Newswise — HOUSTON – HARC released a special report today for public and private sector leaders that addresses how to fund critical infrastructure required to maintain the safety and well-being of cities and communities. The Green Paper is entitled “Funding Resilience in the Greater Houston Region: Synopsis from a Public-Private Sector Workshop.”

After Hurricane Harvey, the Houston region sustained tremendous damage to the built and natural environment. Last fall, voters passed the largest bond in Harris County history – $2.5 billion to aid in post Harvey rebuilding and recovery. By voting for this bond, Harris County residents will see an additional $2.0 billion coming from the federal government. Unfortunately, even with the possible addition of funding from the state, the region has only a fraction of what is needed to truly mitigate risk associated with floods and other extreme events in the region.

HARC’s latest Green Paper offers specific examples of how communities can fund recovery along with considerations that should be given to communities and the natural environment. While the bond funds and federal dollars are important to the recovery of the Greater Houston region, long-term resilience will require new and innovative public and private investment.

“With increased frequency of catastrophic weather-events, the cost to rebuild critical infrastructure also increases,” states HARC’s President and CEO, Lisa Gonzalez. “New funding mechanisms are critical to fund and build new infrastructure. This Green Paper can serve as a starting point to understanding what is available to close the funding gap.”

This edition of HARC’s Green Paper series resulted from a half-day workshop on Thursday, September 12, 2018. The workshop, facilitated by HARC, featured six national resilience finance subject matter experts, local government officials and nonprofit leaders. 

“As populations face these growing concerns regarding climate change, our Funding Resilience Green Paper seeks to communicate how small towns and big cities can utilize public and private funds to rebuild,” states Dr. Gavin Dillingham, HARC Program Director and lead author on the report.

A copy of the report can be found here. For more information, please visit www.harcresearch.org.

About the Houston Advanced Research Center HARC is a nonprofit research hub providing independent analysis on energy, air, and water issues to people seeking scientific answers. Its research activities support the implementation of policies and technologies that promote sustainability based on scientific principles. HARC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization building a sustainable future in which people thrive and nature flourishes. For further information, contact HARC at (281) 364-6000 or visit www.HARCresearch.org. You can also connect with us via Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. Like or follow @HARCresearch.