In “Four Storms in Quick Succession Expose the Flaws in New York City’s Electrical System”, it was brought up that the electrical infrastructure of NYC has vulnerabilities. Four out of the five previous storms have damaged the vulnerable systems. Certain solutions were proposed, such as making such utilities submersible. However, these solutions may not be enough to mitigate damage from a future natural disaster. Since the electricity is one of the city’s most important infrastructures, without it, many others that depend on it will fail as well. Upgrading the system will also create larger bills for customers. Do you think that upgrading the city’s electrical grid is worth the investment? Are you willing as a customer to pay much more on your monthly bill so that the utilities are more likely to survive future natural disasters? Should the city have a plan in the event of natural disasters in attempt to minimize damage? If so, why would it be worthwhile to implement such a plan that may or may not work? If not, how should the city protect itself against future catastrophes?

The reading “Infrastructure Impacts and Adaptation Challenges” reinforces New York City’s increased vulnerability because of its interdependencies and dependencies among infrastructures, making it further susceptible to extreme weather events mentioned in “Four Storms in Quick Succession Expose the Flaws in New York City’s Electrical System.” Looking at the flip side of the coin, do you think New York City can use the interdependencies among its infrastructures and turn it into an advantage in its infrastructure adaptation to climate change? If so, how?  What do you think is lacking in New York City’s current plan for infrastructure adaptation to climate change? Do you think New York City is prepared to face another storm such as Sandy or will its infrastructure crumble once again because of the interdependencies and dependencies among them?

The paper titled “Infrastructure impacts and adaptation challenges” details case studies in three different cities and how these cities are adapting to the changing climate or advancing infrastructure in other ways. Pretend for a few minutes that you are the one in charge of deciding a few courses of action to implement in New York City. Realistically you would not have an endless budget, so which initiatives in specific would you implement if you could, and which do you believe are less pressing than the others? Additionally, which of the three cities models do you believe would be the best for New York to follow?