March 2015
Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island Office of Sustainable Communities
Smart Growth Program
Training on Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
EP-W-11-011, Task Order No. 046
Table of Contents
Project Contacts
2
Introduction
3
Training Summary
4
Tools & Techniques for Regional Planning, Recovery, and Resiliency
6
GIS Scenario Planning Platforms......................................................................................................................................6
Scenario Planning Tools and Techniques...................................................................................................................6
Recovery and Resiliency Tools..........................................................................................................................................7
8
Engagement and Communication Tools & Techniques
Visualization Tools......................................................................................................................................................................8
Equity, Access, and Long Term Planning....................................................................................................................8
Idea Generation, Prioritization, and Communication.............................................................................................8
Engagement Techniques.......................................................................................................................................................9
10
For Further Reference
Best Practices and White Papers of Interest...........................................................................................................10
Examples from Presentations...........................................................................................................................................10
11
Final Project Groups & Pictures
Attachments 1 5‐Day Training Agenda
Page 1 of 13
Training on Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
EP-W-11-011, Task Order No. 046
Project Contacts
EPA HQ Contact:
Ted Cochin Office of Sustainable Communities 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW MC10807T Washington, DC 20460 [email protected] Regional EPA Contact:
Rabi Kieber USEPA Region 2 290 Broadway, 26th Floor New York, NY 10007 [email protected] FEMA Contact:
Johnathan Halfon Community Planning and Capacity Building FEMA NYSRO [email protected] Photos on front cover courtesy of Placeways Page 2 of 13
Training on Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
EP-W-11-011, Task Order No. 046
Introduction
As our climate continues to change, storms like Hurricane Sandy may become more frequent and ever more powerful. If our communities and landscapes are going to become resilient and withstand these powerful storms, our rebuilding and recovery efforts need to be sustainable, equitable and proactive. Likewise, future planning and growth needs to be smarter, more strategic, and more inclusive. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have a rich history of collaboration on disaster recovery, mitigation and smart growth, including providing technical assistance to disaster‐stricken communities in Vermont, Missouri, and Iowa. More recently, they have teamed up to provide smart growth‐related support in New York and New Jersey as communities recover from Sandy. The basis for these cooperative efforts is detailed and formalized under a memorandum of agreement between FEMA and the EPA Office of Sustainable Communities, which aims to improve community resilience to natural hazards while also improving quality of life, creating long‐term economic prosperity, and protecting the environment. FEMA and EPA are committed to helping local and regional smart growth leaders learn about the most effective techniques in scenario planning, emphasizing the importance of integrating the scenario planning process with strong community engagement and providing access to, and training in the use of advanced modeling, analytics, and visualization tools. Through this project, EPA and FEMA worked with the Suffolk County Department of Economic Development and Planning, Nassau County Department of Public Works, the New York State Department of State, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to examine recovery options that would help Long Island rebuild from Hurricane Sandy in a smart, strong, and resilient fashion. In addition, this project emphasized training and capacity building to develop leaders who can take emerging best practices and put them to work on the ground, adapting to change, and developing techniques that can be put into practice across the country. Page 3 of 13
