One Climate Future Plan, Transportation

MIT Policy Hackathon 2021

Equitable Implementation

October 21, 2021

What policies are needed and at what level of governance in order to ensure the just and equitable implementation of the One Climate Future Plan’s transportation goals? Consider the intersections of transportation and services (health, social, etc.).

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Some history of the region

City of Portland Budget and Financial Docs

City of South Portland Municipal Budget Info

In 2020, the cities of Portland and South Portland in Cumberland County Maine created a climate action and adaptation plan under the headline: One Climate Future, Charting a Course for Portland and South Portland. Like many other communities around the world, the cities have set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets of 80% below 2017 by 2050 community-wide and 100% by 2040 for municipal operations.

The Casco Bay research team of the Story of Place Workshop seeks to understand how climate action plans and emissions reduction targets contribute to the necessary and inevitable transformation of our systems and what the resulting opportunities are for future just and equitable trajectories. We seek to understand global issues on a (bio)regional scale and examine the local dynamics of a region in the context of global trends. The Story of Place Workshop has many research teams around the world all seeking to understand local twists of globally transferable concepts. This is part of transformation systems analysis.

As in many places around the world, the (South) Portland city area is relatively affluent, providing many services and jobs and commanding high real estate prices. On the other hand, the hinterland that provides affordable housing to the local workforce has sparse resources and services. This means transportation across the region is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. The transportation related actions, outlined in the One Climate Future Plan are operating under the premise “build it and they will come”, but switching users from one mode of transportation to another is more complex than that. All of the measures outlined in the Plan are necessary for a transformation but they may not be sufficient to lead to consumer acceptance if equity considerations stretching the entire Greater Portland region are not included. This is a great challenge. Tax incentives and employer benefits for example are income dependent and favor residents with higher incomes and good jobs. They disadvantage gig workers, the un-employed, stay-at home and single parents, the elderly, and others outside the regular workforce. Our challenge is related to this conundrum.

Sealevel rise tool

The twin municipalities of South Portland and Portland, Maine, include urban, suburban and rural settings and is the most densely populated area in the state. The cities are located at the southern end of Casco Bay which is fed by six distinct watersheds, the largest of which, the Upper Watershed, provides drinking water for 1 in 6 Mainers. The most proximal watersheds are the Presumpscot and Fore Rivers. The bay itself is an economic and ecosystem services resource. While some heritage fisheries such as groundfishing have waned in recent decades, lobstering thrives. Aquaculture in the form of shellfish and sea vegetable farming has a growing presence in the bay. All of these industries are impacted by climate change with the Gulf of Maine being one of the fastest warming bodies of water in the world as a result of changing current patterns (a weakening Labrador current; larger and more persistent warm core eddies from the Gulf Stream). Decreasing pH of the ocean is impacting these industries, as is degraded water quality and disease/toxin impacts. The lobster represents a key attraction to Maine's other industry - tourism. Waterfront usage is a key tension point between blue economies and the t which is growing in the bioregion.

Approximate area of islands (if any) in the Casco Bay Bio Region: There are 12 major islands in Casco Bay, with 8 falling within the bioregion. Islands are served by the Casco Bay Ferry Service. Islands with year round populations see a doubling or tripling of population in the summer months. Pop numbers based on 2000/2010 censuses

Climate action in the context of the entire state. Portland and South Portland are part of Cumberland County. Sebago Lake provides water to the Portland.