Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines - New York City
NYC Mayor’s Office of ResiliencyClimate Resiliency Design Guidelines - Version 4.0ClimateResiliencyDesignGuidelinesSeptember 2020Version 4.0Cover photo by Jean Schwarzwalder, New York City Department of Environmental Protection.1
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NYC Mayor’s Office of ResiliencyClimate Resiliency Design Guidelines - Version 4.0ContentsI.II.III.Introduction.5A.Climate Change in New York City.6B.Useful Life of Capital Projects.7C.Defining “Criticality” and “Major Projects”.8D.Managing Uncertainty.9E.Project-specific Considerations.10F.Reporting Requirements.10Resilient Design.11A.Increasing Heat.11B.Increasing Precipitation.19C.Sea Level Rise.22Toolkit.31A.Resilient Design Process.31B.Exposure Screening Tool.32C.Risk Assessment Methodology.34D.Benefit-cost Analysis Methodology.36Appendices.431.Key Terms.452.Climate Change Projections.493.Differentiation of Flood Maps.514.Design Strategies Checklist.535.Project Benefit Categories.556.Resilient Design Submittal Checklist.65Works Cited.693
NYC Mayor’s Office of ResiliencyDRAFT & CONFIDENTIALClimate Resiliency Design Guidelines - Version 4.0this page intentionally left blank4
NYC Mayor’s Office of ResiliencyClimate Resiliency Design Guidelines - Version 4.0I. IntroductionNew York City (NYC) faces challenges resulting from a rapidly changing climate. Many capital projects, includinginfrastructure, landscapes, and buildings (“facilities”), will experience flooding, precipitation, and heat events.1 Over the 21stcentury, the intensity and severity of these events will increase. Further, increasing global average annual temperatures willexacerbate sea level rise. With 520 miles of coastline across its five boroughs, several low-lying locations across the Citywill experience monthly tidal inundation that results from higher seas.The Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines (“the Guidelines”) provide step-by-step instructions to go beyond building codeand standards, which are informed with historic climate data, by also looking to specific, forward-looking climate data foruse in the design of City facilities.Resilient design must become an integral part of the project planning processfor City agencies and designers. All new projects and substantial improvementswill assess risks to climate hazards in the context of the project’s purpose, assettype, site location, and funding, and then determine the appropriate resilientdesign strategies using the Guidelines. The Guidelines apply to all City capitalprojects (defined in accordance with Chapter 9 Section 210 of the NYC Charter,see Appendix 1 - Key Terms) except coastal protection projects (e.g. sea walls,bulkheads, and levees), for which the City is developing separate guidance.Implementing the Guidelines will result in more resilient City facilities that willprotect the City’s public investments into the future.The Guidelines providestep-by-step instructionson how to supplementhistoric climate datawith specific, regional,forward-looking climatechange data in thedesign of City facilities.The primary goal of the Guidelines is to incorporate forward-looking climatechange data in the design of City capital projects. Codes and standards thatregulate the design of facilities already incorporate historic weather data to determine how to design for today’s conditions.However, historic data does not accurately represent the projected severity and frequency of future storms, sea level rise,heat waves, and precipitation. The climate is already changing and will continue to change in significant ways over the fulluseful life of facilities designed today, threatening to undermine capital investments and impede critical services if they arenot designed for future conditions. Future versions of the Guidelines will explore additional climate stressors as scienceevolves in coordination with the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC). The Guidelines complement the use ofhistoric data in existing codes and standards by providing a consistent methodology for engineers, architects, landscapearchitects, and planners to design facilities that are resilient to changing climate conditions (see Figure 1).The Guidelines are to be used throughout the design process—during project scoping and planning initiation, as areference in requests for proposals (RFPs), during the preliminary design or study phase, through to final design—forall new construction and substantial improvements of City facilities. A successful resilient design is one that meets theseGuidelines, provides co-beneficial outcomes, reduces costs over the life of the asset wherever possible, and avoids negativeNPCC climate changeprojectionsHistoric weather dataBuilding code anddesign standardsDesign of NYC capital projects1Climate ResiliencyDesign GuidelinesFigure 1 - Both historic weather data and climatechange projections inform the design of capitalprojects in NYC.Though the intensity and frequency of storms is expected to increase, firm projections on future wind conditions have not yet been developed. NYC sundertaking a study to assess projected changes to extreme wind hazards and identify risks to the city’s built environment.I. Introduction5
