a report from Councillor Craig Kelley, Chair of the Public Safety Committee, for a public hearing held on April 12, 2018 to discuss Neighborhood-Based Resiliency

c, c, 106 City at Cambringe In City Council May 7, 2018 The Public Safety Committee held a public hearing on April 12, 2018 at 4:04 P.M. in the Sullivan Chamber. The purpose of the hearing was to review the 2017 Mayor's Special Advisory Committee on Neighborhood-Based Resiliency Report. Present at the hearing were Councillor Kelley, Chair of the Committee, Councillor Carlone, Vice Mayor Devereux, Councillor Siddiqui, Councillor Toomey, Councillor Simmons, Councillor Zondervan, Assistant City Manager for Community Development Department Iram Farooq, Director of Environmental and Transportation Planning, CDD, Susanne Rasmussen, John Bolduc, Environmental Planner, CDD, Public Works Commissioner Owen O'Riordan, Assistant Public Works Commissioner John Nardone, Nancy Glowa, City Solicitor, Chief Public Health Officer Claude Jacob, Director of Environmental Health, Health Department, Sam Lipson, Manager of Community Resiliency and Preparedness, Health Department, Kari Sasportas, Nancy Rihan Porter Viative Practices, Health Department and City Clerk Donna P. Lopez. Also present were Steve Wineman. Councillor Kelley convened the hearing and explained the purpose. He stated that former Mayor appointed the Special Advisory Committee on Neighborhood-Based Resiliency. An Agenda was distributed (ATTACHMENT A). The meeting will review the report and make minor grammatical corrections to the report. The hearing is being audio recorded privately. Introductions were made. He asked all to shut eyes and think about what they thought was normal. When they opened their eyes, he stated that the normal of today is not the normal of the future. The new normal will not be what is in the past and municipal workers are facing the new normal. He gave a PowerPoint presentation. (ATTACHMENT B). He explained the effort of the committee. He stated that resiliency means different thing to different people. He spoke about demographics change. He spoke about the safety issues that impact people daily. He spoke about the entities that interact with Cambridge. He outlined what a resilient Cambridge is. Massachusetts is a home rule state which means that there is an immense amount of power at the local level. He spoke about all the different forms of government throughout the state. He stated that resiliency is an ongoing discussion. He stated that resiliency was defined, which took a long time. He read the definition of resiliency formed by the advisory committee. He spoke about the makeup of the advisory committee and the experts of the municipality who came to speak. Some answers were reached. In a case of an emergency it is better to rely on neighbors rather than the government. He spoke 1

about how to make resiliency happen. He stated that the resiliency discussion has no easy answers and is costly. He urged taking risk and forgiving failure. He stated that the committee came up with resiliency challenges. He outlined the components of a resilient City. He stated that it the individuals in the City are not personally prepared, resiliency will not occur. He spoke about the need for on-going review. He spoke about traditional stresses and non-traditional stresses. NYC office of emergency management has a "resiliency girl." He outlined the committee recommendations. He stated that the climate of the future is not friendly to trees and what should be planted that will thrive both now and in the future, is a concern. He spoke about formalizing answers to resiliency questions for city employees. He concluded that resiliency is a never-ending process and is expensive and is time-consuming. Mr. Gutierrez outlined the corrections to the report (ATTACHMENT C). Councillor Kelley opened the hearing to the City Council. Councillor Zondervan stated that this report is needed. The City Council will be considering a zoning petition that will deal with this. He commended the work. Ther te no easy answers or quick fix and this is expensive. The community aspect is the mos difficult part but is very important as illustrated when a neighbor saved his father who was having a stroke. The community relationship is important to the survival of those who live here. Resiliency is expensive and having a credit card is useful, as when he updated his registration and, on the spot, avoided towing. When a hurricane comes to FL you pack up your things and move away. He noted that without a car, which is something Cambridge is emphasizing, people cannot as easily escape in an emergency situation. Councillor Carlone stated that he was impressed with the substance and the range of issues covered in the report. It raised a lot of urban design issues and included public health issues. The difference between older and newer cities is the scale of the height and the lack of places where people can connect. The more corners that there are in cities the more people get to know each other. He spoke about how multiple entry on streets would help the social cohesion. It is not the design of the building; it is the design of the public space. He spoke about the complexity making sure people are connected the city. Councillor Simmons stated that the report was a broad view of resiliency. This was brought down to a granular level. Councillor Siddiqui stated that the focus is on the recommendations. The primary recommendation is on a Chief Resiliency Officer (CRO), where is the City on this. Councillor Kelley responded nowhere. He wanted support from the City Council before approaching the City Manager on this. Councillor Simmons asked about the duties and responsibilities are they housed in other departments. Councillor Kelley responded that there is no unifying theme. The City is not centrally organized in approaching the discussion. 2

