Climate adaptation of interconnected infrastructures: a framework for supporting governance

Infrastructures are critical for human society, but vulnerable to climate change. The current body of research on infrastructure adaptation does not adequately account for the interconnectedness of infrastructures, both internally and with one another. We take a step toward addressing this gap throu...

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Main Authors: Snelder, M., van Thienen, P., de Wit, S., Wols, B., Bollinger, L. A., Bogmans, C. W. J., Chappin, E. J. L., Dijkema, G. P. J., Huibregtse, J. N., Tavasszy, L. A., Schenk, Todd Edward William
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Berlin Heidelberg 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/104666
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3434-1319
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author Snelder, M.
van Thienen, P.
de Wit, S.
Wols, B.
Bollinger, L. A.
Bogmans, C. W. J.
Chappin, E. J. L.
Dijkema, G. P. J.
Huibregtse, J. N.
Tavasszy, L. A.
Schenk, Todd Edward William
author2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
author_facet Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Snelder, M.
van Thienen, P.
de Wit, S.
Wols, B.
Bollinger, L. A.
Bogmans, C. W. J.
Chappin, E. J. L.
Dijkema, G. P. J.
Huibregtse, J. N.
Tavasszy, L. A.
Schenk, Todd Edward William
author_sort Snelder, M.
collection MIT
description Infrastructures are critical for human society, but vulnerable to climate change. The current body of research on infrastructure adaptation does not adequately account for the interconnectedness of infrastructures, both internally and with one another. We take a step toward addressing this gap through the introduction of a framework for infrastructure adaptation that conceptualizes infrastructures as complex socio-technical “systems of systems” embedded in a changing natural environment. We demonstrate the use of this framework by structuring potential climate change impacts and identifying adaptation options for a preliminary set of cases—road, electricity and drinking water infrastructures. By helping to clarify the relationships between impacts at different levels, we find that the framework facilitates the identification of key nodes in the web of possible impacts and helps in the identification of particularly nocuous weather conditions. We also explore how the framework may be applied more comprehensively to facilitate adaptation governance. We suggest that it may help to ensure that the mental models of stakeholders and the quantitative models of researchers incorporate the essential aspects of interacting climate and infrastructure systems. Further research is necessary to test the framework in these contexts and to determine when and where its application may be most beneficial.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1046662022-10-03T08:52:26Z Climate adaptation of interconnected infrastructures: a framework for supporting governance Snelder, M. van Thienen, P. de Wit, S. Wols, B. Bollinger, L. A. Bogmans, C. W. J. Chappin, E. J. L. Dijkema, G. P. J. Huibregtse, J. N. Tavasszy, L. A. Schenk, Todd Edward William Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning Schenk, Todd Edward William Infrastructures are critical for human society, but vulnerable to climate change. The current body of research on infrastructure adaptation does not adequately account for the interconnectedness of infrastructures, both internally and with one another. We take a step toward addressing this gap through the introduction of a framework for infrastructure adaptation that conceptualizes infrastructures as complex socio-technical “systems of systems” embedded in a changing natural environment. We demonstrate the use of this framework by structuring potential climate change impacts and identifying adaptation options for a preliminary set of cases—road, electricity and drinking water infrastructures. By helping to clarify the relationships between impacts at different levels, we find that the framework facilitates the identification of key nodes in the web of possible impacts and helps in the identification of particularly nocuous weather conditions. We also explore how the framework may be applied more comprehensively to facilitate adaptation governance. We suggest that it may help to ensure that the mental models of stakeholders and the quantitative models of researchers incorporate the essential aspects of interacting climate and infrastructure systems. Further research is necessary to test the framework in these contexts and to determine when and where its application may be most beneficial. Infrastructure Networks Climate Adaptation and Hotspots. Knowledge for Climate Program 2016-10-06T21:19:21Z 2016-10-06T21:19:21Z 2013-03 2012-06 2016-08-18T15:36:21Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1436-3798 1436-378X http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/104666 Bollinger, L. A. et al. “Climate Adaptation of Interconnected Infrastructures: A Framework for Supporting Governance.” Regional Environmental Change (2013): n. pag. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3434-1319 en http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10113-013-0428-4 Regional Environmental Change Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg application/pdf Springer Berlin Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg
spellingShingle Snelder, M.
van Thienen, P.
de Wit, S.
Wols, B.
Bollinger, L. A.
Bogmans, C. W. J.
Chappin, E. J. L.
Dijkema, G. P. J.
Huibregtse, J. N.
Tavasszy, L. A.
Schenk, Todd Edward William
Climate adaptation of interconnected infrastructures: a framework for supporting governance
title Climate adaptation of interconnected infrastructures: a framework for supporting governance
title_full Climate adaptation of interconnected infrastructures: a framework for supporting governance
title_fullStr Climate adaptation of interconnected infrastructures: a framework for supporting governance
title_full_unstemmed Climate adaptation of interconnected infrastructures: a framework for supporting governance
title_short Climate adaptation of interconnected infrastructures: a framework for supporting governance
title_sort climate adaptation of interconnected infrastructures a framework for supporting governance
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/104666
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3434-1319
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