Resilient Cambridge

Overview

Resilient Cambridge is the City's strategy for mitigating and adapting to the forecasted changes to our climate. It is based on the best available science and acknowledges that there are still many unknowns about climate change. Resilient Cambridge focuses on adapting to the irreversible impacts of climate change through strategies addressing local challenges. Resilient Cambridge is a call to action. Our goal is to empower citizens to take action to tackle climate change by defining a shared mission. Together, we can adapt and shape a transformed city. 

Extreme precipitation and increasing heat are the two main challenges Cambridge will have to overcome. Increased precipitation, sea level rise, and storm surge caused by climate change are already threatening the City's aging hydrological systems. While average summer temperatures in Cambridge, around 71 degrees Fahrenheit today, are expected to increase 4 degrees by the 2030s - tripling the number of days each year above 90 degrees. 

Resilient Cambridge lays out a series of multidisciplinary strategies with the goal of reducing the potential impacts of climate change in an equitable and just way.

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Have you read the Resilient Cambridge Plan?

The Resilient Cambridge Plan is the City's roadmap to reduce the risk from climate change and prepare the community for the impacts that we may be unable to avoid. Click the button below to explore the Resilient Cambridge Plan, the Handbook, Storymaps and Technical Reports, and find out what you can do as a Resident or local Business. 

Resilient Cambridge

Overview

The Plan is comprised of four chapters each distinct with their own strategies and actions, but synergize together to address all the different climate impacts. These chapters are:

Closer Neighborhoods: Neighbors, family, friends, local organizations and other connections that make up our social fabric are an important aspect of a resilient community. These are the people, groups, and organizations that we rely on in times of need. Strengthening these ties will help Cambridge be resilient in times of stress.

Better Buildings: Buildings are an essential piece of our urban ecosystem they provide us with shelter and serve as places of work and leisure. Through design we can protect against climate change, reduce energy use, and mitigate the urban heat island effect.

Stronger Infrastructure: Cambridge is a dense, old, urban city with complex energy, communication, transportation and water systems, which weren't built with considerations of a changing climate.

Greener City: The dense urban environment on Cambridge makes it difficult to balance the built and natural environment of our city in the face of climate change. Through this we hope to increase vegetated areas, expand the tree canopy, enhance access to open space, have better air quality, and promote the health and protection of our waterways. 



Fig 6. in report

The environment of Cambridge is made up of ecosystems that are rooted in our natural systems, infrastructure, buildings, and all the people who live and work here.

Resilient Cambridge Transformative Strategies

Explore the strategies below to learn about what actions the City is taking to be more resilient!

Learn about how Cambridge will be impacted by climate change and why the Resilient Cambridge Plan is so important!

Resilient Cambridge Storymaps

Four story maps explain how Cambridge will be affected by increasing heat and flooding. Actions proposed in the Resilient Cambridge plan aim to reduce these risks. 


Temperatures are increasing!
What can we do about heat?
Precipitation events are becoming more extreme!
What can we do about flooding?
Snowy Bike