Vice Mayor Devereux stated that resiliency is directed to climate change because of uncertain atmospheric conditions. This addresses the life of the city in the 21st century and could apply to other cities. This is not unique to Cambridge. Living alone can be dangerous. And it is a huge challenge to figure out how City staff, with all the other things they are doing, can address these issues. She spoke about the City responsibilities daily and how societal shifts will change this. She stated that it would be smart to have a CRO. She added that this is a broader problem to her. Councillor Kelley stated that he spoke to those in senior housing buildings. The committee heard that their biggest fear is dying in their room and no one finding them until the smell. He spoke about whose responsibility this is. Mr. Jacob outlined the work done by the Health Department. He stated that post 911 public health departments have changed. Ms. Sasportas is the Manager of Resiliency and Emergency Preparedness. He explained the work done by the employees present from the Public Health Department, to include injury and violence prevention, mental health first aid, environmental health and safety and resiliency planning. He was in Chicago during the deadly heat wave and understood that social isolation is a big factor in these events. He spoke about senior who are isolated. He outlined the talents of Ms. Sasportas and her work performance. Ms. Sasportas spoke about the scope of the report. She stated that the scope of her work is around resiliency and emergency preparedness. The Public Health Department works with city departments and agencies. A public health consultant is being worked with to reach out to City residents. She spoke about regional outreach for services. Ms. Sasportas spoke about the breakdown of services and how those who need services are being served. The City is preparing for all hazards and is part of a regional coalition that addresses health issues. They are also part of the Cambridge Community Trauma group with the Cambridge Police Department. They are working with a consultant to build climate change preparedness with Port residents, as well as metro-Boston security group on continuity of services to ensure critical agencies can continue to do their jobs. Also working on more of a low-level emphasis on social capital building like Hoops for Health and Meet your Neighbor Day. Ms. Farooq stated that there was a grant through the Rockefeller Foundation for Cities to hire a CRO for a two-year period. Cambridge did not receive the grant; Boston did receive the grant and hired a CRO. She has left the position which was only grant funded for a few years. The scope of the job is huge. This needs to be implemented with an all hands-on deck mode. She spoke about the strong coordination of all city departments. This is a different model of implementation. Councillor Kelley stated that resiliency is about social equity. Councillor Carlone noted that his sister was in Hurricane Sandy and all the cell towers went out. The lack of communication in the dark compounded the situation. This is implied in the report. This was a humbling experience. Mr. O'Riordan spoke about the inability to communicate as the learned during a visit to post-Sandy Hoboken. There used community boards to communicate. Cambridge has installed these low-tech options at a few places. 3

Councillor Zondervan stated that in 2009-2010, the First Climate Congress, it was ne was the chet sustainability officer so that he could communicate across City lepartment. A CRO is a broader category. He stated that Cambridge does a fantastic jol with coordination, but it makes sense to have an overarching coordination of resiliency, a place to park responsibility for public resiliency that may help us to find things that we ave otherwise missed. He stated that there were not always hospitals, fire and polic epartments, but they were established because of the needs and we could do the sam Councillor Simmons stated that as the Chief Executive Officer the City Manager has the overall responsibility of the City but fine tuning by specifically assigning responsibility may be wise. What do we have and how do we get it in one place. In times of distress there needs to be one focal point. She stated that Mr. Gianetti is the one central person where all get the information needed. She stated that in a stressful situation it is not helpful to call five departments to get information. With the fire in East Cambridge all the services were available. Do we want to put this under one central person and have resources be centralized in case of emergency? Councillor Zondervan stated that there are two different resiliencies: emergency response, which we have been doing for a while, and the notion of on-going resiliency for building new structures. He stated that community resiliency is already available, although not all that robustly, but how can it be made available when needed. Councillor Siddiqui asked what has been done since the report was submitted. Councillor Kelley noted that the resiliency is a never-ending discussion. At 5:10 PM Councillor Kelley opened the hearing to public comment. Steve Weismann spoke about the Rockefeller grant for the CRO and was challenged by ine iwo-year model. The committed wanted a permanent CRO. He stated that the CRC needed to collect information to compile best practices and the Committee suggested starting with a relevant conference to compile best practices. The committee struggled with strategy and implementation. There was a vision of what a resilient city looks like but how do we make this happen. The best strategy to make a resiliency city involves hiring a CRO. Nancy Rihan Porter noted that she comes to this from a public health perspective and loneliness is a huge issue. She spoke about the unique way that schools and senior centers can be put under one umbrella, of ways to help people think a neighborhood is theirs. This creates resiliency when the community means more, people take better care of the community, it has a stronger 'bottom up' aspect. She stated that there are a lot of little things that can be done. She wanted to know how we can do better now. She stated that climate change is very important but we have cognitive challenges in understanding it 4

because it has not visually happened. It is up to us to figure out how to engage people in this discussion that does not come naturally Councillor Carlone thanked Ms. Porter for the mental health training she provided to the City Council. He spoke about making areas places. He spoke about places where people are invited. He cited the library as such a place. about looking at a CRO as visiting people door-to-door and hearing what is important to them. This could build resiliency. There are opportunities to distribute work and to make sure that the work is done. As an example, he did that in his family when caring for sick dog. There is always an opportunity to distribute work among many people, but you need someone in charge. There is a need for focused coordination. Councillor Kelley thanked all those present for their attendance. The hearing adjourned at 5:22 P.M. For the Committee, Kelley Councillor Craig Kelley, CHair

