Neptune Beach, Florida

30°19′00″N 81°24′11″W

Introduction to GIFT

Green Infrastructure For Towns

In the face of escalating climate challenges, understanding the specific risks posed to urban environments is paramount. GIFT (Green Infrastructure for Towns) maps the impacts of climate risk at the granular level of individual parcels across cities.

By understanding specific risks that a community faces, and analyzing relevant static factors such as impervious surfaces, low elevation, and other key determinants, GIFT identifies the top three impacts to the community as a whole. This detailed insight allows us to identify specific mitigation strategies that are both effective and sustainable, and the analysis results in three distinct, actionable options for each parcel:

Preserve: Recognizing areas that are best left undisturbed, ensuring they continue to serve as natural buffers and habitats.
Mitigate: Identifying regions where interventions can reduce the adverse effects of climate risks.
Retrofit: Pinpointing areas that can be enhanced or transformed to better withstand future climate challenges.

GIFT emphasizes nature-based solutions where appropriate, as well as the integration of refined zoning and design guidelines. These solutions harness the power of nature and thoughtful urban planning to create resilient urban landscapes, promoting both ecological and societal well-being.

We are excited to work together to protect Neptune Beach from climate change and ensure a sustainable future for its residents.

Understanding Risk and Resilience

What Is Risk?

Climate risk refers to the potential negative effects of climate change on natural and human systems. It encompasses both the likelihood of a climate-related event occurring and its potential consequences. This includes direct physical impacts, such as extreme weather events and sea-level rise, as well as indirect effects, like economic disruptions or shifts in public health outcomes. As global temperatures continue to rise, understanding and mitigating climate risk becomes increasingly vital for the well-being of communities, economies, and ecosystems.

National Risk Assessments

As the urgency to address climate change intensifies, several organizations have emerged at the forefront, offering insights and solutions to manage and mitigate climate risks. The climate risks for Neptune Beach provided by each of the leading organizations follows.

	FEMA	Climate Vulnerability Index	Risk Factor	Climate Check
National Climate Risk	98th percentile	42nd percentile	No Rating	1 to 83 Range
Heat Risk	No Rating	Lowest Vulnerability	Extreme	Extreme
Fire Risk	Relatively Moderate	Higher Vulnerability	Moderate	Relatively Low
Storm Risk	Relatively High	Lower Vulnerability	Extreme (Wind)	High
Flood Risk	Relatively High	Highest Vulnerability	Major	High
Drought Risk	Very Low	Average	No Rating	Relatively Low

What is Resilience?

Climate resilience refers to the ability of a system—whether it's a community, city, ecosystem, or economy—to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-related disturbances and changes. It encompasses strategies and actions that enhance the capacity of these systems to withstand and adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change, ensuring their functionality and well-being in the face of evolving environmental challenges. Building climate resilience is crucial for safeguarding both natural and human-made systems, ensuring their sustainability and longevity in a changing climate.

Traditional Infrastructure

Traditional infrastructure, which includes roads, bridges, buildings, water supply systems, and sewage and stormwater networks, plays a pivotal role in the functioning of modern societies. However, its design and implementation can both contribute to and hinder climate resilience in various ways:

Stability and Protection: Well-designed and maintained traditional infrastructure can offer protection against certain climate-related events. For instance, levees and sea walls can defend against storm surges and flooding.
Economic Continuity: Infrastructure supports economic activities. When designed with resilience in mind, it ensures that businesses and services can continue to operate during and after climate-related disturbances.
Redundancy: Some traditional infrastructure systems are designed with backup or alternative routes, ensuring continuity of services even when one part of the system fails.

Hindrances to Climate Resilience:

Vulnerability to Extreme Events: Much of our existing traditional infrastructure was designed using historical climate data and may not be equipped to handle the increased frequency and intensity of extreme events resulting from climate change.
Heat Islands: Urban areas with extensive concrete and asphalt can create "heat islands," where the temperature is significantly higher than in surrounding rural areas. This exacerbates heatwaves and increases energy consumption for cooling.
Impervious Surfaces: Infrastructure like roads and parking lots often uses materials that prevent water absorption. This can lead to increased surface runoff, causing urban flooding and overwhelming stormwater systems.
Environmental Degradation: Traditional infrastructure projects, especially large ones like dams or highways, can lead to habitat destruction, fragmentation, and other environmental impacts, reducing the natural resilience of ecosystems.
Lock-in Effect: Once traditional infrastructure is built, it often dictates development patterns for decades or even centuries. If not designed with future climate scenarios in mind, it can "lock in" vulnerabilities.
Resource Intensive: The construction and maintenance of traditional infrastructure often require significant amounts of resources, contributing to emissions that exacerbate climate change.

