New York City just completed a LIDAR mapping project that was spurred largely by preparation for climate changes, including more rain and increased coastal flooding due to sea level rise. The project was part of Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC project for a “greener, greater New York.”
The climate change portion of the initiative include:
- Expansion of adaptation strategies beyond the protection of just water, sewer, and wastewater treatment systems to include all essential city infrastructure
- Working with stakeholder to develop community-specific climate adaptation strategies
- Creating a new strategic planning process to adapt to impacts, including the update of FEMA’s 100-year floodplain maps
The $450,000 mapping effort will also be used to create a solar map to determine rooftops that are suitable for solar panels.
The city realized that they did not have accurate enough models and maps in order to consider the long-term impacts of climate change. It’s wonderful to see this detailed modeling exercise tied directly to issues of long-term planning and sustainability.
You can read more about this project in this feature in the New York Times.