ATTACHMENTA PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE COMMITTEE MEETING ~AGENDA - Thursday, April 12, 2018 4:00 PM Sullivan Chamber Call of the Meeting The Public Safety Committee will conduct a public hearing on Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 4:00 PM in the Sullivan Chamber. Public Comment Review Councillor Kelley to review the 2017 Mayor's Special Advisory Committee on Neighborhood-Based Resiliency Report. General Discussion потом City of Cambridge Last Updated: 3/27/2018 2:04 PM cambridgema.gov

ATTACHMENTB Building A Resilient City Assessing and Improving Neighborhood-Based Resiliency in Cambridge A report by the Mayor's Special Committee on Neighborhood-Based Resiliency Councilior Craig A. Kelley, 12/19/17 Cambridge, MA Committee Chair The Process Behind the Cambridge Neighborhood Resiliency Report Craig A. Kelley 12 April 2018

The Tasking CITY OF CAMBRIDGE | Office of the Mayor E. Denise Simmons Mayor March 4, 2016 Councilor Craig Kelley Cambridge City Hall Cambridge, MA 02139 Re: Mayor's Special Advisory Committee on Neighborhood Resiliency Dear Councilor Kelley, am pleased to appoint you as Chair of the new Mayor's Special Advisory Committee o Veighborhood-Based Resiliency, which will be charged with focusing on new and more effective ways t build commumity resilience in the face of climate change and other, more-everyday neighborhood challenges. This 12-14 person ad-hoc committee will be comprised of citizens that represent a broad swath of Cambridge It shall convene monthly starting this month, and will ultimately be asked to advise the Mayor on potentia policies that are geared toward helping neighborhoods build more organic resiliency capacities across multiple As Chair of this committee, I am asking that you invite those you wish to serve upon this taskforce. with the membership drawing upon the following breadth of community voices: someone from a public health organization; someone from the East Cambridge region; a representative resident from the Cambridge Housing individuals from various comers of the community. In addition, it would be wonderful to invite former Vice Mayor Dennis Benzan to join this committee. As per our conversations on this matter, it is hoped that this special committee, with its wide variety of experiences, concems and expertise, will be able to distill what those with a background in disaster preparedness share with the committee, in order to formulate a comprehensive review that non-experts on the City Council and across the community will actually be able to understand and utilize in a meaningful way. I thank you for your willingness to take on this chairmanship, and I look forward to supporting your efforts in any way that I can. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, 00020 = Aunt Mayor E. Denise Simmons CC: City Clerk Donna Lopez CITY HALL, CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS 02139

How We Proceeded First we had to figure out a lot of things

Where is Cambridge? BOSTON Land Use br Parcel as of Jul: 1, 2017 ARLINGTON Cambodge Lancausers SOMERVILLE BOSTON BELMONT BOSTON WATERTOWN eatles pan num 00000: 880: 000003000 0000

Who is Cambridge? 1. Total, Household and Group Quarters Population and Population Density: 1950 - 2010 Group 94 Living in Quarters Dormiton Household Group Population Year Population' Residents' Population Population Per Acre Quarters [phone removed] 120.740 10.396 13.084 28 11,938 1960 107,718 11.15 28 85,775 11.859 B8.502 100,318 1970 11.896 24 85.322 1980 82.888 13.096 12,434 23 10.854 14.033 1990 85,502 11.931 14.6% 23 31,789 101,355 14.5% 88,692 14,803 2000 25 13.129 17,102 105,182 38,060 18.39 28 2010 15.884 1. Residents of Group Quarters include peopie living in of college domitories, hospitals, nursing homes, group homes, and jain. Persons viho do not reside in group quarters reside in householas. 2. Refere to college dormitary residents, who are a subgroup of group quartera residents Total and Household Population 140,000 120,000 100,000 80,000 80,000 40,000 20.000 1950 1960 1070 1880 1990 2000 2008 → Total Population -E Householt Fopulation File 1, 2000; P.L. 94171 Census Redistreling Data, 2010. Fage 1 June 1, 2011 aninsannamin a.

What is Cambridge? DUDLE HARVARD ANIMAL CONTROL/RESCUE

And There Is More 'ENTRALMASS COMMUNITIES * DEPARTMENT OF act Massachoseits ph Wey moutt CONSERVATION MASSACHUSETIS STATE VE POLICE TAS HARVARD EVERS-URCE Moving Massachusetts Forward. massDOT MAPC

Given all that (and still more) What Is A Resilient Cambridge? sentry NYPD 224579190 EMERGENCY CALL 911 LIFE RING

YES TO ALL OF THAT! But first.......

Context is important and Massachusetts is a "Home Rule" State Everything is political and all politics is local, and.....

Local Can Get CRAZY!!! 351 Separate Jurisdictions MASSACHUSETTS CITIES AND TOWNS Each with its own local concerns about • Zoning • Permitting • Taxes • Staffing • Traffic EtC.

