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Fort Lauderdale, FL - Advisory Services Panel
May 23, 2024
The City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida asked the Urban Land Institute to convene an Advisory Services Panel to outline recommended criteria for a policy to equitably guide the selection of city-owned roadways for elevation and next steps the city can take towards implementing this policy. Fort Lauderdale is interested in understanding how to prioritize which roads to elevate and how to fund these improvements. The panel was ask to address the following topics:
- Assess the impact of sea level rise on roadways
- Recommend criteria/policies to equitably guide selection of city roadways for elevation
- Guide how to balance road elevation requirements with investments in other city districts
- Discuss how the city can address roadway ’harmonization’ and project funding
Photo By ULI
The panel was chaired by Jim Heid, FASLA, Founder, CRAFT DnA and UrbanGreen, Healdsburg, California. He was joined by panelists Allison H. Anderson FAIA, Founding Principal, unabridged Architecture, Bay St Louis, Mississippi, Chris DeWitt, AICP, Principal, VHB, Williamsburg, Virginia, Hannah Glosser, Director, HR&A Advisors, Inc. New York, New York, Charnelle Hicks, President, CHPlanning, Inc. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Malaika Rivers, Founder & President, Pontem Resources, Atlanta, Georgia, Byron Stigge, Founder, Level Infrastructure, Brooklyn, New York. The panel was supported by ULI Staff members Julie Medley, Mallory Barker, Lauren McKim Callaghan, Lindsay Brugger, and Barbra Gustis.
Date: March 10-14, 2024
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Sponsor: The City of Fort Lauderdale
Panel Chair: Jim Heid, FASLA
The following are key recommendations produced by the panel.
- Road elevation is part of a larger set of climate adaptation tools. The city should take a comprehensive, long-term approach to adaptation and tackle this complex problem with multiple infrastructure, policy and programmatic solutions.
- Elevating roads is expensive and can push flood waters to other locations. The panel recommends exhausting all other options and tools before considering road elevation.
- When the city does consider a road elevation project, the following principles should guide criteria:
- Public safety is the top priority
- Stormwater improvements are essential
- Utilities should be protected
- Among the criteria for evaluating road elevation projects, the following two are recommended to receive the highest priority:
- Is the roadway an evacuation route, critical connector, or serve public facilities?
- Is the road within the 100-year floodplain?
- The criteria for evaluating road elevation projects should be one part of a larger project evaluation that includes implementing all other resilience measures to address flooding, meeting the criteria, evaluating scope and feasibility of the project, identifying funding and then proceeding with the road elevation project.
- To attract funding, the panel recommends creating a compelling message that communicates a need, developing strategic partnerships to leverage the needed funds and build a coalition of support, and to view activities to secure funding as a long-term, ongoing commitment.
- Establish and implement a flood resilience policy to outline priorities and commitments, as well as communicate goals, guide decisions, and direct planning efforts.
- Actively communicate project process, ongoing efforts, and successes in addressing flood inundation and building a more resilient Fort Lauderdale. Prioritize transparency and consistency.
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