Drawing on research from the New England Climate Adaptation Project, “Managing Climate Risks for Coastal Communities” introduces a framework for building local capacity to respond to climate change. The authors maintain that local climate adaptation efforts require collective commitments to risk management, but that many communities are not ready to take on the challenge and urgently need enhanced capacity to support climate adaptation planning. To this end, the book offers statistical assessments of one readiness enhancement strategy, using tailored role-play simulations as part of a broader engagement approach. It also introduces methods for forecasting local climate change risks, as well as for evaluating the social and political context in which collective action must take place. With extensive illustration and example engagement materials, this volume is tailored for use by researchers, policy makers and practitioners.

The concept of community, in all its diverse definitions and manifestations, provides a unique approach to learn more about how groups of individuals and organizations are addressing the challenges posed by climate change. This new volume highlights specific cases of communities developing innovative approaches to climate mitigation and adaptation around the United States. Defining community more comprehensively than just spatial geography to include also communities of interest, identity and practice, this book highlights how individuals and organizations are addressing the challenges posed by climate change through more resilient social processes, government policies and sustainable practices. Through close examinations of community efforts across the United States, including agricultural stakeholder engagement and permaculture projects, coastal communities and prolonged drought areas, and university extension and local governments, this book shows the influence of building individual and institutional capacity toward addressing climate change issues at the community level. It will be useful to community development students, scholars and practitioners learning to respond to unexpected shocks and address chronic stress associated with climate change and its impacts.

Businesses contribute greatly to climate change and can have a large impact on their local environment through their energy consumption and waste production. One way to help businesses make the transition toward green practices and engage in more environmentally responsible behaviors is through environmental certification (EC) programs. However, there is a scant literature on the implementation of ECs at the community level or the accessibility of ECs for small businesses. To address this gap in the literature I first conducted a Community Readiness Assessment to understand the local community's readiness to support sustainable business practices. Second, using Social Marketing principles I interviewed business representatives to uncover the specific factors (i.e., barriers and motivators) that influence a business to pursue an environmental certification in the Champaign-Urbana community. The results of the CRA indicate the Champaign-Urbana community is at a preplanning stage to address business sustainability and would benefit from efforts to increase awareness on the need for greener business practices. Findings from the business interviews indicate a variety of factors can influence a business0́9s interest in certification. Primary among these is a supportive community context, a sense of responsibility, as well as time and financial restrictions. Overall, the dissertation study makes four important contributions. First, the community context is an important influential factor in businesses0́9 decision to obtain an EC. Second, the study extends the literature on barriers and motivators toward certification. Third, it presents information about how businesses in a pilot EC program are unique, and fourth, the methodology implemented is a unique combination of theories that are transferable to other investigations and communities.

As human society continues to develop, we have increased the risk of large-scale disasters. From health care to infrastructure to national security, systems designed to keep us safe have also heightened the potential for catastrophe. The constant pressure of climate change, geopolitical conflict, and our tendency to ignore what is hard to grasp exacerbates potential dangers. How can we prepare for and prevent the twenty-first-century disasters on the horizon? Rethinking Readiness offers an expert introduction to human-made threats and vulnerabilities, with a focus on opportunities to reimagine how we approach disaster preparedness. Jeff Schlegelmilch identifies and explores the most critical threats facing the world today, detailing the dangers of pandemics, climate change, infrastructure collapse, cyberattacks, and nuclear conflict. Drawing on the latest research from leading experts, he provides an accessible overview of the causes and potential effects of these looming megadisasters. The book highlights the potential for building resilient, adaptable, and sustainable systems so that we can be better prepared to respond to and recover from future crises. Thoroughly grounded in scientific and policy expertise, Rethinking Readiness is an essential guide to this century’s biggest challenges in disaster management.

Ordinary people, community leaders, and even organizations and corporations still do not fully comprehend the interconnected, “big picture” dynamics of sustainability theory and action. In exploring means to become more sustainable, individuals and groups need a reference in which to frame discussions so they will be relevant, educational, and successful when implemented. This book puts ideas on sustainable communities into a conceptual framework that will promote striking, transformational effects on decision-making. In this book practitioners and community leaders will find effective, comprehensive tools and resources at their finger-tips to facilitate sustainable community development (SCD). The book content examines a diverse range of SCD methods; assessing community needs and resources; creating community visions; promoting stakeholder interest and participation; analyzing community problems; designing and facilitating strategic planning; carrying out interventions to improve

Community readiness is the degree to which a community is willing and prepared to take action on an issue. The Community Readiness Model was developed by researchers at the Tri-Ethnic Center for Prevention Research (Oetting, Donnermeyer, Plested, Edwards, Kelly, and Beauvais, 1995) to help communities be more successful in their efforts to address a variety of issues, such as drug and alcohol use and HIV/AIDs prevention. This handbook describes what community readiness is, the benefits of using the Community Readiness Model, and using the model to conduct community readiness assessments and develop action plans. rating scales and score sheets are included.