Each Town or City has its Specific Form of Government And Its Own Fickle Voters

So perhaps..... Resiliency is a community discussion

And in a discussion you need to know what you're discussing resiliency: the capacity of individuals, neighborhoods, institutions, businesses, and systems within a city to equitably survive and adapt to persistent changes, chronic stresses, and acute shocks.

And Who Is Discussing It Committee Members In her letter establishing the Committee, Mayor Simmons tasked the chair with assembling a Committee "with membership drawing upon the following breath of community voices." With a diverse Committee, pulling in a "wide variety of experiences, concerns and expertise," the Committee could "distill what those with a background in disaster preparedness share with the committee, in order to formulate a comprehensive review that non-experts on the City Council and across the community will actually be able to understand and utilize in a meaningful way." Accordingly, the following members of the public served as members of the Committee. • Craig A. Kelley, Chair • Ethridge King, Vice Chair • Marc Aidinoff • Sonia Andujar • Suni Dillard • Gary Dmytryk • Emily Harrison • Julia Holloway • Gail Kubik • Sean Rogers • Sam Seidel • Tony Spears • Steven Wineman • Wilford Durbin, Secretary to the Committee

And Who The Experts are • Cambridge Inspectional Services Department • Cambridge Fire Department • Cambridge Department of Public Health • Cambridge Community Development Department • Cambridge Police Department • Cambridge Department of Public Works • Cambridge Water Department • Salvation Army • Eversource Power • Northeastern University Additionally, Committee Chair Councillor Kelley met separately with representatives from various Cambridge and non-Cambridge businesses and institutions, including: • Harvard University • MIT • Lesley College • Boston Properties • Cambridge Innovation Center • Boston Chief Resiliency Officer, Dr. Atyia Martin • Cambridge Public School District • Residents of numerous Cambridge Housing Authority buildings • Commonwealth (formerly Doorway to Dreams)

And If You Meet Enough Times ..2 March 29, 2016.. 8 April 26, 2016.. 17 May 31, 2016 25 June 28, 2016 ............. July 26,2016 August 30, 2016 . 41 .53 September 27, 2016. . 61 October 25, 2016. November 29, 2016. 69 January 31, 2017. 83 March 28, 2017. . 91 25 April, 2017. ,94 May 30, 2017

You Can Come Up With Some "Answers" But remember.... In an emergency, it's better to rely on neighbors than on the government.

How To Make It Happen Some thoughts..... • Be intentional • Be focused • Be inclusive • Be willing to spend money • Be consistent • Beware of easy fixes • Be thinking about long time horizons • Be willing to take risks and forgive failure

What We Came Up With Remember, this is Cambridge. COVIS ITTVIES LITERIS ANTIOVIS CHICO ECIMINE DONAT It is not any other town or city

Cambridge's Resiliency Challenges • Lack of Social Cohesion • Lack of Affordable Housing • Inequitable Wealth Distribution • Inequitable Education Results • Inequitable Food Access • Urban Heat Island Effect • Flooding • Electric Grid Vulnerabilities • General Safety Issues • Fire • Mental Health • Crime • Overdoses • People with Special needs

Components of a Resilient City • Chief Resiliency Officer (CRO) • Trust (all ways) • Neighborhood Connections • Ability to meet the needs of its most vulnerable populations • Resiliency programs that are "bottom up" in nature • Individuals, families & households and neighborhoods that are "prepared"

Recommendations for Building a Resilient City Social Structure • Hire a CRO • Expand Resiliency Planning beyond City agencies • Conduct ongoing reviews of ability to meet traditional and non-traditional stresses • Establish partnerships between City and Community Stakeholders • Create and train resiliency teams

Recommendations for Building a Resilient City Social Structure (continued) • Implement financial literacy curriculums • Implement Documentation Protection Programs • Improve Neighborhood Building events

Recommendations for Building a Resilient City Infrastructure • Protect Fresh Pond • Reduce Paved Surfaces • Improve Tree Canopy

Recommendations for Building a Resilient City Policy • Zoning • Green Roofs • Power Storage and Generation • Flooding Mitigation • Property Permeability & Open Space • Ease Permitting for Community Building events • Review Employee Responsibility and Training for Resiliency • Conduct and Discuss (Locally) City- Wide Resiliency Audit

And in Conclusion...... Building Neighborhood Resiliency is • A never-ending process • Expensive • Time consuming and.... • Something you cannot do retroactively Getting Resiliency right is too important to be left to chance And there is more depending on getting it right than you may realize