Training on Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
EP-W-11-011, Task Order No. 046
Training Summary
In January of 2015, Placeways, PlaceMatters, and CH2M HILL developed a training on Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island. This effort was made possible through an EPA managed task order funded by an interagency agreement with FEMA. The training was a five‐day workshop for over 20 attendees from local agencies in the region, with information and hands‐on training on high‐tech engagement tools, low‐tech/on‐
the‐ground engagement techniques, scenario planning, CommunityViz, and other tools to use for recovery planning. Since Hurricane Sandy made landfall in the New York‐New Jersey region in October 2012, the need for better knowledge about using scenario planning tools for hazard mitigation and disaster recovery planning within the region has become apparent. This five‐day training on Long Island introduced participants to integrating various tools within the recovery planning process ‐ including tools to support scenario planning, help increase engagement and provide critical analysis and communication of complex issues. The training also helped to build local capacity on strategies to incorporate scenario planning with public engagement, smart growth concepts, equitable development issues, and hazard mitigation. The first full day of the five‐day training brought together 30 participants for presentations and demonstrations of how to incorporate both high‐tech and low‐tech tools ‐ including scenario planning ‐ into the planning process. This first day was designed to include a broader group of stakeholders than would attend for the remainder of the training and therefore included a general overview of scenario planning and other tools to help provide some context and guidance on ways to inform the recovery planning process. Attachment 1 includes the 5‐Day training agenda. Above: Attendees during the CommunityViz hands-on training
Page 4 of 13
Training on Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
EP-W-11-011, Task Order No. 046
Over the next four days, a subset of the participants spent a significant amount of time learning about and using tools to support recovery planning and resiliency. The first two days were spent in hands‐on training using CommunityViz – a powerful, GIS‐based scenario planning tool ‐ and various models and data sources that can integrate with CommunityViz to help inform recovery planning. These included FEMA’s Hazus‐MH, EPA’s EJ Screen, and NOAA’s Digital Coast. During the final two days, the group split into teams to build on the skills gained during the hands on training. These teams worked together to define projects that interested them and used the tools presented during the first three days to perform an actual analysis. At the end of the final day, the four teams presented their projects to the rest of the class and to over a dozen local and regional agency officials attending via screencast. The projects included:  Coastal Re‐Development ‐ Making the Case for Evolution in Suburban Zoning,  CommunityViz and FEMA’s Environmental Benefits Calculator for Evaluating Open Space Restoration and Property Acquisition,  Identifying Suitable Locations for Secondary Sewage Treatment Plants, and  Elevating Structures in Barnum Island/Harbor Isle/Island Park. More information about the members of each group and photographs are available at the end of this report, and the presentations can be viewed here: vimeo.com/120104375 As communities work to create more robust and informed resiliency plans, it is often difficult to determine which tools and techniques to use. This includes trying to determine the best way to integrate these tools and techniques to maximize public engagement, increase local capacity, and encourage long‐term resilience. As part of this training, attendees were introduced to a number of important tools and resources to help inform this process – including an introduction on how best to maximize the use of particular tools during the planning process. Attached below is a list of many of the tools and techniques presented to the attendees during the training, along with links and information to support successful implementation of these tools. Page 5 of 13
