Richmond Resilience Assessment

As climate change causes precipitation and temperature trends to shift, the City of Richmond faces more extreme weather events such as flooding from heavy precipitation and extreme heatwaves. The Richmond Resilience Assessment is a comprehensive assessment platform developed in partnership with Fernleaf's AccelAdapt technology to evaluate and address the City's vulnerability to extreme heat and flood inundation.

Explore the StoryMap

This Resilience Assessment includes a social vulnerability analysis that examines socioeconomic factors alongside direct climate impacts, enabling City departments to prioritize equitable solutions for all communities. The Resilience Assessment also quantifies vulnerabilities at the parcel level, helping to identify specific at-risk assets and prioritize interventions where they're most needed as we work toward building a more climate-resilient Richmond for all residents.

Read the Key Takeaways of the Resilience Assessment here.

Scroll down to explore the StoryMap or click here to open a new tab.

Climate Equity Index

The RVAgreen 2050 Climate Equity Index (CEI) is an interactive tool created by the City of Richmond Office of Sustainability to explore your neighborhood’s climate impacts, demographics, built assets, and natural resources.

Climate Equity Index Social Vulnerability Analysis Factors

Based on examples from peer cities’ social vulnerability analyses, the 39 factors were combined using a statistical methodology to determine relative vulnerability to climate change impacts at the census tract level.

This social vulnerability map visualizes this relative vulnerability across Richmond’s census tracts. The map provides an objective and quantitative way to begin identifying the communities on the frontlines of climate change - those who are being impacted first and worst

Use RVAgreen 2050 Climate Equity Index to explore the demographic, health, and other factors affecting Richmond neighborhoods’ potential vulnerability to crises such as climate change.

Health & Safety

  • Health Opportunity Index

  • Disabilities

  • Obesity

  • Asthma

  • COPD

  • Coronary heart disease

  • High Blood Pressure

  • Kidney Disease

  • Poor mental health (self-assessed)

  • Poor physical health (self-assessed)

  • Uninsured

  • Low food access

  • Crime

Income & Education

  • Poverty

  • Work out doors

  • SNAP/food stamps

  • Public assistance income

  • Housing costs >30% of income

  • No high school diploma

  • Unemployment

  • Housing Choice Voucher program participant

Watch the Tutorial

Watch this tutorial to get the most out of the innovative Climate Equity Index tool.

Housing & Transportation

  • Multi-unit structures

  • Mobile homes

  • Crowding

  • No vehicle access

  • No central air conditioning

  • Emergency housing

  • Group homes

  • No internet access

Population

  • Elderly (65+)

  • Children (under 18)

  • Race and ethnicity

  • Female

  • Limited English

    Proficiency

Household

  • Single parent households

  • Custodial grandparents

  • Renters

  • Elderly living alone