Surface Transportation System Resilience to Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events: First International Conference

In collaboration with the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, the Transportation Research Board organized the First International Conference on Surface Transportation System Resilience to Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events to promote dialogue on research, implementation, and lessons learned. The inaugural conference, which was held September 16–18, 2015, and webcast live from Washington, D.C., convened more than 500 experts from across the world to explore state-of-the-art research and emerging practices and policies on adapting surface transportation networks to the potential impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. This report summarizes the conference. Through a mix of plenary sessions, technical discussions in breakout sessions, and informal information exchanges, attendees explored the efforts of government, private sector, academia, business, and nonprofit organizations to bring the consideration of climate change and extreme weather resilience into the mainstream of all aspects of transportation decision making. Special focus was given to the development and application of climate information and innovative tools.