Climate Resilience Design Standards & Guidelines
Climate Resilience Design Standards Tool
This is the beta version of the Climate Resilience Design Standards Tool. Log in or register below to pilot the tool. Please submit feedback to support our piloting and improvements process by using this form.
For state staff requesting first time access, please email rmat@mass.gov
Project Overview
The Resilient MA Action Team (RMAT) "Climate Resilience Design Standards and Guidelines" project developed guidance for state-funded projects to enhance how the Commonwealth assesses climate resilience as part of its capital planning process. This project is implementing priority actions from the State Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan (SHMCAP). The beta Climate Resilience Design Standards Tool will provide state-funded projects:
a preliminary climate change exposure and risk rating;
recommended climate resilience design standards for projects with physical assets; and,
guidelines with best practices to support implementation.
The project deliverables are grounded in scientific methodology using available climate science data for Massachusetts, and will be enhanced over time to incorporate new science, additional or changing climate hazards, and ongoing stakeholder feedback.
Project Inputs and Preliminary Climate Risk Rating Output
The Climate Resilience Design Standards Tool prompts users to input project information. Based on these responses and the project location, the tool determines a preliminary climate exposure rating for the overall project, by climate hazard (sea level rise/storm surge, precipitation, temperature). This rating, combined with the consequence of impact of that asset failing (determined by user responses to a series of questions), informs a preliminary climate risk rating for each asset, by climate hazard.
Project Inputs and Preliminary Climate Risk Rating Output PDF
Climate Resilience Design Standards Output
The tool also provides projects recommended “Climate Resilience Design Standards.” Standards are defined for this project as, “a scientifically based process or method that produces a consistent outcome, which uniformly guides users in the selection of planning horizons, return period, and flexible design criteria, by climate parameter.” The recommended standards utilize available statewide climate data to provide a consistent methodology for developing design criteria values. The methodologies are structured in tiers to reflect the level of effort associated with using the climate data to generate design criteria values, and are recommended based on project useful life and criticality.
Guidelines and Best Practices
The Climate Resilience Design Guidelines provide general design guidance to consider while implementing the recommended standards. The Guidelines are overarching climate resilience principles that are not specific to project type or climate hazards, and are illustrated through example best practices. Forms are also provided to guide users through the Guidelines’ considerations and document decision making throughout the planning process.
Guidelines and Best Practices PDF
Additional forms include:
Additional Information and Resources
Additional Resources include:
Project Form (for use if beta web-tool is unaccessible)
Tool Training Video - April 2021
CONTACT
The Massachusetts Climate Change Clearinghouse (resilient MA) is a gateway to data and information relevant to climate change adaptation and mitigation across the Commonwealth. It provides local climate change science and decision support tools for the Commonwealth to support decision making that enhances climate resilience for local planners, practitioners, policy-makers, and the public.