OAPA 2024: Building Resilience in Oregon
Lessons Learned from California and Washington
Last month I had the pleasure of MCing and presenting (alongside Consuelo Crow, Meg Horst, and Tim Smith) at the 2024 OAPA on resilience and resilience hubs. Below is a brief overview of our key takeaways and link to the presentation: Building Resilience in Oregon - Lessons Learned from California and Washington.
Comprehensive plans should dedicate chapters to climate policy, mandating and funding both policy implementation and the necessary physical infrastructure. These chapters should be followed up with Hazard Mitigation Plans (HMPs). Recognizing that communities and organizations are at different stages in their journey towards resilience, a "one size fits all" approach is not oftern appropriate. However, utilizing established regional and valid material can significantly aid this process.
Leveraging existing resources is crucial. We must establish and invest in a shared framework for knowledge, resources, and support. The urgency to "build back better" and act "before it's too late" should drive our efforts. It is essential to ensure that near-term emergencies do not derail long-term planning and implementation, recognizing that these processes can occur in parallel.
We must support the entire process, not just individual projects, by funding community organizations and their active participation. While planning and designing for future conditions is critical, the day-to-day functionality remains central to the discussion. Communities are increasingly adopting a "network" strategy, moving away from single-location or single-scale solutions.
Finally, it's important to acknowledge that projects will likely involve multiple steps and gateways, including various funding stages, before reaching completion. Crucially, we must address the need for funding ongoing operation and maintenance, an aspect often overlooked in many current projects.
The PDF of the presentation can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/OAPA-Resilience
