Transportation Resilience 2023: International Conference on Extreme Weather and Climate Change Challenges (2025)
Chapter: Introduction
Introduction
The 2023 Transportation Resilience conference, organized by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and held in Washington, DC, November 13–15, was a gathering of worldwide specialists and stakeholders in transportation resilience. This event brought together 356 experts, including practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders from local, tribal, state, national, and international domains. Figure 1 depicts the percentage of attendees by area.
The conference was an interactive forum for exchanging ideas, gaining knowledge, and discussing strategies for making transportation networks more adaptable to climate change and severe weather conditions. The conference’s primary focus was on understanding and addressing the vulnerability and resilience of transportation systems in the face of climate change and extreme weather phenomena. The result was national and international dialogues on research, planning, implementation, evaluation, and lessons learned, with the potential to influence and benefit sectors beyond transportation, which included traditional engineering and hardening solutions, as well as innovative approaches such as change management, stakeholder communication, and creative financing.
Conference discussions encompassed all modes of transportation, for example, pedestrian, active mobility (bicycle and scooter), automobile, rail, transit, and aviation; pipeline facilities; and critical infrastructure. This wide-ranging focus ensured the conference addressed the needs and concerns of a comprehensive range of transportation modes and their stakeholders.
To facilitate engagement and learning, the conference planners employed various formats, including panels, presentations, and roundtable discussions, with some featuring interactive audience survey responses. Although the conference was initially planned as an in-person event, considerations were made for hybrid sessions to increase accessibility and participation.
The Poster Session and Networking Reception showcased a diverse range of research and innovations. Topics spanned from equity in evacuation orders to the use of nanomodified concrete in infrastructure applications, reflecting the multifaceted approach required in the field of transportation resilience.
Transportation Resilience 2023 was a milestone in the ongoing efforts to adapt, mitigate, and strengthen transportation networks against the backdrop of climate change and extreme weather. The discussions, presentations, and collaborative efforts at the conference addressed current challenges and set the stage for future innovations and collaborations in the realm of transportation resilience. This summary report aims to capture these discussions to provide insights into the emerging best practices and research findings.
Presentations from Transportation Resilience 2023 are available on the TRB Transportation Resilience 2023 Conference web page at https://trb.secure-platform.com/a/page/ or at https://vimeo.com/showcase/10851381.
