Resilient NJ – Trenton and Salem

Princeton Hydro and BRS, Inc. were contracted by the Cities of Trenton and Salem to perform climate change-related hazard vulnerability assessments to inform municipal resilience action plans.

The work was completed as part of the Resilient NJ Program, an assistance program run by the NJDEP Bureau of Climate Resilience Planning. The program supports local and regional climate resilience planning by bringing together planners, engineers, designers, and other experts to address flood- and climate-related hazards. The Cities of Trenton and Salem, like many across the region, already experience climate related hazards such as extreme heat and flooding which disrupts traffic patterns, impacts infrastructure, damages property, and puts lives at risk. These climate-related hazards are expected to worsen over the next century and beyond due to climate change.

In order to prepare for and adapt to climate-related hazards, our team worked to map extreme heat and flooding hazards across these cities under both current climate conditions and future projections. We then assessed the geographic distribution of these hazards to identify at-risk populations and city resources, such as critical infrastructure, community assets, cultural and historic resources, and land developments. These assessments will be used to develop resilience action plans, which will guide future climate hazard policies, planning, and projects in Trenton and Salem.

A key component of our climate hazard vulnerability assessments was to not only provide information needed for planning and decision-making, but to also provide information to the general public. Princeton Hydro and BRS facilitated several public information sessions. The Princeton Hydro-BRS Team provided a primer on climate hazards and presented the vulnerability assessment findings along with a Q&A session. This process invited public feedback and maximized public participation.