Track 2: Integrated Planning for Holistic Solutions

The cascading and compounding impacts of climate change – from extreme heat, drought and wildfire to flooding and sea level rise – affect every segment of society. While our communities, ecosystems, built infrastructure, and economy all face threats, climate change disproportionately affects frontline communities and exacerbates existing inequities. The intersectionality of these challenges requires integrated solutions to address deficiencies in our systems, such as transportation, energy, public health, agriculture, water, emergency services, and communications.

This track will focus on frameworks for integrated planning that consider the full spectrum of climate impacts and sectors to deliver holistic solutions that address climate risks and vulnerabilities while meeting community needs.

Key challenge questions may include: How can we better prepare for near-term disasters while building adaptive capacity for long-term climatic changes? How should planners address uncertainty and the compounding and cascading impacts of climate change? How do we balance the need to build more affordable housing amid increased climate risk?

Track Intro Webinar

Tues, July 13 • 10:00-11:30am

Track Workshop #1

Thurs, July 29 • 10:00am-12:00pm

Track Workshop #2

Tues, Aug 17 • 1:00-3:00pm

Track Workshop #3

Tues, Sept 28 • 1:00-3:00pm

Track Outcomes Webinar

Tues, Oct 19 • 12:30-2:00pm

Honoring Complex Connections: An Introduction to Integrated Adaptation Planning

Tuesday, July 13 • 10:00-11:30am

The cascading nature of climate change impacts and disasters require an integrated, cross-sector approach that addresses these connections. From the compounding impacts of extreme heat, drought, and wildfire to unresolved societal vulnerabilities due to structural inequality and environmental racism, integrated adaptation planning is admittedly challenging and complex. In this webinar, we will explore the cascading effects of wildfires, as a case study, including consequences for community lifelines, water quality, and more. We will also explore examples of integrated adaptation planning successes and multi-pronged approaches to supporting community resilience, ecosystem health, nature-based solutions, and clean air and water for all.

Speakers

William Siembieba | Professor, City and Regional Planning, Cal Poly State University

Stephen Torres | Principal Manager for Analytics and Climate Adaptation, Southern California Edison

Sanjay Mohanty | Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UCLA

Gary Gero | Chief Sustainability Officer, Los Angeles County

Jackie McCloud | Environmental Sustainability Manager, City of Watsonville

Presentation

Challenges & Solutions for Integrated Planning

Thursday, July 29th • 10:00am-12:00pm

Following up from the introductory webinar for Track 2: Integrated Planning for Holistic Solutions, this interactive workshop will continue to explore major challenges shared amongst adaptation practitioners when pursuing integrated adaptation planning. Track participants will delve into five key challenge areas: 1) insufficient resources, 2) competing priorities, 3) siloed sectors, and 4) ineffective governance. But we’re not just focusing on challenges. After we have a clearer understanding of specific issues and barriers, participants will begin to identify case studies, promising practices, and potential solutions to overcome identified challenges. We hope you can join us for this engaging session!

Agenda

Notes

Jamboard

Building Lasting Relationships: Inclusive Community Engagement & Regional Collaboration

Tuesday, August 17th • 1:00-3:00pm

Inclusive community engagement and regional collaboration are both necessary and critical to developing integrated adaptation plans that generate holistic solutions. This workshop highlighted frameworks and case studies that demonstrate effective engagement and collaboration approaches, techniques, and results. Participants then engaged in a series of interactive discussions to share and explore replicable strategies. Exercises were also designed to enable participants to walk away with tangible resources to support their community engagement and interagency coordination efforts.

Effective Regional Planning & Collaboration

Tuesday, September 28th • 1:00-3:00pm

The landscape-level impacts of climate change do not recognize the political boundaries and sector-based silos that adaptation practitioners must often operate within. Recognizing the importance and benefits of regional collaboration, many communities and jurisdictions are working together to share information, develop plans, and implement solutions at the regional scale. This workshop will highlight examples of effective multijurisdictional planning and regional collaboration, as well as key tools and resources to support regional efforts. Participants will engage in a series of discussions to explore the big elephants in the room: how do we define regions; what is the ideal role of regional climate collaboratives, who should be leading regional planning; and how do we hold ourselves accountable to advance regional priorities?

Track 2: Integrated Planning for Holistic Solutions Outcomes Webinar

Tues, Oct 19 • 12:30-2:00pm

The cascading and compounding impacts of climate change – from extreme heat, drought and wildfire to flooding and sea level rise – affect every segment of society. While our communities, ecosystems, built infrastructure, and economy all face threats, climate change disproportionately affects frontline communities and exacerbates existing inequities. The intersectionality of these challenges requires integrated solutions to address deficiencies in our systems, such as transportation, energy, public health, agriculture, water, emergency services, and communications. This webinar will highlight key takeaways from the track’s workshop series and case studies featuring inclusive and collaborative planning efforts that seek to address the cascading and compounding impacts of climate change.

Presentation

Track 2 Facilitators

Whitney Brennan

Acting Program Supervisor for Landscape Forestry | California Tahoe Conservancy

Whitney Brennan, PhD, is the California Tahoe Conservancy’s Acting Landscape Forestry Program Supervisor. Whitney oversees the Conservancy’s work on large landscape efforts such as the Tahoe-Central Sierra Initiative and the Lake Tahoe West Restoration Partnership, as well as its landscape forestry projects. Whitney joined the Conservancy staff in 2014. She worked as wildlife biologist and managed the Conservancy’s climate program. Prior to joining the Conservancy, Whitney had most recently served as a Biologist/Associate Environmental Planner for Caltrans. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Kenyon College and her doctorate in animal behavior from the University of California, Davis.

Peggy Nguyen

Senior Environmental Scientist | CalEPA Department of Toxic Substances Control

Peggy Nguyen earned her M.S. In Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley. She currently serves is a senior environmental scientist and environmental remediation project manager for the Department of Toxic Substances Control Cleaning-up Vulnerable Communities Initiative where she will be helping to implement workforce development and critical resilience projects. As a returning UCLA graduate student, she is also researching ways to study, engineer, and enhance nature-based pollution removal processes and systems. She is currently pursuing an applied doctorate at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability with emphases in civil and environmental engineering and biogeography/Geospatial, computer vision, and machine learning-based conservation technologies.

Reema Shakra

Senior Planner | Rincon Consultants, Inc.

Ms. Shakra is a Climate Adaptation Program Manager with Rincon Consultants and has experience in sea-level rise vulnerability and adaptation assessments, climate action and adaptation planning, and community outreach and engagement. She has a wide-ranging policy background, having prepared or managed general plan updates, climate action plans, local coastal program updates, and climate adaptation plans. Ms. Shakra co-authored a step-by-step guidebook for the Southern California Association of Governments region which provides local governments with a compendium of tools, resources, and best practices to efficiently advance their climate adaptation planning process.

Register for The Grand Adaptation Challenge!

Join climate leaders from across the state for an engaging and newly imagined California Adaptation Forum, taking place virtually June-October 2021. This year, we’re combining keynotes, informative webinars, and interactive workshops to address key climate challenges faced by California’s communities and adaptation practitioners. We hope you can join us!

Register Today!Request a Scholarship