THE PROJECT
Hit play button for video of hypothetical Category 3 storm in Port of Providence
This pilot project is developing and testing methods to initiate meaningful dialogue about natural hazard impacts on RI’s coastal-dependent transportation infrastructure. The first workshop was held in Providence on Aug. 3 and was attended by waterfront business owners, planners from Providence and East Providence, and representatives from state and federal agencies.
Sea level rise, along with higher storm surges resulting from increasing storm intensity and frequency, threaten the sustainability of maritime transportation infrastructure in many coastal areas. In Rhode Island, major storms can damage maritime infrastructure and result in economic costs, environmental harm, and negative consequences on resident’s quality of life. Due to climate change, tough decisions will need to be made about resilience investment measures around the state in the coming decades. This project created a method and framework to begin a challenging dialogue around vulnerability for the state’s major maritime transportation infrastructure, as well as facilitating initial debate around long-term resilience solutions. Researchers developed the pilot project for the port of Providence (defined as the water-dependent uses from Fields Point to the Hurricane Barrier), with the intention of conducting similar projects at other critical sites throughout the State (e.g., Quonset/Davisville, Point Judith, Newport Harbor, Portsmouth Harbor, etc.).
Sea level rise, along with higher storm surges resulting from increasing storm intensity and frequency, threaten the sustainability of maritime transportation infrastructure in many coastal areas. In Rhode Island, major storms can damage maritime infrastructure and result in economic costs, environmental harm, and negative consequences on resident’s quality of life. Due to climate change, tough decisions will need to be made about resilience investment measures around the state in the coming decades. This project created a method and framework to begin a challenging dialogue around vulnerability for the state’s major maritime transportation infrastructure, as well as facilitating initial debate around long-term resilience solutions. Researchers developed the pilot project for the port of Providence (defined as the water-dependent uses from Fields Point to the Hurricane Barrier), with the intention of conducting similar projects at other critical sites throughout the State (e.g., Quonset/Davisville, Point Judith, Newport Harbor, Portsmouth Harbor, etc.).
The users who depend on the ports functionality, including the shippers, insurers, tenants, and ultimate consumers of the port cargo on a local and global scale, all have a stake in addressing port vulnerabilities. This project brought these stakeholders together in a half-day workshop to consider the cascading consequences of a major hurricane. Researchers also introduced long-term adaptation concepts through computer-generated representations, created by students in the department of Landscape Architecture. Participants considered the positive and negative elements of these consequences through the use of a decision support tool called Wecision.
This project was funded by the RI Department of Transportation (RODOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). A steering committee consisting of local and state agency representatives helped identify stakeholders, develop research questions, and provided guidance for the research process to ensure that outcomes were relevant to policy makers and stakeholders dependent on the port of Providence.
Study Area shown in red.
This project was funded by the RI Department of Transportation (RODOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). A steering committee consisting of local and state agency representatives helped identify stakeholders, develop research questions, and provided guidance for the research process to ensure that outcomes were relevant to policy makers and stakeholders dependent on the port of Providence.
Study Area shown in red.
