CCP Community Adaptation & Resilience 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In the context of urban heat island adaptation, which strategy provides co-benefits for stormwater management, air quality, AND temperature reduction?
- White rooftop coatings
- Underground cisterns
- Urban tree canopy expansion (Correct answer)
- Permeable concrete sidewalks
Correct answer: Urban tree canopy expansion
Urban tree canopy provides evapotranspiration cooling, intercepts stormwater, filters air pollutants, and sequesters carbon simultaneously.
Question 2: A municipality adopts a 'sponge city' design approach. Which of the following best describes this concept?
- Installing large underground water storage tanks beneath city centers
- Designing urban areas to absorb, store, and gradually release rainwater through green infrastructure (Correct answer)
- Constructing impermeable barriers to redirect floodwaters away from populated areas
- Replacing traditional water treatment plants with natural filtration wetlands
Correct answer: Designing urban areas to absorb, store, and gradually release rainwater through green infrastructure
Sponge city design integrates green roofs, bioswales, permeable pavements, and wetlands to naturally absorb and manage urban stormwater.
Question 3: When conducting a climate vulnerability assessment, 'sensitivity' refers to:
- The degree to which a system is affected by climate stimuli (Correct answer)
- The capacity of a system to adjust to climate change
- The probability that a climate hazard will occur
- The economic cost of potential climate impacts
Correct answer: The degree to which a system is affected by climate stimuli
Sensitivity is the degree to which a system is affected by climate-related stimuli, distinct from exposure (what it's exposed to) and adaptive capacity (ability to respond).
Question 4: A neighborhood association in a flood-prone area creates a network of trained volunteer emergency responders. This is an example of:
- Formal emergency management
- Community-based adaptation (CBA) (Correct answer)
- Top-down climate governance
- Maladaptation
Correct answer: Community-based adaptation (CBA)
Community-based adaptation (CBA) empowers local communities to identify vulnerabilities and implement locally-driven solutions, such as volunteer response networks.
Question 5: Which of the following is an example of 'soft' coastal adaptation measures?
- Seawall construction
- Jetty installation
- Beach nourishment and dune restoration (Correct answer)
- Breakwater placement
Correct answer: Beach nourishment and dune restoration
Soft measures like beach nourishment and dune restoration use natural processes and materials rather than hard engineered structures to manage coastal erosion.
Question 6: The 'PEOPLES' resilience framework assesses community resilience across seven dimensions. Which dimension specifically addresses hospitals, utilities, and transportation networks?
- Physical infrastructure (Correct answer)
- Lifelines
- Environmental systems
- Organized governmental services
Correct answer: Physical infrastructure
The Physical infrastructure dimension in the PEOPLES framework covers built systems including healthcare facilities, utility networks, and transportation corridors.
Question 7: What is 'mal-adaptation' in the context of climate change?
- Failure to adopt any adaptation measures
- Adaptation actions that increase vulnerability or reduce resilience over time (Correct answer)
- Adapting too slowly relative to the rate of climate change
- Focusing adaptation resources on the wrong geographic areas
Correct answer: Adaptation actions that increase vulnerability or reduce resilience over time
Maladaptation occurs when actions taken to reduce vulnerability inadvertently increase risk, constrain future options, or shift burdens to other groups.
CCP Community Adaptation & Resilience 3
In the context of urban heat island adaptation, which strategy provides co-benefits for stormwater management, air quality, AND temperature reduction?