LIVELos Angeles Resilience Hubs - Developing a Model for a Resilient City
Developing regionally appropriate model Resilience Hubs so Los Angeles residents can safely and quickly bounce back from extreme weather events and natural disasters.
Please describe your project proposal.
As the effects of climate change manifest in Los Angeles, prolonged heat waves, dry spells and fires threaten to disrupt power grids, force families from their homes, and underscore the need for off-grid centers where residents can gather, cool down, charge phones, contact family, and receive critical updates from emergency personnel. We will work with local communities, designers, and government organizations to develop a model for Resilience Hubs in neighborhoods throughout the County.
Which of the LIVE metrics will your proposal impact?
Self-sufficiency
Resilient communities
Prevalence of adverse childhood experiences
In what areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
Central LA
East LA
South LA
Describe in greater detail how your proposal will make LA the best place to LIVE?
Los Angeles Resilience Hubs will help make LA the best place to live by providing secure off-grid shelter for residents during severe weather events and natural disasters.
Global climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, manifesting in Los Angeles as heatwaves, droughts, dry spells, and fire. Global Green’s experience with green building efforts in Los Angeles, New Orleans and New York has led us to identify a key moment between response and recovery when needs are high and disadvantaged populations are likely to suffer most from extended power outages. Our solution is expanding our Resilience Hub program that we have piloted in New York City since 2013. The program provides grid-tied solar with off-grid battery storage for emergency power to centrally located, familiar community buildings within areas that suffered disaster damage, power loss and have no emergency shelters. These hubs provide back-up energy capacity to provide emergency services, creating safe and reliable points of distribution following emergency events. Year round, they engage the community in climate adaptation and resilience.
Action on climate issues has been limited on a national level due to political controversy, however some cities and metropolitan regions that have experienced disasters have developed responses. The responses and lessons learned from our work in places like New Orleans and New York after Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy are valuable tools for the transferability of adaptation and resilience pathways to Los Angeles. Global Green’s experience with green rebuilding efforts in disadvantaged communities in Los Angeles, New Orleans and New York has led us to identify a key moment between response and recovery when needs are high: after the disaster, but before stabilization - a gap comprising five to ten days, where the most disadvantaged among us will suffer without access to power, water, heating, and cooling.
As extreme weather events and corresponding electricity disruptions become more regular, it is critical that Los Angeles’ most disadvantaged residents have access to safe, reliable community centers that can quickly support residents during recovery efforts. Building off previous experience, Global Green will develop a Resilience Hub model specifically suited for our increasingly hot, arid climate, and work with local community development corporations to identify sites for building pilot hubs.
Please explain how you will define and measure success for your project.
Success to us is a city properly equipped to face the realities of climate change, natural disasters, and infrastructure interruptions. As such, we define success with two key indicators: 1) the development of a robust, replicable model for Resilience Hubs in Los Angeles, and 2) working local community development corporations to identify sites and structures in disadvantaged communities that can become the city’s first Resilience Hubs.
We will measure success by:
The number of disadvantaged communities in Los Angeles with access to Resilience Hubs
The percentage of disadvantaged community members served by Resilience Hubs during natural disasters and infrastructure interruptions
The number of local community development corporations collaborating with our team to identify suitable pilot project locations
The duration between disruptive event [black out, fire, earthquake…] and neighborhood bounce back
We plan to conduct interviews with residents, community development corporation staff, and government leaders throughout the duration of the program to inform the design, development, and implementation of the Los Angeles Resilience Hubs program.
How can the LA2050 community and other stakeholders help your proposal succeed?
Money
Infrastructure (building/space/vehicles
Technical infrastructure (computers
Community outreach