Climate Resilience: Building Stronger, Safer Communities

Researchers are proposing a new strategy for local governments to enhance municipal resilience against climate change by simultaneously limiting the adverse impacts of climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The approach, termed “compounded resilience,” aims to integrate adaptation and mitigation efforts in local development and redevelopment decisions.

Understanding Compounded Resilience

“Local governments are already dealing with the impacts of climate change,” says Christopher Galik, a professor of public administration at North Carolina State University and corresponding author of the study. “There are more extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and flooding, which force municipalities to make decisions about how, where and – in some cases – whether to rebuild.”

Georgina Sanchez, co-author of the paper and director of research engagement in NC State’s Center for Geospatial Analytics, explains that development and redevelopment decisions present opportunities to adopt policies that prepare infrastructure and neighborhoods for changing climate conditions. “Policies designed to incentivize adaptation strategies…can be intentionally linked with efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change itself. This combined approach is what we call ‘compound resilience.’

Implementing new policies can be challenging, Sanchez acknowledges, but she suggests that implementing compound resilience policies may be more feasible when communities are already rebuilding in response to climate change.

Attracting Investment and Reducing Emissions

Galik notes that municipalities are increasingly competing to attract people and businesses displaced by climate change, creating an incentive to present themselves as safe havens. However, he cautions that climate-driven population shifts could increase greenhouse gas emissions if not managed proactively. “The argument we are making here is that there is both a need and an opportunity to adopt compound resilience policies.”

“These are policies that can help communities grow while improving quality of life,” Galik says.

Sanchez points to the cost-effectiveness of incorporating greenhouse gas efficiency measures into new construction compared to retrofitting existing structures. “These measures improve energy efficiency and ultimately reduce costs for property owners. Thinking about these ways to improve efficiency at the same time we are thinking about ways to build climate resilience…present tremendous advantages for local governments and the people who call those places home.”

The paper, “Compounded Resilience: A Step Towards Achieving Climate Mitigation and Adaptation in the U.S. Built Environment,” was published open access in the journal Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change on Dec. 27, 2025.