All towns and cities already have infrastructure and social systems in place that increase their resilience to climate change. Many of these are simply the systems that already respond to natural hazards we’re familiar with, like floods or storms—for example, emergency shelters, search-and-rescue operations, or cooling centers. Generally, resilience assets are key services or structures that facilitate recovery in the event of an emergency, or mitigate chronic stresses like increasing heat. In our assessment of a town’s existing resilience assets, we include:

1. Emergency shelters within a half mile walk
2. Urgent care centers within a half mile walk
3. Cooling centers within a half mile walk
4. Grocery stores within a half mile walk
5. Public transportation stations
6. Bike share stations