Mobile, Ala. Resilience Assessment and Plan

The Approach

The Resilience Assessment, released in December 2023, establishes a baseline understanding of the resilience of Mobile’s communities, institutions, businesses, and systems to chronic stressors and acute shocks the city faces today and into the future. The Assessment was developed by:

• Establishing a collective vision for a resilient Mobile through discussions with City leadership, staff, and local stakeholders
• Reviewing and summarizing localized projections on changing climate, sea-level rise, economic, and social factors.
• Assessing public perceptions and defining priority chronic stressors and acute shocks facing Mobile.
• Summarizing the holistic set of assets (Infrastructure, Economy, Health and Wellbeing, Community, and Natural Resources) that need to be protected or adapted.
• Identifying opportunities to incorporate resilience goals into existing plans, policies, and programs.

To develop Mobile’s City-Wide Resilience Plan, the Water Institute is leading an integrated and collaborative planning process to investigate options and identify actionable steps the city can take to withstand, adapt, and thrive in the face of future challenges so that Mobile remains a great place to live, work, and raise a family for generations to come. This process includes facilitating multiple working sessions with City leadership, City staff, approximately 60 stakeholders and subject-matter experts across four Advisory Groups, and the public. The Plan will serve as the roadmap with which to build the city’s resilience and will include details about timelines, partners, funding, and other mechanisms to support implementation. Actions will be woven into the existing long-range plans and day-to-day work of the City and its partners so that resilience is built into everything that Mobile does.

The Water Institute is leading a team that includes partners at Waggonner & Ball, Moffatt and Nichol, Volkert, PLACE: SLR, and Ephriam and Associates Environmental Consulting, in close collaboration with the City of Mobile’s Chief Resilience Officer. The final Resilience Plan is expected to be completed in mid-2024.