CIRCA has recently been awarded a contract worth $8 million from the Connecticut Department of Housing for administration of a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) National Disaster Resilience Competition.<\/p>\n
\nSevere storms, flooding, and other effects of climate change don\u2019t care about municipal boundaries, so CIRCA will help bring various groups together across town lines to prepare effectively. — James O'Donnell<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
With support from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection<\/a> (CT DEEP) and faculty at the Urban Ecology and Design Laboratory<\/a> of Yale University, CIRCA will lead efforts to develop a framework for Connecticut cities and towns to best address their specific needs for resilience planning and preparation.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy connecting the world-class, multidisciplinary researchers who are part of UConn\u2019s centers of excellence, like CIRCA, and the extensive practical regulatory experience in government agencies, this project will better prepare and protect Connecticut\u2019s citizens, communities, and our natural environment from the impacts of future storms,\u201d says Radenka Maric, UConn\u2019s vice president for research.<\/p>\n
Hurricane damage on the Connecticut Coast. (Photo CT DEEP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The Connecticut Connections Coastal Resilience Plan (C3RP) project focuses on New Haven and Fairfield counties, where some of the state\u2019s most vulnerable coastal communities are located and which were eligible for HUD funding.<\/p>\n
The multi-year project has three phases. The first phase will bring together stakeholders and assess their current planning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile many towns and cities have already taken action, there was very little coordination between municipalities,\u201d explains James O\u2019Donnell, executive director of CIRCA and a professor of marine sciences at UConn. \u201cSevere storms, flooding, and other effects of climate change don\u2019t care about municipal boundaries, so CIRCA will help bring various groups together across town lines to prepare effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Donnell and other UConn researchers will also create simulations of the various options to show stakeholders how projects could impact their communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cA large sea wall might initially seem like the best approach, but our advanced simulations can show to what degree that would change the coastal landscape,\u201d explains O\u2019Donnell. \u201cIn the end, gaining consensus and exploring all of the options will help communities be informed and move forward with projects that are effective and protect the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Phase two, O\u2019Donnell and his research team will also employ simulations of wave models to develop the resilience framework.<\/p>\n
A physical oceanographer, O\u2019Donnell is an internationally recognized expert in the physical processes that determine circulation in the coastal ocean. This expertise is now being leveraged to determine how water and waves interact with Connecticut\u2019s coastal structures, and what impact future engineering will have on coastal ecology.<\/p>\n
With consensus and guidance from the resilience framework, the final phase of the three-year C3RP grant will move towns toward implementation. CIRCA staff will help stakeholders gather cost estimates and engineering designs and select the best path forward \u2013 whether that means a large construction project or doing nothing.<\/p>\n
Throughout the three phases, the CIRCA team also plans to conduct several community engagement programs to support the institutionalization of resilience and climate adaptation policies and programs throughout the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a need for researchers to translate complex science so that citizens can understand what it means for them and their communities, develop educational tools so stakeholders can better inform their constituents, policy analyses for elected officials, and sustainable design and engineering training for future construction projects,\u201d says O\u2019Donnell. \u201cIt really is a holistic approach to the challenges we face due to the human and environmental causes of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n
CIRCA is currently seeking to fill four new positions<\/a> to support this planning effort. Since its founding three years ago, the Institute has been awarded more than $13 million to work with towns, state officials, and researchers from UConn and Yale on projects that aim to protect Connecticut\u2019s most vulnerable coastal communities. To learn more about CIRCA and its contribution to the state, visit www.circa.uconn.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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