Training on Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
EP-W-11-011, Task Order No. 046
Tools & Techniques for Regional Planning, Recovery, and Resiliency
GIS Scenario Planning Platforms
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CommunityViz ‐ placeways.com/communityviz/index.html o Free 30‐day trial software download: o shop.placeways.com/freedownloads4‐4.aspx o (Please make sure your computer meets the system requirements: placeways.com/communityviz/systemrequirements.html Also, take note that installers must match your version of ArcGIS). o On the CommunityViz Resources page of the website, see the Tutorials tab for a library of short tutorial videos to watch, or for hands‐on tutorials to work through. For the hands‐on tutorials, you’ll need to download both the instructions PDF and the “tutorial dataset installer,” which puts sample data on your computer for use with the instructions. placeways.com/communityviz/resources.html o The CommunityViz Gallery has links to demos videos, case studies, and other samples: placeways.com/communityviz/gallery.html Urban Footprint o calthorpeanalytics.com/index.html ‐ tabswrap o calthorpeanalytics.com Envision Tomorrow (ET) ‐ www.envisiontomorrow.org Other GIS Platforms o PostGIS ‐ Spatial database and analysis platform ‐ postgis.net o QGIS ‐ A free and open source GIS platform ‐ www2.qgis.org/en/site/ o GRASS ‐ A free and open source GIS platform ‐ grass.osgeo.org Scenario Planning Tools and Techniques
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PlaceMatters DIY Smart Table ‐ placematters.org/store/smarttable_kit.html Damage Assessment and Visualizations o SeeClickFix ‐ http://en.seeclickfix.com/ (also see following blog on Leveraging SeeClickFix Open Content for Hurricane Recovery Projects) o Photosimulation (i.e. urbanadvantage.com) Fiscal Impacts and Return on Investment o Envision Tomorrow ‐ www.envisiontomorrow.org o CommunityViz ‐ placeways.com/communityviz/index.html Transit Network Sketching and Access to Jobs o RPA Access to Jobs ‐ fragile‐success.rpa.org/maps/jobs.html Page 6 of 13
Training on Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
EP-W-11-011, Task Order No. 046
Conveyal ‐ conveyal.com o OppMap ‐ oppmap.facet.com/ o TransitMix ‐ www.transitmix.net Climate Change Impacts o UrbanFootprint (Calthorpe Analytics) ‐ calthorpeanalytics.com/index.html#tabswrap o ClearPath  www.icleiusa.org/tools/clearpath  www.icleiusa.org/ Interactive Sketch Modeling o SketchUp ‐ www.sketchup.com Regional Land Use and Transportation Plans o UrbanFootprint ‐ Calthorpe Analytics ‐ calthorpeanalytics.com o UrbanSim/UrbanCanvas ‐ www.synthicity.com/urbansim/ o Envision Tomorrow ‐ www.envisiontomorrow.org Transportation Forecasting or Other Modeling Software o Cube 6 ‐ citilabs.com/cloud/cube.php o Vissim ‐ www.vissim.com/ o
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Recovery and Resiliency Tools
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HAZUS ‐ www.fema.gov/hazus SWMM ‐ www.epa.gov/athens/wwqtsc/html/swmm.html NOAA Digital Coast Tools ‐ coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/list EJ Screen ‐ icma.org/en/icma/knowledge_network/documents/kn/ Document/306760/EPA_EJSCREEN_Fact_Sheet Page 7 of 13
Training on Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
EP-W-11-011, Task Order No. 046
Engagement and Communication Tools & Techniques
Visualization Tools
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Visualization of storm surges, flooding, and sea level rise o Google Earth ‐ www.google.com/earth/ o NOAA Digital Coast Tools ‐ coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/list o Surging Seas ‐ sealevel.climatecentral.org Digital Storytelling ‐ www.planningtoolexchange.org/tool/digital‐storytelling o Lyons, CO example ‐ placematters.org/blog/2014/08/15/using‐digital‐
storytelling‐to‐find‐common‐ground‐in‐lyons‐co/ Visual Preference Surveys o Summary ‐ www.planning.dot.gov/publicinvolvement/pi_documents/4c‐g.asp o Example (Yonkers, NY) ‐ www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1739778/lawrenceneighborhood Rule‐based 3D visualization o CityEngine ‐ www.esri.com/software/cityengine o UrbanCanvas ‐ www.synthicity.com/urbancanvas/ Visualization of transportation options, tradeoffs, and access o RPA Access to Jobs tool (with Conveyal) ‐ fragile‐success.rpa.org/maps/jobs.html http://conveyal.com o Transitmix, tool for iterative, real‐time transit planning ‐ www.transitmix.net o RideScout (iPhone/iPad) ‐ www.ridescoutapp.com/ o OpenBike ‐ openbike.co/ Equity, Access, and Long Term Planning