NYC Mayor’s Office of ResiliencyClimate Resiliency Design Guidelines - Version 4.0indirect impacts to other systems. Resilient design does not always add cost and can be incorporated into standard projectdelivery frameworks.Resilient design should not exist in a silo, but rather be a well-integrated part of existing processes and address othergoals of the City. For example, resilient design choices should be made as an integral part of the City’s project planning,risk management, and financial planning. Similarly, resilient design choices should be selected to maximize the efficacyand efficiency of investments. Some ways this can be done include: 1) integrating “soft” resiliency strategies (such asgreen infrastructure), “hard” resiliency strategies (built or intensive investments), and operational resiliency strategies; 2)addressing multiple climate hazards with single interventions; and 3) reducing climate change risk in concert with othergoals (e.g., energy efficiency or reduction in greenhouse gas emissions).These Guidelines were developed by the Mayor’s Office of Resiliency (MOR) in collaboration with City agencies. Thedevelopment of the Guidelines has been an iterative, and ongoing, process of testing, vetting, and improving. Importantmilestones in the development timeline include: Fall 2016: the Design Guidelines Working Group, which includes more than 15 City agencies, was convened tocollaborate and advise on the development of the Guidelines.2April 2017: the preliminary version (1.0) of the Guidelines was issued.April 2017 - November 2018: the preliminary version of the Guidelines was tested through an extensive review withinternal and external climate and design experts, and review of City capital projects.April 2018: version 2.0 of the Guidelines was released with various improvements, including the addition of a benefitcost analysis methodology and projections on Cooling Degree Days and Dry Bulb temperatures.March 2019: version 3.0 of the Guidelines was released with refinements, including an Exposure Screening Tool anda Risk Assessment Methodology.September 2020: version 4.0 of the Guidelines released as a refinement of Version 3, includingreporting requirements.A. Climate Change in New York CityThe New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) provides regional climate change projections that informthe City’s climate resiliency policies. Composed of leading scientists, the NPCC’s projections for the metropolitanregion show that extreme weather will increase in frequency and severity, and that the climate will become morevariable. These projections are divided across future time slices including the 2020s, 2050s, 2080s, and 2100.The 2015 NPCC climate change projections (which were reassessed and validated in 2019) encompass a rangeof possible outcomes, for example: Mean annual temperature is projected to rise by 4.1 to 6.6 F by the 2050s, and by 5.3 to 10.3 F by the 2080s.3Frequency of heat waves is projected to triple by the 2050s to 5 to 7 heat waves per year and 5 to 8 heatwaves per year by the 2080s.4Mean annual precipitation is projected to increase between 4 to 13% by the 2050s, and by 5 to 19% bythe 2080s.5Sea level is expected to keep rising by 11 to 21 inches by the 2050s, and by 18 to 39 inches by the 2080s.6For more information on climate change projections for the metropolitan region, see Appendix 2. As the NPCCcontinues to study and refine projections, the Guidelines will be updated as needed to reflect changes in thescientific consensus.234566Representatives from the following City agencies contributed to the Guidelines: Environmental Protection, Transportation, City Planning, Buildings, Design andConstruction, Parks and Recreation, Emergency Management, School Construction Authority, City Administrative Services, Health and Hospitals, InformationTechnology and Telecommunications, Economic Development Corporation, Housing Authority, Public Design Commission, Mayor’s Office of Sustainability,Mayor’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer, Housing Preservation and Development, Office of Management and Budget, Sanitation, and Law.Ranges for heat reflect the middle and high range estimates from the NPCC. See Appendix 2 for more information.Ibid.Ranges for precipitation reflect the middle and high range estimates from the NPCC. See Appendix 2 for more information.Ranges for sea level rise reflect the middle range estimates from the NPCC. See Appendix 2 for more information.I. Introduction
NYC Mayor’s Office of ResiliencyClimate Resiliency Design Guidelines - Version 4.0B. Useful Life of Capital ProjectsA resilient facility for the purposes of these Guidelines is one built to withstand, or recover quickly from, naturalhazards, as well as to perform to its intended design standard throughout its useful life in a changing climate. Tomeet this goal, facilities should be designed to withstand climate conditions projected for the end of the facility’sfull useful life.7 Full useful life represents the extended service life of a facility (assuming regular maintenance).Some new facilities built today, including some buildings, may have an extended useful life beyond the valueslisted after undergoing substantial improvements later in their useful life. Therefore, this list is illustrative andnot exhaustive.In design, teams shall consider 1) the useful life of the facility overall, and 2) the useful life of its componentswithin the project scope. The Guidelines provide climate projections to be incorporated during design at the capitalproject level, however the impact of these decisions on the facility level should be considered and incorporatedwhere feasible. Project teams should utilize professional judgment to determine the useful lives of the facility andcomponents in design.Climate change projections for NYC, as defined by the NPCC, are broken into decadal projections. In theGuidelines, the following decadal projections are associated with specific time spans: 2020s projection present to 20392050s projection 2040 to 20692080s projection 2070 to 20992100 projection end of century and beyondTable 1 below provides examples of how to select climate change projections for specific facilities/components.Table 1 – Facilities and components and associated climate change projectionsClimate changeprojections(time period covered)7Examples of building, infrastructure, landscape, and components grouped by typical useful life Interim and deployable flood protection measuresAsphalt