ATTACHMENTC Executive Summary The Mayor's Special Committee on Neighborhood-Based Resiliency was convened by Mayor Denise Simmons in 2016, chaired by Councillor Craig Kelley, and met monthly for more than a year. Committee members represented a broad spectrum of Cambridge. The Committee gathered information from City staff, non-profit organizations, subject matter experts, businesses, and institutions. Starting with a focus on the effects of climate change, the Committee developed a broader view of the social, economic, and personal vulnerabilities and needs which are described in this report. The This report identifies resiliency challenges in the interconnected areas of infrastructure, social structure, and policy. The report's principal recommendation is the establishment of a Chief Resiliency Officer (CRO) as a permanent City position. A CRO can spearhead and coordinate efforts at all levels, playing a vital role in the achievement of resiliency measures including: increased social cohesion and mutual assistance in the neighborhoods; expanded citizen participation in resiliency planning: greater cooperation between City agencies; ongoing assessment of City policies and practices for their impacts on neighborhood resiliency; establishing resiliency partnerships between the City and faith-based organizations, non-profits, businesses, universities, neighborhood associations, and other institutions; infrastructure measures to address storm water intrusion, reduction in paved surfaces, and expanding the City's tree canopy: and zoning changes in areas such as green roofs, onsite power generation, and flooding notification and response plans. Committee Member, Steve Wineman Page 4 of 25

The Committee maintained a familiar definition of neighborhoods as the same geographic entities Cambridge uses to discuss them, numbers One through Eleven with the understanding that it was important to always think about how neighborhoods blur, and cross over. Although there are a number of entities that help build and sustain resiliency in and around Cambridge, such as the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the State Police and so forth, the Committee focused its attention primarily on those entities over which Cambridge has direct control, such as DPW or the Water Department. There was a secondary emphasis on partner-type organizations that exist in Cambridge such as our universities, non-profits, faith communities or commercial entities. The role of individual citizens and their households, as well as where their resiliency efforts might intersect with other work in this field was always at the center of the Committee's discussions. As the Committee thought about resiliency, it began to use resiliency as a way to consider issues on two different dimensions. Take the issue of whether or not we have a resilient voting process in Cambridge. At first we might think of the problem from a downside risk perspective. For example, what happens if the voting polis are compromised in any way or if voters cant get to the polls? Our understanding is that Cambridge does not, in fact, have a back-up plan in place. A "Plan B" approach would be a good example of how the Committee worked through some scenario planning. However, as the Committee looked more and more at resiliency, we began to also think about what the upside perspective of resiliency would be. In the voting example, we might think about how we'd create a climate and ecosystem where voters wanted to vote, found it easy to get to the polls, and had access to information needed to make create a positive experience. Similarly, take the example of food availability. We can think about whether or not trucks may not be able to deliver food to supermarkets and how long it would take for suppliers to run out of food. Or we could think about food waste, the effectiveness of food "sell by" dates, and making communal gardening more widely available. As you'll see in the report, many of the issues the Committee grappled with can be viewed through multiple lenses. We believe, then, that resiliency can be viewed as a process of working through challenges on multiple dimensions and, in fact, that building out a broader perspective of both proactive and reactive scenarios is itself an important part of building resiliency. Page 7 of 25

Findings During its early discussions, the Committee approached the issue of neighborhood-based resiliency with a heavy emphasis on climate change and the need for neighborhoods to be resistant to threats, such as flooding, extreme heat, drought, flash floods, invasive species and similar climate-related natural challenges. Over the course of its work the Committee realized that, especially for Cambridge's most vulnerable residents, being resilient also includes job security, financial literacy, and access to appropriate food options, affordable housing, and similar immediate needs. Climate change remains a specific resiliency threat but it is also a 'force magnifier' for other resiliency challenges. After reviewing a wide variety of inputs, the Committee found that there were three actionable areas for improvement: infrastructural resiliency, soft structure resiliency, and policy changes. The first consists of engineering and preparedness issues, the second focuses on human capital, social cohesion and social science issues, and finally City policies include zoning and licensing changes. While these three types of resiliency often complement each other and are each important, it was often noted that there is frequently a gap between them. The Committee further recognized that past examples of resiliency challenges, whether from storms or financial upheavals, can be informative in developing current resiliency plans but are not dispositive-our collective future contains vast amounts of uncharted territory that will require imagination, knowledge and flexibility to successfully navigate. In the face of a changing world, resiliency must reflect ongoing and emerging needs. The need for resiliency efforts to be continuously adaptive in nature makes a formal and intentional civic and municipal focus on resiliency all the more important or our resiliency efforts will quickly become outdated and inadequate. Based on its work over more than a year, the Committee came up with specific requirements for, and characteristics of, a resilient city. The Committee also developed a number of specific recommendations for improving resiliency in Cambridge's neighborhoods. While some resiliency efforts, such as 'flood proofing' Fresh Pond, require significant capital investments at the municipal level, many resiliency efforts, such as putting personal labels on electronic devices for easy identification and return should they be misplaced, are not only simple but have daily applicability. True resiliency focuses on building core competencies to meet life's challenges at a minor level which, woven together as individuals and communities, build a greater level of communal resiliency than the sum of the various parts and can help mitigate the impact of 'problems of consequence." Nonetheless, neighborhood-based resiliency requires significant investment by municipal government in terms of intentional outreach and education, assistance in evaluating and addressing risks, developing protocols for assessing resiliency impacts of government decisions and so forth. Because effective emergency planning decreases the impact of disasters at all levels, such municipal resiliency programs may pay for themselves in avoided costs when stressful situations occur. To ensure that Cambridge focuses, and stays focused, on the challenges of building resiliency at the neighborhood level, the Committee recommends that it create the position of a Chief Resiliency Officer. This position, already adopted in many other cities such as Boston and Baltimore, would allow the City Page B of 25

