L’evento è disponibile solo in lingua inglese

Lecturer
David C. Major, PhD
Senior Research Scientist
Columbia University Earth Institute – Center for Climate System research

Abstract
New York City has long been a leader among world cities in understanding and planning for the impacts of climate change, especially higher sea levels and storm surge; key elements of the City’s approach are described.  Hurricane Sandy struck the New York/New Jersey coastal area on October 29, 2012.  It was the widest hurricane measured in the North Atlantic in recent history and followed an unusual storm track.  Economic damages to the City totaled about $US 19 Billion.  Despite the force of the storm, some management systems and infrastructure elements were well designed and avoided or minimized damages; other management systems and infrastructure elements were poorly designed, which resulted in very significant damages.  Important lessons for cities are drawn from the examples presented as well as from New York’s overall experience with Sandy.  Proposals designed to increase the City’s resilience following Sandy’s impacts are described.

Brief Biography
David C. Major, Ph.D.
Dr. David C. Major is Senior Research Scientist at the Columbia University Earth Institute’s Center for Climate Systems Research. He completed his undergraduate work at Wesleyan University and the London School of Economics, and received the Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard.  Dr. Major has been a faculty member at MIT and at Clark University, a Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall, Cambridge, a senior planner with the New York City Water Supply System, and Program Director for Global Environmental Change at the Social Science Research Council.  His principal scientific research focus at Columbia is the adaptation of critical urban infrastructure to climate change.  Dr. Major is the author, co-author or co-editor of fourteen books on multipurpose, multi-objective water resources planning, infrastructure evaluation, adaptation to climate change, literature and biography.