheryl Lim attended a discussion on disaster risk reduction led by Chloe Demrovsky, President of Disaster Institute International and hosted by NYU Wagner’s School of Public Policy.

90% of all naturally-induced disasters are climate-related, Demrovsky explained, and every dollar spent on disaster risk reduction prevents $5 to 10 in economic losses related to disasters. Though businesses are large contributors to climate change, they can also be a part of the solution. Companies are increasingly building new facilities and offices with resilient designs, and have partnered with disaster relief agencies to ensure that critical infrastructure such as supply chain operations, along with neighborhood services such as pharmacies and ATMs are back up and running soon after natural disasters strike. She also made the case that private sector investment in resilient infrastructure would better ensure employees’ safety and ability to work.

Properly accounting for the physical risks of climate change could shave off more than 4% of companies’ market values, according to a study conducted by Schroders that looked at over 10,000 companies globally. The study calculated what businesses would have to pay to insure their physical assets against hazards caused by rising global temperatures and weather disruption.

Still, when disasters strike, companies too often consider the consequences as a one-time, non-repeating expense. As natural disasters become more and more frequent, companies will need to incorporate resiliency into their overall business strategies. Demrovsky argued that government should create a disaster risk reduction framework that businesses would actually respond to. While scientific discourse often focuses on the long-term risks of climate change, Demrovsky suggested that government agencies focus on short-term risks and actions to incentivize private sector action.

The discussion raised the importance of establishing a diverse, multi-sector coalition of committed stakeholders to address disaster risk and building resilience. Karp Strategies will continue striving towards these exact efforts, and keep a finger on the pulse on resiliency-related issues. We invite you to join us for future learning and professional development opportunities. If you’re interested, please drop us a line!

Three City-Shifting Contracts from DDC

Karp Strategies is excited to support our client, the New York City Department of Design and Construction, as they release three city-changing contracts aimed at making pedestrian ramps ADA accessible, managing their Coastal Resiliency program, and protecting their green infrastructure assets across the five boroughs.