Versión en español a continuación. Meeting of the Joint Sustainability Committee May 26, 2021 Meeting of the Joint Sustainability Committee to be held on May 26, 2021 with Social Distancing Modifications Public comment will be allowed via telephone; no in-person input will be allowed. All speakers must register in advance (May 25, 2021 by noon). All public comment will occur at the beginning of the meeting. To speak remotely at the May 26, 2021 Joint Sustainability Committee Meeting, members of the public must: •Call or email the board liaison at 415-694-3111 and zach.baumer@austintexas.gov no later than noon, (May 25, 2021). The information required is the speaker name, item number(s) they wish to speak on, whether they are for/against/neutral, and a telephone number or email address. •Once a request to speak has been called in or emailed to the board liaison, residents will receive either an email or phone call providing the telephone number to call on the day of the scheduled meeting. •Speakers must call in at least 15 minutes prior to meeting start in order to speak, late callers will not be accepted and will not be able to speak. •Speakers will be placed in a queue until their time to speak. •Handouts or other information may be emailed to zach.baumer@austintexas.gov by Noon the day before the scheduled meeting. This information will be provided to Board and Commission members in advance of the meeting. •If this meeting is broadcast live, residents may watch the meeting here: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live Reunión del Comité Conjunto de Sostenibilidad 26 de mayo de 2021 La junta se llevará con modificaciones de distanciamiento social. Se permitirán comentarios públicos por teléfono; no se permitirá ninguna entrada en persona. Todos los oradores deben registrarse con anticipación (25 de mayo de 2021 antes del mediodía). Todos los comentarios públicos se producirán al comienzo de la reunión. Para hablar de forma remota en la reunión, los miembros del público deben: la • Llame o envíe un correo electrónico al enlace de junta al 415-694-3111 o zach.baumer@austintexas.gov a más tardar al mediodía (el día antes de la reunión – 25 de mayo de 2021). La información requerida es el nombre del orador, los números de artículo sobre los que desean hablar, si están a favor / en contra / neutrales, y un número de teléfono o dirección de correo electrónico. • Una vez que se haya llamado o enviado por correo …
Austin Area Data on Flooding, Extreme Heat and Equity Joint Sustainability Committee May 26, 2021 Prepared by: Patrick Bixler, Assistant Professor, LBJ School of Public Affairs & RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service DianaJoyce Ojeda, Sustainability Studies B.A. in Geography 21’ Jessica Jones, Graduate Student, School of Architecture & LBJ School of Public Affairs Sandeep Paul, PHD Student, LBJ School of Public Affairs Agenda Introduction into A2SI • • 2020 Survey • Hazard Experiences in Austin • Flooding • Heat • Data Aggregation • Next Steps • Q&A A2SI Mission: To measure quality of life and sustainability trends and serve as the foundation for a systems approach to address the challenges of our region. www.austinindicators.org How we do our work- Austin Area Sustainability Indicators 2020 Household Survey Telephone (75%) and Web-based (25%) Fielded September – December 2020 100 153 City of Austin: 584 78744: 190 78753: 111 585 152 150 100 Key to question notation: * part of longitudinal "dashboard" dataset **Longitudinal questions that extend beyond 2018 ^ new questions generated from the GAVA organizer/resident feedback process # questions part of our social capital index $ questions part of our civic health scorecard + questions part of the MSDF Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) crosswalk (a crosswalk of multiple community health-related surveys) Unmarked questions were asked in 2018 (but not prior; many of the "community resilience" questions we asked in 2018 are a part of this section) Flooding Image taken from: COA Lower Shoal Feasibility Study * Note small sample size for 78744 & 78753 * Note small sample size for 78753 Extreme Heat Events Image taken from: KVUE https://www.kvue.com/article/weather/record- breaking-108-degrees-recorded-in-austin-monday-temperatures-trend- slightly-cooler-tuesday/269-9ee8e8ff-147f-41c8-bc54-13ff5e94d4d7 * Note small sample size for 78753 We can further analyze the survey data by aggregating the: Impacts 1. 2. Perceptions 3. Actions Related to flood and heat hazards Impacted by... flooding* *statistically significant differences extreme heat Perception of... flood risk* *statistically significant differences heat risk* *statistically significant differences Actions taken... To mitigate flood risk* *statistically significant differences To mitigate heat risk What influences actions to reduce hazard risk? • Social capital is important for both – Positive and statistically significant for heat and flood • Neighborhood cohesion more important for flood actions • Individual/Household "networks" more important for heat actions • Hispanic residents more proactive regarding heat • Black residents less active with flood actions Image taken from LA County Community Disaster Resilience http://www.laresilience.org/ Next Steps …
