Social Resilience
Preparing People for Extreme Weather
Photo credit: Frank McKenna
Theory of Change
Climate risks
Climate change is increasing the strength and frequency of extreme weather. Some residents and workers are disproportionately affected by their exposure, sensitivity, and/or ability to recover.
Where we are
We need to invest in the resilience of especially low-income BIPOC residents and workers so that their health, housing and ability to work are protected during and after extreme weather.
What we’re doing
Each of the RMC’s working groups includes service providers and community leaders identifying and pursuing policies and funding that increase resilience for the people who need it most.
Progress to Date
Centering Social Equity in Preparing Critical Infrastructure for Extreme Storms
The Lower Mystic Watershed hosts the highest concentration of critical regional infrastructure north of New York City along with tens of thousands of low-income BIPOC residents. The RMC worked with managers of critical infrastructure facilities and community based organizations serving predominantly low-income BIPOC residents and workers to complete a combined infrastructure and social vulnerability assessment for a predicted 2050 1% coastal storm event. We are using these data to protect Greater Boston’s critical transportation, energy, and food infrastructure and to decrease climate resilience gaps between wealthier neighborhoods and lower-income communities of color.
Wicked Hot Mystic
Greater Boston is known for its cold winters, snowy city streets, and Nor’easters. We know to budget for salt on our roads, keep warm indoors, and do the “penguin shuffle” to get to the car. Summers, however, are becoming increasingly important to plan for since they are getting longer, hotter, and more humid. Surprisingly, extreme heat, sometimes known as the “silent storm of extreme weather” causes more deaths in the US than all other weather hazards combined. A volunteer community science project co-sponsored by the Resilient Mystic Collaborative and the Boston Museum of Science and hosted by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council measured and mapped relative temperature, humidity, and air quality during an August 2021 heatwave.
Wicked Cool Mystic
Following on the results of Wicked Hot Mystic, the RMC secured funding from the State MVP program and MAPC to conduct a community engagement effort in Arlington, Chelsea, Everett, and Malden. Our goal is to make sure community members most impacted by the impacts of extreme heat are engaged and involved in creating the solutions meant to help them stay cool. Our priority populations (e.g., low-income BIPOC workers and residents, people with fragile health and/or social isolation) are concentrated in the more urban areas of the Mystic Watershed. Our work in Arlington will help us identify how to support individual members of these priority populations who may be less visible in more resilient communities.