Options Database | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit

Option	Hazards	Assets
Provide cooling systems for municipal and county assets and equipment sensitive to overheating.	Extreme Heat	Critical Facilities
Provide education and training for smaller health clinics on infectious diseases and the link of increased disease incidence to climate threats.	Vector-Borne Disease	Critical Facilities People
Provide emergency service staff information about where vulnerable populations are located.	High Winds Severe Winter Weather Extreme Cold Extreme Heat	People
Provide financial assistance for low-income residents to help with power bills, energy upgrades to homes and apartments and support services during extended periods of high temperature.	Extreme Heat	People
Provide financial or process incentives for compact development near transit, especially those that prioritize affordable housing.	Air Quality	Transportation and Mobility
Provide incentives (density bonuses, permitting fees, faster review process, etc.) to developers to reduce impervious surfaces beyond riparian buffer rules and leave riparian areas in place.	Flooding – General Flooding – Rainfall-induced	Property Water Infrastructure – Stormwater
Provide incentives for projects that restore or create marine coastal habitat areas (e.g., beaches, dunes, wetlands) to minimize coastal erosion.	Erosion and Shoreline Recession	Water Infrastructure – Wastewater Natural Areas and Wildlife
Provide incentives for proper shoreline stabilization and bank stabilization methods, including sloping or grading techniques, terracing hillsides or installing riprap boulders or geotextile fabric.	Erosion and Shoreline Recession	Aquatic and Marine Resources Natural Areas and Wildlife
Provide information to homeowners about statutory vegetation management requirements and promote fuel breaks to slow fire spread in forested and WUI areas	Wildfire	Property
Provide information to homeowners about vegetation management requirements and promote fuel breaks to slow fire spread in forested and fire-prone areas.	Wildfire	Property
Provide outreach, education and technical assistance for best practices in stormwater management and green infrastructure.	Flooding – Coastal Flooding – General	Water Infrastructure – Stormwater
Provide private landowners with incentives for forest protection through easements and working forests that can return revenue from timber harvesting to cover taxes and other expenses of maintaining forest lands, thereby preventing land fragmentation and conversion to non-forest land uses.	Wildfire	Natural Areas and Wildlife
Provide private landowners with incentives for maintaining working forests that can return revenue from timber harvesting to cover taxes and other expenses of maintaining forest lands. This effort can help prevent land fragmentation and conversion to non-forest land uses.	Shifting Species, Habitats, and Ecosystems	Agriculture and Food Supply
Provide private landowners with incentives for forest protection through easements and working forests that can return revenue from timber harvesting to cover taxes and other expenses of maintaining forest lands. This effort can help prevent land fragmentation and conversion to non-forest land uses.	Shifting Species, Habitats, and Ecosystems Wildfire	Agriculture and Food Supply Water Infrastructure – Wastewater Natural Areas and Wildlife Property
Provide reduced cost or no-cost flood insurance in areas with low income. Funding could come from housing and community development funds.	Flooding – General Flooding – Rainfall-induced	People
Provide resources for homeowners and businesses to plant trees on private property.	Air Quality Multiple or All Hazards Extreme Heat Flooding – General	Urban Landscape and Tree Canopy Property
Provide sufficient habitat for native pollinators and beneficial species in and adjacent to agricultural areas.	Multiple or All Hazards Shifting Species, Habitats, and Ecosystems	Agriculture and Food Supply
Provide sufficient habitat for native pollinators and beneficial species in and adjacent to agricultural areas.	Shifting Species, Habitats, and Ecosystems	Agriculture and Food Supply Aquatic and Marine Resources Natural Areas and Wildlife
Provide technical assistance to businesses in areas potentially impacted by flooding or sea level rise. Help them find ways to protect their jobs (e.g., strategic planning for possible relocation to other sites). This activity could be part of a larger economic development effort.	Flooding – Coastal Flooding – General	Economy
Provide training for public safety staff in recognizing and responding to the physical and behavioral signs of heat-related illness.	Extreme Heat	People