Nature-Based Solutions

Nature-based solutions (NBS) leverage the power of natural systems and processes to address societal challenges, including those posed by climate change. These solutions can play a significant role in enhancing climate resilience, but they also come with certain limitations. Here's a breakdown:

Contributions to Climate Resilience:

Carbon Sequestration: Natural ecosystems, such as forests and wetlands, act as carbon sinks, absorbing and storing large amounts of carbon dioxide, which helps mitigate the effects of climate change.
Flood Control: Wetlands, mangroves, and other coastal ecosystems act as natural buffers, absorbing excess water during heavy rainfall and reducing the impact of storm surges.
Erosion Prevention: Vegetative cover, such as grasslands and forests, stabilizes soil and reduces erosion, especially during extreme weather events.
Biodiversity Enhancement: NBS often support diverse ecosystems, which can provide a range of services, from pollination to disease control, that underpin human well-being.
Natural Cooling: Urban green spaces, such as parks and green roofs, can help reduce the urban heat island effect, providing cooling during heatwaves.
Groundwater Recharge: Natural landscapes, including meadows and wetlands, allow water to percolate into the ground, replenishing aquifers and ensuring a sustainable water supply.
Economic Benefits: NBS can offer economic advantages by reducing the need for more expensive hard infrastructure and by providing ecosystem services that benefit agriculture, fisheries, and tourism.

Hindrances to Climate Resilience:

Maintenance Requirements: While NBS can be self-sustaining to some extent, they may require ongoing management to ensure their health and functionality, especially in changing environmental conditions.
Space Constraints: In densely populated urban areas, there might be limited space to implement large-scale NBS.
Time Scale: Some NBS, like reforestation, take time to mature and provide the desired benefits.
Potential for Unintended Consequences: If not properly designed or managed, some NBS can lead to unintended ecological consequences, such as the introduction of invasive species.
Perceived Value: There can be a societal bias towards engineered solutions, with NBS sometimes perceived as less effective or valuable.
Economic Displacement: While NBS can provide economic benefits, they might also disrupt existing economic activities, such as agriculture or development, especially if land use changes are required.

Zoning Code

A city's zoning code, which dictates how land within the city can be used, plays a significant role in shaping its urban environment. Zoning codes can both contribute to and hinder climate resilience, depending on their provisions and enforcement:

Contributions to Climate Resilience:

Floodplain Management: Zoning codes can restrict or limit development in flood-prone areas, ensuring that these areas remain undeveloped and can naturally absorb floodwaters.
Green Spaces: Zoning can mandate the inclusion of green spaces, parks, and urban forests, which can help reduce the urban heat island effect, manage stormwater, and provide recreational areas.
Building Standards: Zoning codes can incorporate building standards that require new constructions to be energy-efficient, use sustainable materials, or incorporate green roofs, all of which can enhance resilience.
Transit-Oriented Development: By promoting higher-density development near transit hubs, zoning can reduce car dependency, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Protection of Natural Barriers: Zoning can protect natural barriers like mangroves, dunes, and wetlands, which act as buffers against storm surges and rising sea levels.
Mixed-Use Zones: By allowing residential, commercial, and other uses to coexist in the same area, mixed-use zoning can reduce the need for long commutes, thereby reducing traffic emissions.

Hindrances to Climate Resilience:

Urban Sprawl: Zoning codes that promote low-density, car-dependent suburban development can lead to urban sprawl, which fragments natural habitats and increases greenhouse gas emissions.
Impervious Surfaces: Zoning that prioritizes large parking lots or wide roads can increase the amount of impervious surfaces, exacerbating urban flooding.
Inflexibility: Older zoning codes that are not updated regularly might not account for the changing needs and challenges posed by climate change.
Economic Barriers: Strict zoning regulations can sometimes drive up property values, making it difficult for lower-income residents to afford housing. This can lead to socio-economic vulnerabilities in the face of climate challenges.
Reduction in Canopy Cover: Zoning that prioritizes development without provisions for tree preservation can lead to a reduction in urban canopy cover, increasing heat stress.
Barriers to Innovative Solutions: Some zoning codes might be restrictive and not allow for innovative climate-resilient housing or infrastructure solutions, such as floating homes or decentralized water systems.