In 2021, Governor Murphy sanctioned legislation  (P.L. 2021, c6)  mandating the inclusion of a Climate Change-Related Hazard Vulnerability Assessment in Municipal Land-Use Law. This requires all New Jersey municipalities, including Haddonfield, to integrate CCRHVA into their Master Plans.

The steps involved in the CCRHVA are outlined in the graphic below.

Haddonfield Borough, in collaboration with Pennoni Associates, is updating its 1984 Master Plan, with a slated release in 2024. The forthcoming plan will include the Climate Change-Related Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (CCRHVA), evaluating vulnerabilities to climate-induced hazards like flooding, extreme heat, and precipitation.

The StoryMap, prepared under the Rutgers New Jersey Climate Corps* program, gives an overview of key demographics in Haddonfield, before expanding upon the first step of the CCRHVA, the 'Current and Future Threats Analysis' for the borough. Specifically, it delves into the vulnerability of the community to flooding, extreme precipitation and heat.

 ^{*The New Jersey Climate Corps program is a cohort of graduate-level students offering climate services under the umbrella of the New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center (NJCCRC) at Rutgers University. This StoryMap is an outcome of a partnership between the NJCCRC, Pennoni Associates and Haddonfield. The deliverables of this project inform Haddonfield and other stakeholders of potential climate change-related hazards and associated risks.} 

Continued greenhouse gas emissions are driving global warming and climate change, causing severe, uneven, and, in some instances, irreversible impacts on people, economies, and ecosystems worldwide. In turn, the increase in global warming contributes to more frequent extreme weather events like hurricanes, storms and heat waves.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has published the following key data related to climate changed in New Jersey:

It is important to anticipate these natural hazards and implement mitigation measures to safeguard communities and assets. The upcoming sections outline Haddonfield's vulnerability to extreme precipitation, flooding, and extreme heat, utilizing  NJAdapt's  suite of datasets and maps. NJAdapt covers a wide range of socio-economic and environmental data which is used for modeling climate change-related hazards.

The central part of Haddonfield, consisting of the PATCO Haddonfield Station with its rapid transit lines and a concentration of commercial establishments, has a high proportion of impervious surface, along with a heightened transportation activity. Consequently, as the map below shows, the Land Surface Temperature in the borough for the year 2022, is higher in the central part compared to the rest of Haddonfield.

Haddonfield's vulnerability to extreme heat can be analyzed further by looking at its Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI). The HVI, developed using the  NJHazadapt tool , encompasses three groups of indicators:

• Exposure: Represents physical environmental stressors or characteristics contributing to adverse health outcomes at both individual and community levels. The sub-indicators making up the Exposure indicator are: Ratio of Impervious Cover, Annual PM2.5 Concentration, Ozone Exceedance Days and Summer Average Temperature Normals.
• Sensitivity: Indicates the extent to which individuals or communities may be impacted by extreme heat. Sensitivity sub-indicators include: Percent of Population Aged Below 5 Years, Percentage with Disability, Percentage of Homes Built Before 1960, Percentage of Population Engaged in in Outdoor Occupations, Percent Living Alone, Asthma Prevalence, Diabetes and Coronary Heart Disease Prevalence.
• Adaptive capacity: Reflects the ability of individuals or communities to respond, take action to mitigate hazards associated with extreme heat, and recover from an extreme heat event. Adaptive capacity covers: Percentage of Population Below Poverty Line, Percent Unemployed, Percent Linguistic Isolation, Percent Without High School Diploma, Percent Non-White and Percentage of Population without Health Insurance.

The live map provided below illustrates the HVI for each census tract in New Jersey. Haddonfield, with four census tracts, is outlined by a bold black boundary. Clicking on a specific census tract within Haddonfield, and elsewhere in New Jersey unveils the HVI of the census tract selected.

Haddonfield comprises four census tracts, each ranking highest in the Exposure indicator, reflecting a higher prevalence of environmental stressors leading to higher temperatures in the borough. Following Exposure, the Sensitivity indicator takes precedence, succeeded by Adaptive Capacity. Essentially, while Haddonfield exhibits a higher Exposure indicator—representing heat stress from factors like PM2.5 or ozone concentration—compared to other indicators, the community's positive socio-economic and health characteristics mitigate its impact. Consequently, Haddonfield's Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI) is generally lower than that of Camden County, as evident in the image below.

However, the census tract in southeastern Haddonfield has a higher HVI relative to the other three tracts. Along with having a high Exposure score of 5 similar to the remaining tracts, the Sensitivity indicator is also comparatively higher the rest of the tracts. This is attributed to elevated scores in health indicators such as Asthma Prevalence, Diabetes, and Coronary Heart Disease Prevalence for this census tract. Additionally, like the other tracts, Haddonfield scores high on the Sensitivity sub-indicator of Percentage of Homes Built Before 1960, reflecting the prevalence of older structures.

Nevertheless, the good news is that overall, Haddonfield's HVI remains relatively lower compared to the broader county and New Jersey.

In comparison with the rest of New Jersey and the Northeastern region, Haddonfield is relatively less prone to natural hazards, in part owing to its location and extensive tree cover. However, it is crucial that the borough upgrades its stormwater system and installs the requisite green infrastructure in order to ensure that the community is able to mitigate flooding in the case of extreme storm and precipitation events. Additionally, increasing the pervious coverage specifically by expanding the canopy cover can help in mitigating not just flood impacts but also the consequences of extreme heat.