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HUD Location Affordability Portal ‐ www.locationaffordability.info Streetmix, interactive bi‐section street design ‐ www.streetmix.net/ Aging in Place Tools ‐ placematters.org/blog/2014/09/09/tools‐for‐aging‐in‐place/ First + Final Mile Access to Transportation o WALKscope ‐ www.walkscope.org/ o First + Final Mile Access, and PlaceMatters Scoping Toolkit ‐ placematters.org/blog/2014/11/16/first‐final‐mile‐connectivity‐and‐equitable‐
access‐in‐transportation/ Idea Generation, Prioritization, and Communication
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Brainstorm Anywhere, ideation and prioritization for multi‐table meetings ‐ brainstorm‐
placematters.rhcloud.com Page 8 of 13
Training on Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
EP-W-11-011, Task Order No. 046
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CrowdGauge, online prioritization and visualization tool ‐ crowdgauge.org  Live Example ‐ crowdgauge‐duplicate.herokuapp.com Keypad Polling ‐ www.planningtoolexchange.org/tool/keypad‐polling UserVoice, ideation platform ‐ www.uservoice.com/ Field Papers, capturing data using paper maps ‐ fieldpapers.org Captricity, capturing data from hand‐written surveys ‐ captricity.com/ Engaging Plans ‐ urbaninteractivestudio.com/engagingplans/ NationBuilder ‐ nationbuilder.com/ MetroQuest ‐ metroquest.com Engagement Techniques
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Textizen, mobile phone polling ‐ extizen.com Public Coffee, mobile coffee truck engagement model ‐ www.public‐coffee.com o Book Download: public‐coffee.com/Public‐Coffee.pdf Tactical Urbanism and Pop‐up Design o Parklets, Park[ing] Day ‐ parkingday.org/ o Placemaking ‐ www.pps.org/ o Pop‐up bike infrastructure ‐ rethinkurban.com/2014/creative‐change/3‐steps‐to‐
better‐bike‐lanes‐right‐now/ o Walk [Your City], Wayfinding Signs ‐ walkyourcity.org/ Crowdsourcing data tools and techniques o WALKscope example – www.walkscope.org/ o LocalData, geospatial data capture tools ‐ localdata.com  Github repository ‐ github.com/LocalData The NCI Charrette System ‐ www.charretteinstitute.org/ Gaming: o SimCity BuildIt, city design (iPhone/iPad) o MiniMetro, transit design ‐ dinopoloclub.com/minimetro/ o Legos, simulating city design (pros/cons) ‐ www.citylab.com/design/2013/02/imagine‐playing‐sim‐city‐real‐life/4652/ Page 9 of 13
Training on Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
EP-W-11-011, Task Order No. 046
For Further Reference
Best Practices and White Papers of Interest
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Active Design Guidelines, Center for Active Design ‐ centerforactivedesign.org/guidelines/ Complete Streets Guidelines, Alta ‐ www.altaplanning.com/wp‐
content/uploads/Alta_Complete‐Streets_Quals.pdf The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2014, Smart Growth America ‐ www.smartgrowthamerica.org/complete‐streets‐2014‐analysis Bikeway Facility Design Best Practices, City of Portland ‐ www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/article/334689 Public Engagement Tools List, PlaceMatters ‐ placematters.org/blog/wp‐
content/uploads/2014/05/PublicEngagementTools_05.22.14.pdf Digital Outreach in Salt Lake City: Evaluating Effectiveness & Synthesizing Input, PlaceMatters ‐ placematters.org/blog/wp‐content/uploads/2014/03/SLC_Report‐
FINAL.pdf Engagement Tech For All: Best Practices for Using Technology in Engaging Underrepresented Communities in Planning, PlaceMatters ‐ placematters.org/blog/2014/03/12/ engagement‐tech‐for‐all/ Examples from Presentations
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On‐street bike parking pilot program, Denver, CO ‐ www.denvergov.org/BicyclinginDenver/tabid/437709/Default.aspx Bus station improvements, Pittsburgh, PA ‐ wesa.fm/post/no‐average‐bus‐shelter‐new‐
super‐stop‐opens‐robinson Rabalder Park, skatepark/drainage, Denmark ‐ gizmodo.com/this‐skatepark‐is‐a‐
drainage‐system‐in‐disguise‐513417730 Innovative uses of public spaces ‐ www.planetizen.com/toppublicspaces Yonkers, NY, Brownfields Redevelopment Engagement Case Study ‐ placematters.org/blog/2014/11/03/yonkers‐ny‐street‐festival‐to‐gather‐public‐input‐on‐
brownfields‐redevelopment/ Page 10 of 13
Training on Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
EP-W-11-011, Task Order No. 046
Final Project Groups & Pictures
The full group after final presentations.
