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Physical Interventions

Current practice provides a number of examples of resilience strategies that use traditional policy, construction, and "grey" or engineered solutions. The Climate Resilience Tool prioritizes nature-based solutions to raise awareness and understanding of this less-known approach to building resilience. Nature-based solutions generally have lower whole-life costs, provide benefits to people, plants, and wildlife, and are adaptable over time when compared to conventional alternatives. 

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NBS

Resilience Topics
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Santa Clara County Shoreline with birds in foreground, buildings in the back

Sea Level Rise

Warmer conditions that melt glaciers and ice sheets and expand sea water, are leading to sea level rise (SLR).

Worker drinking water under hot sun

Extreme Heat

Longer, more frequent, and more severe extreme heat events are expected to occur in Santa Clara County.

Wildfire image in woodland

Wildfire

The frequency of hot and dry conditions are projected to increase, making certain areas more prone to wildfire.

Flooding image with red car half way submerged

Riverine Flooding

Extreme precipitation patterns from climate change lead to riverine overflows and flooding in surrounding areas.

Physical Interventions Catalog

Explore by Strategy

Physical Interventions
Mudflats image with birds walking.

Mudflat Augmentation

Mudflat augmentation is the intentional placement of fine silts and clays to elevate mudflats relative to rising tides.

Aerial image of shoreline with housing development.

Ecotone Levee

Horizontal ecotone levees are sloped bankments of plants designed to slow wave velocity, reduce sea level rise impacts, and restore tidal marsh ecosystems.

Grassy slope with plants and flag in the background.

Bioswale

Bioswales are long, depressed areas filled with flood resistant, native plants, rocks and layers of soil that decrease stormwater velocity and allow for groundwater infiltration and filtration

Foreground has two trees with a grassy meadow in the background.

Retention/Detention Ponds

Retention or detention ponds are depressions at the end of a slope that retain and detain water depending on conditions, reducing flooding impacts.

Image of succulents with lighting structures and Levi's sign in back. Green Roof of Levi Stadium.

Green Roofs

Green roofs are added green spaces, including plants, grasses, gardens, and potentially small farms, to the top or sides of buildings to decrease flooding and urban heat.

Image of marshy area with building in the background.

Tidal Marsh Restoration

Tidal marsh restoration is the restoration of tidal marshes and tidal flats through added sediment and planted vegetation.

Tree lined pathway.

Urban Forest

Urban forests are planted tree communities of native or ecologically suited trees throughout cities that reduce urban heat and flooding risks, among other benefits.

Close up of red and brown paving stones with greenery in the background.

Pervious Pavement

Pervious pavement are porous pavement materaisl that are designed to allow for slow percolation of storm runoff into the groundwater system.

Close up of reeds, plantings in water with buildings in the background.

Constructed Inland Wetlands

Constructing or restoring wetlands aims to recreate natural wetlands in an urban environment, which provides flood mitigation and water purification.

Image of water and land with trees and clouds in the background.

Increasing River Floodplain

Increasing riverine floodplains refers to restructuring river banks to their more natural form in order to mitigate flooding.

Image of water and levees.

Polder Management

Polder management is the revitalization of polders (human-impacted baylands) by removing and adding levees, reintroducing sediment, and reducing human impacts.

Rain Garden

Rain gardens are shallow to deep depressions filled with flood resistant, native plants that detain, slow, and filter stormwater runoff.

Image of river water from ground-level perspective.

Creek Daylighting

Daylighting refers to removing obstructions from rivers, streams, and creeks to allow water to flow naturally, creating greater storage capacity during flooding events.

Image of tree wells along a side walk and road way. Trees are planted in each area.

Stormwater Tree Pits

A stormwater tree pit is dug into the sidewalk adjacent to a street and a tree is planted to absorb and filter storm runoff and flooding.

Case Studies

Explore in Real Life ​

Click on a case study below to link to external sites and more detailed project information. 

Case Studies - Physical
Ground level image of mudflat areas and marshy bank.

Seal Beach Sediment Augmentation Project

Seal Beach, in Southern California, is a pilot project that consists of the addition of a thin-layer (8-10 inches) of clean dredged sediments to 10 acres of a low elevation salt marsh within the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge in Orange County, CA in order to increase habitat health and address sea level rise.

Image of grassy levee area.

Oro Loma Horizontal Levee Project

Oro Loma Sanitary District in San Lorenzo, CA is removing vertical levees and putting in horizontal levees to better adapt and prepare for rising tides.

Image of waterway with rocky constructed shore, wetlands, and bridge and fog in the background.

Cathedral Park Rain Garden

Portland's Biggest Rain Garden: Portland, Oregon has redeveloped their city to include a multitude of nature based solutions on large scales. One of their most successful implementations was developing 3,600 rain gardens throughout the city. Cathedral Park houses Portland's biggest rain garden.

Aerial image of the bay lands and Bair Island

Bair Island Wetlands Restoration

Bair Island in Redwood, CA is three islands in close proximity to each other that have undergone a massive restoration effort by local organizations to transform thousands of acres of salt ponds back into tidal flats.

Aerial image of San Francisco with tree-lined street in the middle.

San Francisco Urban Forestry Plan

The goals of the SF Urban Forest Plan is to plant 50,000 new trees by 2050, create a city wide street tree maintenance program, and to educate the public on the importance and brilliance of trees.

Example sketch of what the bioswale may look like with trees, rain and water catchment areas.

Happy Valley Bioswale

The Happy Valley Bioswale in Ventura, CA is a massive example of what bioswales can achieve. The bioswale, 300 ft long in a horse shoe orientation, treats water runoff from 36 acres of the surrounding urban environment.

Image of an overlook to the baylands with cultivated areas to the left and marsh lands on the right.

Sonoma Creek Baylands Strategy

The Sonoma Creek Baylands Strategy was created to mitigate flooding events and reintroduce public access to the restored environment. Further benefits are protecting endangered species such as the salt marsh harvest mouse.

Cover of the Trees for Seattle 2020 Urban Forest Management Plan

Seattle Urban Forest Plan

Seattle Urban Forestry plan implemented the planting of trees and understory plants, as well as public gardens with agriculture across the city. The increase of vegetation has reduced noise and air pollution, while reducing flooding across the city.

Alley way image with linear permeable paving down the middle.

Martha Gardens Green Alleys

The Martha Gardens project in San Jose, CA aims to resurface a residential neighborhood's roads with pervious pavers in order to reduce riverine flooding risks.

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