Cambridge's Resiliency Challenges Through its conversations with various community stakeholders, the Committee identified several resiliency challenges to Cambridge residents that should be addressed by community leaders in municipal government, nonprofits, universities, and neighborhoods. A number of these challenges are also reflected in Cambridge-specific data such as Community Development Department (CDD) reports, but many identified challenges reflect perceived or intuitive aspects of resiliency and as such are not directly supported by Cambridge-specific data. Some of these challenges present as traumatic events to which residents must respond and are acute. These might include flooding events, fires, or increasingly violent storms. In addition to these challenges, we have added systemic, or passive challenges, which are at the core of one's ability to respond to a traumatic event resiliently. All structures in a neighborhood might sustain comparable damage from a flooding event, for example, but the ability of residents and families to mitigate that impact—whether to adapt or thrive in the aftermath-depends heavily on countless other resiliency factors. Resiliency challenges such as lack of social cohesion, inequitable wealth distribution, and inequitable educational results, problematic in their own right, can multiply or enhance the stress and disruption of a traumatic event. When families struggle to meet the demands of everyday life, traumatic events and disasters can prove existential. Building resilient neighborhoods, then, will require that municipal authorities address systemic resiliency challenges to allow all residents to mitigate shared traumas and adapt equitably. Although these systemic challenges are listed separately here, they can be and often are, combined, and may be applicable to any applicable acute traumatic events. Lack of Social Cohesion • Isolated individuals without a neighborhood network to share resources, skills, and institutional access are more at risk to all threats. This can be especially true for seniors, transient communities, recent immigrants, non-English speakers, and undocumented immigrants. As a college town, Cambridge experiences a frequent churn of transient residents. As much as 31.3% of the Cambridge population are individuals 18 years or older who are enrolled full-time or part-time in a college or graduate school degree program. • Cambridge has a disproportionate number of renters, with some 65.4% of housing units being rented. (CDD, Demographics and Statistics FAQ) Fences between yards, lack of common spaces in dense neighborhoods, and infrequent connection outside of the local community make building social cohesion tougher for residents. Lack of Affordable Housing The rise of housing prices, for both rent and purchase, has made it difficult for many people to live in Cambridge without paying well over 30% of their income in rent. (CDD, Middle- Income Rental Program) Page 10 of 25

Inequitable Food Access Food swamps lack in access of healthy or diverse foods, typically offering only to low- nutrition food for many of Cambridge's more vulnerable residents. "High-end" supermarkets such as Whole Foods are not accessed equally, increasing gentrification in some markets. Expense of food and other issues, such as understanding how to cook certain foods, can result in poor nutrition meals even where healthier options are geographically accessible. Urban Heat Island Effect • Cambridge is expected to have three times as many cooling days in 2030 as it does now. Decreasing tree canopy around the City increases localized Urban Heat Island Effects. (Cambridge)(Cambride) Paving of parking lots, driveways, streets and so forth increases Urban Heat Island Effect. Urban Heat Island Effect is especially dangerous for seniors without dependable access to air conditioned spaces, to include sleeping spaces. Flooding Much of Cambridge is in a 100/500 year floodplain such as Alewife, meaning that during a storm event that statistically should happen only once every 100/500 years, the area will experience flooding. Other parts of Cambridge are subject to localized drainage backups and floods during intense rainfall or snowmelt events such as The Port. Cambridge) (Cambride • Eventually, Sea Level Rise (SLR) and storm surges will push floodwater from Boston Harbor over or around the Mystic and Charles River dams, flooding adjacent lands. While this level of flooding is not anticipated to occur for decades, it is possible that such flooding will occur sooner than predicted. Additionally, flooding of the Charles and Mystic River systems, to include the Alewife Brook, can happen if precipitation overwhelms the Rivers' dams' abilities to pump water past the dam and into the Harbor. Flooding of underground structures such as basements or parking garages can occur overland or through groundwater movement in Cambridge's porous soils. • Cambridge's flooding would largely be 'bathtub' type flooding without destructive currents, but flood water of any type is highly contaminated and the resulting flood debris would pose considerable cleanup challenges. • Flooding can be very localized and somewhat unpredictable, sometimes even depending on whether a sewer drain has become clogged with leaves or snow & ice during a precipitation or melting event. Electric Grid Vulnerabilities • Alewife substation is in a flood prone area. • The general grid is vulnerable to malicious actions or accidents as well as simple overload, most especially on our hottest days when air conditioning units are most needed. Page 12 of 25

