The Resilience Plan for Greater Milwaukee Metropolitan Area

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, Veolia, The Nature Conservancy, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
Posted on: 11/15/2019 - Updated on: 3/24/2020

Posted by

Adam Whelchel

Abstract

The Resilience Plan for Greater Milwaukee, Wisconsin included engagement with over 28 municipalities (1.1 million people) and stakeholders from all sectors through a structured planning process to reach agreement on the risks, vision, and supportive actions needed to improve this region’s resilience and reduce the most pressing risks. The Resilience Plan registers that these risks continue to be exacerbated by changing populations, economic challenges and climate change. The Resilience Plan helped this region understand how investments can be leveraged to reduce the risks associated with climate change and fiscal constraints, and the overall benefits of social wellbeing. The project team lead by Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District along with Veolia, The Nature Conservancy, and Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission identified as many risks as possible through stakeholder interviews and a comprehensive plan review. The project team then ranked the risks by likelihood and negative impact. During workshops, the top 12 risks were presented and stakeholders prioritized and chose the top six risks for the focus of this planning effort. The Resilience Plan relied on this approach which allowed for the communities to define what resilience means to and for them by using elements of Community Resilience Building and 100 Resilient Cities. Collectively, the communities defined three Core Visions, along with 20 supportive Actions, that included: Vision 1- Make the Milwaukee region a better place to live by improving the public's participation in decision making and their environment; Vision 2 - Boost the region's economic vitality through innovative job creation and access to equal opportunities; and, Vision 3 - Adapt infrastructure to the challenges of the 21st century. The hope embedded in this Resilience Plan is that it can serve as a roadmap for other metropolitan areas and regions (including rural) looking to collectively and collaboratively advance a more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive future.

Citation

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (2019) The Resilience Plan for Greater Milwaukee Metropolitan Area. Supported by Veolia, The Nature Conservancy, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.