Preface

Transportation Resilience 2023: International Conference on Extreme Weather and Climate Change Challenges, hosted by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) from November 13 through 15 in Washington, DC, marked a convergence of global experts and stakeholders in the field of transportation resilience. This event united 356 practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders across local, tribal, state, national, and international levels. It provided a platform for discussing, learning, and sharing insights on adapting and mitigating transportation systems to climate change and extreme weather challenges.

The conference aimed to develop a common understanding of transportation resilience, integrate climate resilience into various agency processes, and explore new methods for evaluating resilience investments. Key themes emerged around integrated climate resilience, intersectoral collaboration, innovative data utilization, policy development for sustainable and equitable resilience, and workforce development in climate resilience. These themes underpinned the conference’s commitment to addressing the multifaceted nature of transportation resilience.

Participants engaged in myriad discussions covering all transportation modes and critical infrastructure. The sessions highlighted the need for the following:

• Developing and implementing comprehensive resilience improvement plans.
• Enhancing collaboration across sectors for climate action and research.
• Leveraging innovative technology and data for informed decision-making.
• Fostering policy development and implementation to ensure sustainable and equitable resilience.
• Building workforce capacity in the realm of climate resilience.

The conference featured various formats, including panels, presentations, roundtable discussions, and workshops, and promoted effective communication and knowledge sharing. The poster session and networking reception showcased diverse research and innovations, from equity in evacuation strategies to advanced materials such as nanomodified concrete.

Key takeaways from the conference included, but were not limited to, the following:

• Resilient infrastructure: Predictive modeling should guide the design and improvement of transportation infrastructure, risk assessments, and strategic adaptation planning.
• Multimodal transportation resilience: An interconnected, redundant network across all transportation modes must withstand climate-induced stresses.

• Strengthening global partnerships: Transportation infrastructure resilience should be prioritized and facilitated by the exchange of climate adaptation technology and protocols among global partnerships.
• Climate resilience tools: Plenty of tools for climate-oriented decision-making in transportation infrastructure are available and customizable. Significantly more data are being utilized now as compared to historical practices.
• Technological advancements: Real-time monitoring systems and early warning for swift responses are two technological advancements requiring integration across sectors and jurisdictions for a coordinated resilience strategy inclusive of community needs and equity considerations.
• Workforce training: Training programs that equip professionals for building and managing climate-related infrastructure are needed.

The conference emphasized the importance of promptly developing and executing plans to enhance resilience, advance equity initiatives, and cultivate diverse professional networks. It promoted the incorporation of climate data and predictive models into transportation planning and policy formulation, with a focus on evidence-based decision-making. Several sessions showcased actual projects and programs, highlighting the deployment of adaptation and mitigation strategies to address climate changes.

Additionally, the conference encouraged participants to transition from assessment to tangible action, highlighting research requirements across various strategic domains critical for improving climate resilience. Research needs follow:

• In the realm of innovative data utilization and technology integration, there is an emphasis on leveraging climate data for informed decision-making in transportation, developing tools for multihazard resilience assessment, and integrating technologies such as drones and simulation models for geohazard mitigation.
• For policy development, the focus is on contributing to national and international frameworks, with a special emphasis on aligning policies with initiatives such as the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT)¹ program and ensuring community-centric, equitable approaches in line with the Justice40 Initiative.² This involves adaptive planning and methodology selection that cater to local and regional necessities, promoting equitable resilience enhancements.

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¹ FHWA. (n.d.). Bipartisan Infrastructure Law PROTECT Fact Sheets. U.S. DOT. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law/protect_fact_sheet.cfm.

² The White House. (n.d.). Justice40: A Whole-of-Government Initiative. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/environmentaljustice/justice40/.

• In workforce development, the aim is to establish training programs and workshops that equip professionals with climate resilience skills, enhance operational resilience in regional transport systems, and encourage learning from global examples to build a knowledgeable and adaptive workforce.

Transportation Resilience 2023 represented a milestone in the global effort to adapt and strengthen transportation networks in the face of climate challenges. The conference’s approach provided insights into emerging best practices and research findings, setting the stage for future innovations in transportation resilience. This summary captures the essence of these discussions, underscoring the event’s role in shaping the future of resilient transportation networks.

This summary, prepared by rapporteur Chelsea Treboniak of Critical Ops, LLC, is a compilation of the presentations and a factual summary of the ensuing discussions at the conference. The planning committee for the conference was solely responsible for organizing Transportation Resilience 2023, identifying speakers, and coordinating activities during the event. This document presents the discussions and presentations from the workshop. The views expressed are those of the individual workshop participants, as attributed to them, and do not necessarily represent the views of all workshop participants, the workshop planning committee, TRB, or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

TRB thanks the following individuals, who served as peer reviewers of this summary: Chen Chen, Oklahoma State University; Nastasha Earle-Young, North Carolina Department of Transportation; and Jim Passas III, AECOM. Responsibility for the final content of this summary rests entirely with the rapporteur and the institution.

Videos of the sessions are available at https://vimeo.com/showcase/10851381.