Boston under snow: Resilience lessons for the nation, a Global Resilience Institute report

This Global Resilience Institute report analyzes the record-breaking snow storms that occurred in the Boston metro region between January 24 and February 22, 2015. In that month, 94.4 inches of snow fell, with half falling in just 2 weeks as a result of Winter Storm Juno and Winter Storm Marcus. The storms severely damaged the city’s transportation infrastructure, including a system-wide shutdown of all train and bus operations. Over 1.3 million daily users of public transportation were impacted, 25% of whom lack a private vehicle as an alternative method of transportation. This cost an estimated $2 billion in economic damages due to lost productivity and revenues.

Resilience Governance for Infrastructure Dependencies and Interdependencies: A Practical Model for Regional Critical Infrastructure Resilience

Throughout the 20th Century, American communities became increasingly reliant on infrastructure systems that extended well beyond the reach of their direct control. With the dramatic expansion of the electrical grid, the development of the interstate highway system, the construction of a continental network of fuel pipelines, and the building of long-range water distribution networks such as the Colorado River Aqueduct, the infrastructure that major metropolitan regions rely upon for energy, transportation, water, and communications reach across multiple local, state, and even national jurisdictions. Not only have individual infrastructure systems become more expansive, they have become increasingly interconnected and interdependent. This trend has only accelerated in the current century with the pervasive integration of internet enabled devices into physical systems.