Components of a Resilient City A resilient city is made up of a variety of interlocking parts, none of which result in true resiliency on its own but all of which when connected to each other, burld a resilient system. The pieces of resilency will be different for different situations, but there are a number of overarching themes that, when followed, will help lay the foundation for a truly resilient city and its neighborhoods. Chief Resiliency Officer A permanent Chief Resiliency Officer (CRO) who works out of the City Manager's Office, or perhaps in a specific office like the Peace Commission, and interacts with all Departments, with particular focus on the outreach and services provided by: •Community Development Department • Department of Public Health • Department of Public Works (DPW) • Cambridge Police Department • Emergency Operations Center The point is not so much that the CRO has a specific work station but that they are a known resource for City staff who provides required oversight of all City actions from a resiliency perspective and can tap into existing knowledge and communication networks to expand the impact of resiliency planning efforts. A CRO's duties would include: • Developing a comprehensive strategy to help create a common understanding of the characteristics of a resilient neighborhood. • Reaching out to underprivileged or at-risk populations to emphasis the importance of resiliency to ensure their resiliency capacity is on par with their more affluent peers. • Developing a resiliency 'train the trainer' program for resiliency for resiliency implementation efforts. • Promoting resiliency on a regular basis at all levels. • Assessing City actions for resiliency and making specific suggestions on how to improve it. • Ensuring that resiliency projects have an immediate positive impact while proactively addressing future challenges. • Identifying localized resiliency issues, to include ones noted in Cambridge's existing Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation work. (Cambridge) {Cambride • Convening CRO conference for similar resiliency professionals. • Bringing resiliency-related discussions to the constituents at community meetings, school councils, libraries and similar spaces where residents interact with each other and local government. • Identifying, accessing and expanding existing resiliency programs, whether categorized as such or not. For example, in an expanded definition of "resiliency" that goes beyond climate change, the Department of Public Health's Mental Health First Aid training program is just as important of a tool as is the Public Work's Urban Forestry program. Page 14 of 25

Ability to Address the Needs of its Most Vulnerable Populations A resilient city has a formalized, intentional and effective way of addressing the needs and concerns of its most vulnerable populations that reflects, among other things, linguistic, cultural and religious variations. These populations, who are often disassociated from City leaders and decision makers, include: • Seniors, who are especially vulnerable to heat events or financial fraud, may find it difficult to navigate the wide array of resources available to them. • People with disabilities • Mentally • People with Mental Health issues can present particular challenges during both routine and stressful life events. Having a core set of city staff and other individuals or institutional actors who can recognize and respond to such circumstances in an appropriate manner can mitigate problematic situations_ • Physically • All city policies and actions, from on-street parking delineations to snow clearance to building renovations, need to reflect the mobility and other challenges experienced by people who, temporarily or permanently, have physical limitations such as being deaf, being blind, being unable to walk and so forth. • Non-English speakers must have access to appropriate documentation in a language or format that they can understand and act on. This includes not only having flyers and handouts in multiple languages but also ensuring that videos and other communication efforts do not assume that all viewers speak English or do have other constraints in accessing city messaging efforts. Resiliency Programs that are bottom-up in nature Resiliency programs are, by nature, imbued with redundancy and work best when they originate from the 'bottom' rather than being driven from the 'top.!' A city that that has a common basic level of preparedness is better able to address all challenges, whether acute or chronic. The specifics of basic preparedness vary from situation to situation and require intentional planning in all circumstances, but in general, basic preparedness includes the following: Individuals _Have an adequate supply of medication on hand for home and travel and storage capacity, such as coolers, for medications requiring special attention • Minimize the disruptions to daily activities resulting from electric loss, to include access to flashlights and batteries, having backup phone chargers and understanding how various systems, such as heat, air conditioning and elevators, may be impacted by a power outage. • Have effective communication plans to include redundancies such as backups of important numbers & emails on laminated card in wallet. • Understand their financial situation and act appropriately • Identify and protect important documents such as: • Passport • Birth Certificate Page 16 of 25

• Account passwords • Bearer bonds Pictures • Health care proxies and similar legal documents • Have a variety of basic life skills such as Car care Knowledge of personal allergies • Ongoing attentiveness to particular hazards Ice • Tripping hazards • Texting while walking or driving • Understanding of how the impact of personal limitations, especially temporary ones such as a broken leg, may impact ability to move in a fire situation, an MBTA emergency, a stormy day, etc. Families and Households • Understand, as a family or as household of unrelated individuals, the importance of things like realistic communication plans, pre-arranged meeting places should members become separated in an event, the special needs of children, how to manage allergies and other situationally important issues. Periodically review resiliency efforts and, as appropriate, practice drills such as escaping a burning home. Neighborhoods • A resilient neighborhood has plans and resources, developed and staged ahead of time, to handle a variety of stressful events, emphasizing: • An event's unique challenges • The importance of coping with challenges as a community with an emphasis on mutual assistance • Reliance on jointly held resources, both personal and governmental, rather than individual stockpiling of necessities • A resilient neighborhood has clear and commonly understood expectations about the City's role and relevant constraints in: Assisting with preparedness planning • Carrying out response operations • Undertaking ongoing maintenance operations • Training and supporting City staff and residents in building resiliency Page 17 of 25

