Special Series: Extremes in 3D
Knowing your boundaries and your neighbors…
In November 2022 San Rafael launched a resilience planning project that has community-based organizations playing an active role in decision-making.
San Francisco is increasingly seen as a “green” city but its track record doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.
A plan to protect SFO could become a critical link in a chain of resilience projects along the San Mateo County bayshore. But projects that cross jurisdictional borders, get complicated.
All Stories
Coastal erosion in Pacifica, drought in Brentwood, fires in the North Bay, flooding in Union City, and urban heat in San Jose. Anissa Foster takes us on a revealing virtual tour.
In November 2022 San Rafael launched a resilience planning project that has community-based organizations playing an active role in decision-making.
San Francisco is increasingly seen as a “green” city but its track record doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.
A plan to protect SFO could become a critical link in a chain of resilience projects along the San Mateo County bayshore. But projects that cross jurisdictional borders, get complicated.
When he purchased a house, Ever Rodriguez noticed how North Fair Oaks differed from surrounding areas. “We don’t have the same infrastructure or services as in Menlo Park.”
The 2022 midterm election saw the passage of various measures throughout the Bay Area to advance California’s climate goals.
My sister and I joke that any temperature above 75 is too hot to leave the house. But I decided to venture outside during the heat wave after Labor Day to see how the people of Sacramento were faring.
Suisun City has been exploring ways to increase its resiliency to sea level rise and storm surges, including updating infrastructure, building an ecotone levee, and holding a resiliency workshop.
In the capital region and Silicon Valley, two cities have been experimenting with cooler roofs, walls and leafy canopies. Turns out cooling measures in one spot help those downwind.
What’s flat, covered in pavement, and unsafe for cyclists? Most Bay Area cities. But a Napa coalition recently published “Safe Routes to School” reports for 31 schools in the county. The routes also offer a healthier alternative to back seat commutes to class.
In April, a developer proposed a new gas station near a busy intersection in the City of Napa. But thanks to footwork of high schoolers, citizens and elected leaders Napa County and a growing number of North Bay cities have set zero-emissions goals for 2030, and declared a climate emergency. As a result, the new gas station was a no-go.
On an overcast June afternoon at Bay Farm Island’s Veterans Court, Danielle Mieler explains that if it weren’t for low tide, water might be at her feet.
Santa Clara’s National River Cleanup Day brought together 596 volunteers and resulted in over 25,000 pounds of trash collected. “It was one of the first times since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when we could actually organize group cleanups,” says Valley Water’s Nick Ingram
The “Cool Cities Challenge” launched this January in SoCal’s LA and Irvine, and the North Bay’s Petaluma. The program is designed to kick start climate action at the micro level.
The specter of sea level rise, perpetual drought, and disappearing wetlands has put many sizes and shapes of horizontal levee on the region’s shoreline adaptation maps. What’s next?
The historically underserved community of Marin City has struggled with inadequate infrastructure, as a result of poor city planning and a lack of resources. Now, on the frontlines of extreme weather events, the community is finding their own ways to handle the climate forces of today.
Agencies in San Mateo and Sonoma count are floating new rules for development in flood and fire prone areas. “Where and how you build can be among the most important decisions that are made in any community,” said a FEMA official.
Suisun City has always had the waterfront and nearby wetlands at its heart but it won’t be long before the entire area is vulnerable to flooding from sea level rise.
“We’re still in the process of analyzing our other fire-prone areas of town, but based on what we already know about Christmas Tree Hill’s vulnerabilities to fire and its limited access routes, we felt it was prudent to initiate this project right away,” says Ron Suokko, Corte Madera’s director of public works.
Random snippets from the 2021 California Adaptation Forum, an event designed for government planners and activists to share insights on climate adaptation and resilience.
Late October’s atmospheric river storm dumped record-breaking amounts of rain across the Bay Area, leading to flooding, fallen trees, mudslides, and other damage. Flood sirens whooped as residents in low-lying areas made preparations such as moving cars and stacking sandbags. Even so, there were reports of evacuations, street closures, and calls to shelter in place around the Bay, including in Santa Rosa, San Mateo, and San Anselmo.
When Sonoma County residents smell smoke, they usually hop on social media or check some alert services like Nixle or PulsePoint to find out what’s going on. But social media isn’t really designed for quickly and accurately sharing disaster alerts.
East Palo Alto faces escalating housing prices and declining affordability, gentrification, and a rising bay. Nuestra Casa is leading discussions about these issues with local parents, and paying them for their time.
If late fall fires start up again after the October deluge, Alameda County will already have smoke alert protocols in place. The county developed specific thresholds and delivery systems for alerts over the past two years. “Our geography…
Petaluma made international news earlier this year for enacting the nation’s first ban on new gas stations. The city of 60,000 in southern Sonoma County also moved this year to prohibit natural gas in nearly all new construction, and hasn’t allowed new drive-thrus since 2008. It aims to be carbon neutral by 2030.
With the aid of a $150,000 grant from the National Fish Wildlife Foundation, Santa Clara County embarked on a substantial new resilience planning effort this summer. In June the county’s Office of Sustainability convened the first meeting of the County Climate Collaborative, bringing together cities, CBOs and other key partners to identify adaptation and resilience priorities.
Ten future reconfigurations of a Marin City lagoon, park and highway site subject to flooding came from UC Berkeley students last fall. The students from Dr. Kristina Hill’s class shared their plans with the community and entered a national competition. “Marin City residents want access to nature for their kids, protection from flooding and safe travel in and out of their community. Communities like Marin City should get resilience investments first, because they’ve been underserved historically,” said Hill.