Vulnerability of Central Texas Urban Forests to Climate Change Wendy Gordon, PhD Ecologia Consulting Climate Action Texas May 25, 2021 Impacts of Climate Change on Texas • Physical impacts from changing temperature and precipitation • Hotter days, warmer nights, more extreme precipitation, wildfire • Physiological impacts on fauna and flora • Hitting upper tolerances for processes like photosynthesis • Phenological impacts • Longer growing season, mismatches between predator and prey lifecycles • Range shifts • Disrupted bird migration, changing habitat distributions, “new” plant hardiness zones Today we’re going to talk about a specific project that recently examined the vulnerability of the Central Texas landscape to changing climate Goal of the Urban Forestry Climate Change Response Framework To ensure that urban forests will continue to provide benefits to the people that live in urban communities as the climate changes. We define the urban forest as all publicly and privately-owned trees within an urban area— including individual trees along streets and in backyards, as well as stands of remnant forest. The trees, developed green spaces, and natural areas within the City of Austin’s 400,882 acres will face direct and indirect impacts from a changing climate over the 21st century. This assessment evaluates the vulnerability of urban trees and natural and developed landscapes within the City of Austin to a range of future climates. The Vulnerability Assessment Used scientific projections of future changes in climate, such as differences in seasonal temperature and precipitation, to set boundary conditions Reviewed results from the latest research to determine how urban forests and natural areas around Austin may respond to changes in climate, disturbance, and management Drew from local expertise - scientists and forest managers - to synthesize results and identify key vulnerabilities within the urban forest and natural ecosystems Described the implications that future changes will have on a wide variety of ecological, social, and economic factors Vulnerability is the susceptibility of a system to the adverse effects of climate change. It is a function of potential climate change impacts and the adaptive capacity of the system. A system is vulnerable if it is at risk for no longer being recognizable as that community type, or if the system is anticipated to suffer substantial declines in health or productivity. To assess vulnerability, a panel of experts on the ecology and management of Austin’s urban forest, including developed and natural areas, met for a two-day workshop. Areas …
Item 1 JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES REGULAR MEETING May 26, 2021 The Joint Sustainability Committee convened in a special meeting on May 26, 2021 via videoconferencing. Chair Kaiba White called the Board Meeting to order at 5:34 pm. Board Members in Attendance: Kaiba White Chair, Katie Coyne Vice-Chair, David Carroll, Diana Wheeler, Melissa Rothrock, Karen Hadden, Alexis Taylor, Fisayo Fadelu, Solveij Rosa Praxis, Karen Magid, Alberta Phillips Board Members Absent: City Staff in Attendance: Zach Baumer, Phoebe Romero CALL TO ORDER CITIZEN COMMUNICATION The speakers who registered in advance for public comment have three minutes each to address items on the agenda at this time. • None 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) April 28, 2021 meeting of the Joint Sustainability Committee • Motion to approve (Commissioner Hadden), second (Commissioner Taylor), 8 approved, 0 opposed, 0 abstained. Commissioner Praxis and Commissioner Magid were not yet on the dais. 2. NEW BUSINESS a) Austin Area Sustainability Indicators Update – Patrick Bixler and Jessica Jones, UT Austin (Discussion and/or possible action) • Overview of community survey, which focused primarily on flooding and extreme heat hazards, with a focus on zip codes 78744 and 78753 in collaboration with Go Austin, Vamos Austin • Identified racial disparities in impact, actions taken, and varying levels of satisfaction with disaster response services • Discussion on how this will be used for on-the-ground action, and considering platforms for tracking implementation of climate actions, and how to define social cohesion and capital and/or possible action) b) USDA Forest Adaptation Overview – Wendy Gordon, Climate Action Texas (Discussion • Participated in an interdisciplinary team on examining the impacts of climate change on natural systems in Texas and ended with a report titled Vulnerability Assessment of Austin’s Urban Forest and Natural Areas • Provided overview of key findings, including impacts of changes in temperatures and precipitation, and some outcomes of business as usual vs. actionable scenarios • Discussion on how to maintain and increase biodiversity, how to impact decision- making, and engaging in outreach by distributing information to neighborhood contact teams. c) Commission members report back on any relevant discussions from their respective boards and commissions – (Discussion and/or possible action) • Resource Management Commission – did not develop a recommendation in support of the code, will be following up on having a public process before the end of the year to discuss electric-ready and EV-ready buildings. • Environmental Commission …
