A Better City Releases Report and Toolkit on Enhancing Resilience in Boston
March 6, 2015
On February 25, 2015, A Better City (ABC) announced the release of their newest report, Enhancing Resilience in Boston: A Guide for Large Buildings and Institutions and compendium online Building Resilience Toolkit. The report release was touted at the ABC Challenge for Sustainability’s “Enhancing Resilience in Boston” event on February 26, 2015, held at Boston Properties’ Atlantic Wharf building. The event featured presentations from the Consul General of the Netherlands in New York, Rob de Vos, Kathryn Wright of Meister Consultants Group, and an introduction by ABC President & CEO, Rick Dimino. Consul General, Rob de Vos, delivered a dynamic presentation on the resilience infrastructure in the Netherlands and outlined opportunities that could prove beneficial to Boston in combating the effects of severe weather events, particularly with a focus on sea level rise and flooding. Following the Consul General’s presentation, Kathryn Wright, from Meister Consultants Group and a co-author of ABC’s resilience report, gave an overview of the report findings and online toolkit, as resources for building owners about resilience actions, technologies, and preliminary assessment of potential regulatory points within Boston and Massachusetts. At the conclusion of the presentations, an interactive panel discussed lessons learned from other regions who have already experienced major events; how decisions are being made to install resilience technologies; how resiliency works into building economics; how to improve/streamline our local regulatory policies to facilitate resiliency investments; and how the private sector can work together to achieve economies of scale for making large scale improvements. On the panel were the following experts: Rob de Vos; Kairos Shen, Director of Planning, Boston Redevelopment Authority; Ben Meyers, Sustainability Manager, Boston Properties; Mary Skelton-Roberts, Senior Program Officer for the Environment, Barr Foundation; and Kathryn Wright, Consultant, Meister Consultants Group. In connection to the event focus on resilience and infrastructure, the event venue, Boston Properties’ Atlantic Wharf building, gave attendees the opportunity to view a model of a mobile flood barrier, the Aquafence , which was recently installed at Atlantic Wharf. In the case of severe flooding, the Aquafence will be temporarily installed around the building parameter in order to prevent water from entering and damaging the building. Boston Properties’ Atlantic Wharf building is also a participant in ABC’s Challenge for Sustainability. Click here to read ABC’s Enhancing Resilience in Boston: A Guide for Large Buildings and Institutions! Click here to view ABC’s online Building Resilience Toolkit!
