Lecture to look at goverance for climate adaption - Gloucester Daily Times

Lecture to look at goverance for climate adaption | Local News | gloucestertimes.com

A professor of Urban and Public Policy will deliver a virtual lecture on the governance challenges of adaptation to climate change, on Wednesday, Sept. 27, from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Joan Fitzgerald of Northeastern Universty will discuss what local municipalities and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts need to do to protect their coastlines and to respond equitably.

Coastal Massachusetts is experiencing coastal flooding due to sea-level rise and more frequent and severe storms. Already, for example, Boston has more sunny-day flooding from high tides than any other city in the nation. Drawing from her recently completed Boston Foundation Climate Progress Report, Fitzgerald will discuss what the Commonwealth needs for effective governance of these increasing threats.

“There are four key barriers intensifying these challenges for local municipal governments”, says Fitzgerald, “including 1) limited jurisdiction to act since much of the coastline is privately-owned; 2) outdated and complex permitting requirements; 3) lack of a statewide governance structure to focus on the Commonwealth’s entire coastline; and 4) insufficient funding to pay for costly resilience infrastructure.”

As a recognized leader on climate mitigation and resilience in Massachusetts, Fitzgerald’s research focuses on urban climate action and strategies for linking it to equity, economic development, and innovation. In her fourth book, "Greenovation: Urban Leadership on Climate Change" (Oxford University Press, 2020), she argues that the climate strategies of most cities represent random acts of greenness rather than integrated and aggressive action. She points to leading cities in North America and Europe and offers strategies for cities to accelerate their action.

“We’re very appreciative that Joan Fitzgerald will provide Cape Ann residents and municipal officials an update on the emerging trends in climate governance”, said Valerie Nelson of the Water Alliance. “Cape Ann residents are increasingly aware of the physical impacts of sea level rise and hurricanes on our coastlines, but are less knowledgeable about the complex challenges of strengthening local government capacities to take on these challenges and about the need for leadership from the Commonwealth.

This virtual lecture is the third in a series of Cape Ann Conversations: Changing Coastal Communities hosted by Harvard University Graduate School of Design’s Office for Urbanization. These convenings form a portion of the ongoing multi-year climate adaptation research project for Cape Ann, undertaken in collaboration with Town Green, the Water Alliance, the Cape Ann Climate Coalition , and the Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea.

Register at https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_J2xOxGzzQ3K3TXOMZqzBkg#/reg…