Coastal Re-Development - Making the Case for Evolution in Suburban Zoning
● Jonathan Halfon, FEMA ● Gabrielle Alper, Sustainable Long Island ● Matt Arancio, Suffolk County ● Tiffany‐Ann Taylor, Suffolk County Page 11 of 13
Training on Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
EP-W-11-011, Task Order No. 046
CommunityViz and FEMA’s Environmental Benefits Calculator for Evaluating Open
Space Restoration and Property Acquisition
● Camilo Salazar, Suffolk County ● Nancy Pierson, Suffolk County ● Caroline Maasa, FEMA ● Susan Filipowich, Suffolk County (not present in photograph) Page 12 of 13
Training on Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
EP-W-11-011, Task Order No. 046
Identifying Suitable Locations for Secondary Sewage Treatment Plant
● Abrom Shepard, FEMA ● Bob Chirillo, Town of Islip Elevating Structures in Barnum Island/Harbor Isle/Island Park
● Laura Blackstone, FEMA ● Wes Sternberg ‐ Town of North Hempstead ● John Bolognini ‐ Nassau County Page 13 of 13
Attachment 1
5-Day Training Agenda
Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
5-Day Training Agenda
Day 1
8:30 am
Get Settled and Welcome Overview (FEMA/EPA)
9:00 am
Group Presentation
 Agenda review - today and through Friday
 Planning & resiliency - the ingredients of good planning
9:45 am
Roundtable Discussion
 Stakeholder storylines
 Roundtable reports
10:45 am
Break
11:00 am
High Tech Planning Tools and Techniques - Deeper Dive
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The power of mapping tools and their multiple applications
Communicating complexity
CommunityViz - HAZUS - EJ Screen
Additional tools and techniques applicable to the storylines shared
12:00 pm
Lunch Onsite (Time for networking - Opportunity to see DIY smart table)
1:00 pm
High Tech Planning Tools and Techniques (continued)
2:00 pm
High Touch Planning Tools and Techniques
 Stakeholder engagement
 Group activity: Public Coffee Break
 Additional tools and techniques applicable to the storylines shared
3:15 pm
Opportunities for Building Agency Capacity and Interagency Collaboration
3:45 pm
Overview of Training for Week
4:30 pm
End
Day 2
8:30 am
Get settled and introductions
9:00 am
Explore CommunityViz
1
Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
5-Day Training Agenda
9:45 am
Dynamic analysis concepts
 Dynamic Attributes
10:30 am
Break
10:45 am
Dynamic analysis concepts (continued)
 Assumptions
 Indicators
12:00 pm
Lunch
1:00 pm
Decision tools
 360 Indicators
 Suitability
2:30 pm
Break
2:45 pm
Decision tools
 Build-Out
 TimeScope
 Common Impacts
4:30 pm
End
Day 3
8:30 am
Review decision tools
9:00 am
Demos of other tools
 EJ Screen
10:00 am
Break
10:15 am
Demos
 NOAA Digital Coast
 Hazus-MH
12:15pm
Lunch
2
Scenario Planning and Smart Growth for Superstorm Sandy Recovery on Long Island
5-Day Training Agenda
1:15 pm
Exercise: Importing data and models into CommunityViz
2:15 pm
Break
2:30 pm
Discussion of projects
 Break into individual or small groups
 Define problem statement by group and develop work plan
4:30 pm End
Day 4
8:30 am
Break into project groups to begin building analysis
10:15 am
Break
10:30 am
Continue project work
12:00 pm
Lunch
1:00 pm
Brief presentation on workshop techniques
1:45 pm
Continue project work
4:30 pm End
Day 5
8:30 am
Break into project groups to work on workshop materials
10:15 am
Break
10:30 am
Continue preparation for workshop materials
12:00 pm
Lunch
1:00 pm
Groups present and/or take other teams through exercises
2:00 pm
Wrap Up
2:30 pm
End
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