Recommendations for Building a Resilient City: Social Structure The Committee makes the following recommendations to improve Social Structure around resiliency. Hire a permanent Chief Resiliency Officer • Create a City procedure 'map' to make sure everything is reviewed for resiliency by a specific authority such as the Chief Resiliency Officer (CRO). • Hold consistent neighborhood forums about resiliency that reflect the geographically and culturally broad aspects of our neighborhoods to ensure maximum and diverse participation. • Support and monitor all aspects of Cambridge's resiliency programs. Expand Resiliency Planning beyond City agencies while still providing agency support • A formal and City-supported "Citizens Core" like in New York City. www1.nyc.gov/site/em/community business/nyc-citizen-corps.page • "Share your space" inventory for response activities where private or non-profit entities may have potentially useful facilities. NYC provides an example: ntto em/community business/share-vour-space-survey.page • Outreach and education efforts targeted at specific populations or resiliency challenges like NYC's "Ready Girl" http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/em/downloads/pdf/jobs/Ready%20NY%20Kids%20Ready%20Gir1% 20Presenter%20Job%20Posting%203.pdf or families with children: http://www1.nyc.gov/site/em/ready/kids.page Conduct ongoing reviews of First Responders and other agencies' abilities to manage traditional and non-traditional stresses • FEMA has developed a report to help fire departments assess their activities in non-fire response operations. Given how CFD is a First Responder for multiple threats, from fires to floods to building collapses, having a formal focus on reviewing those expanding responsibilities is important. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/operational lessons learned in disas ter response.pdf • Cambridge must view the Department of Public Works as a First Responder on par with CPD and CFD. • CPD, the Consumers Council, the Public Libraries and other City agencies should formalize their responsibilities and increase their capacities to educate people about digital safety and to respond to digital crimes such as identity theft and internet-based frauds. This would include instruction in our public Schools, at our libraries and so forth to help people acquire the skills to be safe in a digital world. Programs already exist that are aimed at children (https://www.pta.org/home/family-resources/safety/Digital-Safety) and adults (https://www.microsoft.com/about/philanthropies/browsepdf.ashx?path=http://go.microsoft.c om/?linkid=9682632) Page 18 of 25

Establishing resiliency partnerships between the City and Community Stakeholders • Communities of faith • Non-Government Organizations (NGO) such as the Red Cross, the Margaret Fuller House, the YMCA and the YWCA. • Universities and employers and businesses of all sizes • Cambridge should annually review on-call contract services and contact points for resources such as social support provided by Riverside Community Care (http://www.riversidecc.or 1), NGO emergency support from the Red Cross (http://www.redcross.org/local/massachusetts) CAMBRIDG Resiliency Teams Create resiliency teams that are trained and empowered to help neighborhoods build core resiliency competencies starting at the personal level and expanding to households and neighborhoods. Review of school and non-school curriculum to help improve financial literacy Conduct a review of educational programs at all levels to determine opportunities to improve financial literacy for all Cambridge residents. One Boston-based organization that could help with this effort is Commonwealth. https://buildcommonwealth org Page 19 of 25

Recommendations for Building a Resilient City: Policy The Committee recommends making the following policy and ordinance changes a priority for the Council. ZONING AND LICENSING CHANGES • Green Roofs • Increase in FAR or height would be allowed by Special Permit as long as the green roof or other improvement • Decreases Urban Heat Island Effect; or • Decreases storm water runoff into the sewer system • Battery Storage and onsite power generation • Allow, via special permit, onsite power storage and generation in setbacks, parking structures and similar locations as long as state fire and building code requirements are met. • Cambridge Fire Department and Inspectional Services Department should stay up to date on the most current thinking about fire safety and alternative energy generation and storage issues. • Provide automatic noise waivers for any backup generators that are operating in a health & safety capacity. • Review and, as needed, develop regulations to allow appropriate amounts of fuel to be kept on site for fuel backup generators. • Flooding mitigation, notification and response plans must be reviewed as part of any Special Permit application for activities in 100 or 500 year floodplain or in any other area designated as being at risk of flooding by the City One example of such a requirement is at http www.water.ca.gov/floodsafe/docs/Flood-Risk-Notification-Program Sep12 • Public and private signage in parking garages and other flood prone areas would be prominently displayed. • Cambridge Fire Department would annually review its flood response plans, equipment and training in a public report to the City Council. • Review all zoning permits and licensing requirements for their implications on resiliency, using guidance from organizations such as the Resilient Design Institute as examples. http://www.resilientdesign.org/the-resilient-design-principles POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS • Review licensing and permitting requirements for public events such as block parties to ensure that citizens find them as easy to organize as possible. • Work with collective bargaining units, determine what, if any, specific resiliency-oriented training and responsibilities city staff should be expected to have. • Formalize a review process for new technology and emerging trends to identify potential resiliency building strategies for Cambridge. • Conduct an annual City-wide resiliency audit that is subsequently discussed at neighborhood meetings in the same manner as Somerville's Resi stat Program. https://www.somervillema.gov/resistat Page 22 of 25