pavement, pavers, and other ROW finishingsGreen infrastructureStreet furnitureTemporary building structuresStorage facilitiesDeveloping technology components (e.g., telecommunications equipment,batteries, solar photovoltatics, fuel cells)2020s(through to 2039)Temporary orrapidly replacedcomponents and componentson a regularreplacement cycle Electrical, HVAC, and mechanical componentsMost building retrofits (substantial improvements)Concrete pavingInfrastructural mechanical components (e.g., compressors, lifts, pumps)Outdoor recreational facilitiesAt-site energy equipment (e.g., fuel tanks, conduit, emergency generators)Stormwater detention systems2080s(2070-2099)Long-livedbuildings andinfrastructure Most buildings (e.g., public, office, residential)Piers, wharfs, and bulkheadsPlazasRetaining wallsCulvertsOn-site energy generation/co-generation plants2100 Assets that cannotbe relocated Major infrastructure (e.g., tunnels, bridges, wastewater treatment plants)Monumental buildingsRoad reconstructionSubgrade sewer infrastructure (e.g., sewers, catch basins, outfalls)NIST, Community Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems, Vol. 1. NIST Special Publication 1190: US Department ofCommerce, 2016.I. Introduction7
NYC Mayor’s Office of ResiliencyClimate Resiliency Design Guidelines - Version 4.0C. Defining “Criticality” and “Major Projects”Throughout the Guidelines, particular actions are recommended depending on the criticality and/or the size of acapital project. These two distinctions are summarized below:Criticality: Some facilities or components are classified as critical either because of the services they provide(e.g., hospitals and key transportation assets) or their importance during an emergency (e.g., designated sheltersand back-up energy generators). This classification determines levels of freeboard in the sea level rise-adjustmentsection. See Table 4 in Section II.C for a full list of critical facilities for the application of the Guidelines.In complex projects with multiple components, whether or not the full facility is considered critical, designersshould identify critical components. This identification should occur as early in the scoping process as possible.Critical components essential to the facility’s functionality should be protected to the higher standard providedeven if the facility itself is non-critical. For example, at a non-critical vehicle maintenance yard, some componentsare critical to the functioning of the site, such as an emergency generator. Critical component protection shouldalso be evaluated if a facility is expected to be fully operational during extreme weather, or if it is expected toquickly resume full operations after an event. Some examples of critical components include: boilers,chemical feed equipment,communications systems,electrical distribution and switching areas,elevators,emergency fuel supplies,emergency generators, fire alarms and suppression equipment,furnaces,hazardous material storage,HVAC units,monitoring and safety equipment, andmotor-control centers.Major Projects: Capital projects with a total cost (design and construction) of 50 million or more are definedas “major projects” in these Guidelines. Major projects shall perform a thorough climate risk assessment andfull benefit-cost analysis (see Section III) to ensure that all risks are identified and mitigated in a cost-effectivemanner. The project team should use professional judgment in applying the full cost benefit analysis as somemajor projects may not require it if, for example, the majority of costs relate to restoring natural areas or greenspace. If using the Guidelines on a major project, please contact MOR at ResilientDesign@cityhall.nyc.gov forfurther information and assistance.898PlaNYC, A Stronger More Resilient New York, report of the NYC Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency. Report. June 11, 2013, page 28. From thatreport: “Like all projections, the NPCC projections have uncertainty embedded within them. Sources of uncertainty include data and modeling constraints, therandom nature of some parts of the climate system and limited understanding of some physical processes. The NPCC characterizes levels of uncertainty usingstate-of-the-art climate models, multiple scenarios of future greenhouse gas concentrations and recent peer-reviewed literature. Even so, the projections arenot true probabilities, and the potential for error should be acknowledged.”To learn more, see Chapter 2 in the NPCC 2010 report, Climate Change Adaptation in New York City, available .2010.1196.issue-1/issuetocI. Introduction
NYC Mayor’s Office of ResiliencyClimate Resiliency Design Guidelines - Version 4.0D. Managing UncertaintyNew York City Panel on Climate Change projections arethe result of state-of-the-art climate change modelingand analysis. However, as with all projections, there isuncertainty embedded within them.8 NPCC continues todevelop, review, and synthesize the latest climate datafor the metropolitan region, and new findings will beincorporated into future versions of these Guidelines.Given uncertainty, adaptable design is a specific kind ofresilient design that provides a useful, iterative approachfor managing uncertainty and designing resilient facilities.An adaptable facility is one that can be engineered with aflexible protection level which reduces risk to acceptablelevels for part of its useful life and can be re-evaluatedas risk levels change. Adaptable design is particularlyuseful for facilities with a useful life that extends past 2050- beyond whic
Resilient design should not exist in a silo, but rather be a well-integrated part of existing processes and address other goals of the City. For example, resilient design choices should be made as an integral part of the City’s project planning, risk management, and financial planning.
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