We are halfway through the so-called “Decade of Action” on climate. Climate risks are rising, as are the costs of damage and adaptation; though pressing challenges remain, real estate is responding, as are governments and the community sector. This opening session and keynote will combine local and national perspectives to examine the future of adaptation finance, investment, and funding; garner lessons from recent catastrophes, such as the Los Angeles wildfires and Hurricane Helene, to better protect communities; and explore replicable local and state efforts to enhance resilience and protect development.

 

Multifamily investors and developers are increasingly requiring, incentivizing, and building with climate resilient construction methods. These investments strengthen multifamily properties, making them better able to survive severe weather, and also help developers and owners secure affordable property insurance, which can keep rental costs down. Learn more about building resilient properties, current incentives and requirements issued by government funders, and the benefits and results experienced by a diverse set of multifamily housing developers and investors from areas of the country hardest hit by natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires.

 

Current planning for real estate portfolios, governments, and campuses is informed by outdated, backward-looking weather data. A new process is emerging that brings the climate science, design and real estate communities together to use future-facing climate projections, providing sufficient detail to analyze the potential impacts of climate change on buildings, infrastructure, and communities. Using these projections can better meet the intended goals of building owners and stakeholders- including financial, decarbonization, and well-being-over the lifespan of each development. Join this session to explore how a collaborative team is developing and integrating higher quality climate data into planning processes for both private and public sector portfolios to thrive well into the future.

 

Evaluating physical climate risks and scaling up resilience measures across a portfolio is a daunting task due to the complexity of climate impacts, diversity of asset types and designs, varying geographic exposures, and difficulties in determining the return on investment. However, factoring physical climate risk data and resilience measures into asset management plans and capital expenditure cycles is critical to protecting assets at scale, and multiple approaches have been developed to make this information an actionable part of operations. This session will explore several strategies developed for real estate developers, owners, and investment trusts that can be implemented across large, diverse portfolios, and include perspectives from risk assessment experts and real estate firms that have implemented these approaches.

 

Communities nationwide are facing increasing flood risks, and traditional methods are proving inadequate against these challenges. The real estate and land use industry and local governments need to start exploring alternative adaptation strategies. Managed retreat is a proactive approach that involves forward-looking social, economic, policy, and land use planning. Join this session to learn practical ways to facilitate managed retreat through communication, policy, acquisition, and market-based tools, drawing on case studies and lessons learned from New York, the Gulf Coast, California, and Washington.

 

Join your fellow Resilience Summit attendees for lunch, networking, and informal discussion.

 

As volatile rain and storm events increase, cities and counties across the US are rethinking how to develop projects that are flood-resilient while maximizing economic value. Even in Texas, a state known for development-friendly regulations, new projects face increasing stormwater detention requirements to help the broader community remain resilient. Join this panel to dive deep into two example projects in the Gulf Coast area of Texas that demonstrate how developers can use these regulations and solutions to their advantage, protecting assets and occupants while adding value. Successful outcomes, transferable strategies, and community impacts will be highlighted.

 

What if the homes we build today could do more than provide shelter? What if they could reduce emissions, promote health and wellness, foster social cohesion, and strengthen the fabric of our communities? As we face the rising cost of housing and the harsh realities of a changing climate, the conversation around housing has shifted. Drawing on real-life examples from across Canada and the U.S., this session brings together leaders in rethinking housing to share stories of communities already taking bold action, where innovative designs, low carbon building materials, renewable energy, smart construction and community co-benefits are creating homes that are sustainable, resilient, and affordable. We'll look at how affordable housing requires collaboration and scalable, repeatable solutions for success at the pace we need, and how public-private partnerships are accelerating action.

 

Massachusetts is at the forefront of climate resilience planning, finance, and implementation. Leaders in state and local resilience, environmental, and emergency management departments will share new and emerging actions in Boston and Massachusetts related to the development and implementation of a statewide financing investment strategy for climate resiliency. Join this session to hear case studies and best practice examples of how Boston is promoting climate resilient development through public-private partnerships, and new state action to define coastal resilience districts, elevate extreme heat preparedness, and fund resilient disaster recovery.

 

This session will look at two climate adaptation efforts in the Bay Area that use a risk-informed approach to craft resilience and adaptation solutions to meet an increasingly imminent need among coastal jurisdictions at the city and county level. At the same time, emerging policies, like California Senate Bill 272, which requires all coastal cities to develop a Shoreline Adaptation Plan, are elevating and advancing the resilience conversation by providing detailed guidance and new funding opportunities for local governments to perform adaptation planning. The session will detail new technology, methods, and science that local governments are deploying to assess risk and to right-size resilience strategies for public infrastructure, providing a roadmap for other jurisdictions to follow.

 

Major opportunities exist for large portfolio owners to save on long-term costs by investing proactively in climate resilience. In this session, a panel of climate risk and resilience professionals will illustrate this point through a case study on how health authorities in British Columbia have made progress in designing critical facilities for future climate conditions. Through championship at the highest level, the health authorities have developed climate resilience guidelines and a set of tools to support project owners in implementing them. The result has been a streamlined and cost-effective approach to designing resilient healthcare facilities and accessing capital for resilience strategies by emphasizing the multiple benefits they provide in achieving other organizational goals. Panelists will discuss how a similar approach can be applied in the US context and benefit other large portfolio owners beyond the healthcare sector.