Click on the "+" buttons to view details about our recommendations for a more sustainable Savannah.

​

Through our analysis, the group concluded on a number of potential mitigations for vulnerabilities identified in Savannah. These recommendations can be classified into social, environmental, and economic categories.

​

Environmental Recommendations

​

    Rising sea levels is a global issue that the city of Savannah cannot solve itself, but there are a number of measures that we propose Savannah take to limit the impact of rising sea levels on its vulnerable population. Savannah’s first priority should be properly educating their impoverished citizens through outreach programs on the effects of flooding, how to recognize the signs and early warnings of incoming floods, and how climate change and global warming will increase the severity and frequency of floods. These education measures would be focused on closing the environmental knowledge gap in its communities, who can then do their part to offer environmental solutions that would have the greatest impact on their own communities. As Dr. McClain pointed out, many people in the community do not even know the sound of the flood-warning sirens (McClain 2020). 

​

    Savannah could invest in more flood prevention infrastructure such as sea walls, flood gates, retention ponds, water pumps and water squares. New water management infrastructure would protect the city from increasingly severe floods and storms. These measures would be most effective if built along the Savannah and Ogeechee rivers, as that is where the most likely flooding will occur, and in that way would protect the identified vulnerable communities that live closest to the rivers. The construction of such projects would also provide jobs for the area, further benefiting the impoverished communities that live close to the rivers. Retention ponds and water squares would be less expensive and complex than entire sea walls or flood gates and pump systems, however those more expensive and complex solutions would yield a greater impact on flood prevention. The decision would be up to Savannah which they would rather invest in. Whatever the city may choose, like the prominent coastal cities that have developed better flood management techniques, Savannah would benefit from learning to “live with water in their city” (Muggah, 2019).

In addition to investing in flood-prevention infrastructure, Savannah could implement programs that assist impoverished neighborhoods in flood-prevention and flood-recovery, for when floods damage does occur. 34.3% of Savannah’s impoverished population live in homes that were built before 1950, and are likely in desperate need of flood-proofing renovations ("Savannah, Georgia (GA) Poverty Rate Data", 2017). To help mitigate the effects of flooding on impoverished communities, the City of Savannah could start a program for low-income residents that teaches how to and subsidizes the cost of flood-proofing homes. Savannah could also expand flood insurance coverage for low-income residents, as a loss in home equity due to flooding would only perpetuate the cycle of generational poverty. These programs can be equitable, environmental, and economical, as home value is closely tied to personal equity. Helping low-income residents recover from environmental disasters can lead to them increasing their contribution to the city’s economy. Whatever solution the city chooses to pursue, it is imperative that they include the voices of those living in these marginalized communities in the decision making process. As discussed with Dr. McClain, a proper solution can only come from cooperation with a community, and not an outside force looking in.

 

Social Equity Recommendations

​

    After studying the problems the city of Savannah faces and researching how other cities have dealt with similar issues, the team developed recommended solutions that we hope can help Savannah overcome the issues of high unemployment rates and housing burden that overwhelmingly affect Black communities. Our solutions address housing, groundwater contamination, unemployment, and racial equity, respectively.

​

    In a similar manner to programs in St. Paul, MN, we recommend the city of Savannah adopt tax break incentives for landlords who provide a certain percentage of affordable units. The specific numbers could differ from St. Paul’s as Savannah sees fit. 

Additionally, we recommend the strategies presented in Pathways to Stable Homes, a study from Massachusetts, which outlines three policies to be both “feasible and effective” to “ensure families have enough resources to afford housing without forgoing other basic needs” (Children’s Healthwatch, 2019, p.2). We believe the following two policies could be helpful to the city of Savannah: 

​

    1. Ensuring access to childcare subsidy and reducing child care subsidy co-payments. This plan specifically suggests capping childcare payments at 7% of income. Essentially the goal is to close the gap between income and the major expenses households typically face - rent and childcare (Children’s Healthwatch, 2019, p.2).

​

    2. Providing eviction-prevention assistance to families with rental arrearages. This policy provides a safety net for families when unforeseen circumstances occur. 

​

    Although the city of Savannah is not currently suffering from groundwater contamination, the region is susceptible to being polluted, which would cause devastating issues for the residents relying on the aquifer. Therefore, it is crucial for Savannah to continue to ensure clean groundwater in the prevention of contamination and to also be prepared to respond in the event of a problem. We would like to encourage the city to continue to regularly monitor the contaminant levels, use groundwater in the most efficient and sustainable manner for urban water-supply, have an emergency plan in the event of contamination as well as alternative water sources, and to maintain an adaptive management strategy as the groundwater system and urban environment changes over time (Howard et al., 2015).

 

    Towards unemployment, we first recommend that Savannah adopt a similar program to Atlanta’s Westside Works. Our maps highlight areas that are in need of these employment programs. Westside Works partners with major corporations and provides job training in several career areas to give the most opportunity possible. This program has a range of career-building opportunities that range from culinary to information technology to construction. There are six different options that are listed on the website. The program walks individuals through the entire process beginning with an initial assessment, followed by skill training and development, then job placement, and finally the program will individualized support services for interviews and screenings among others (Westside Works, n.d.).

​

    We also recommend doing further research into the theory of “spatial mismatch” which is the theory that poor and minority neighborhoods experience higher rates of unemployment because there are simply not very many jobs in these neighborhoods (Neumark, 2018, p. 8). The Hamilton Project provides a summary of the issue stating “The segregation of disadvantaged groups into areas with fewer jobs, in addition to inadequate transportation to jobs in other places, implies that wages, minus any commuting costs, are more likely to be below the wages at which individuals would be willing to work” (Neumark, 2018, p. 8).

In a speech by mayor Van Johnson during a Black Lives Matter protest, the mayor stated that he would like to implement a task force that identifies racial disparities and then quantifies them (Dikes, 2020). Our presumption is that this task force is in the works, and we would like to suggest some recommendations for this task force. Similar to the task force dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights, Proud Savannah, it is crucial that the task force include minority community members, local allies and activists (such as members from the Harambee House), nonprofit leaders, city staff, and elected officials (savannahga, 2020). These members are necessary to gauge how the community feels and what they experience while being able to make real change through elected city officials. Mostly, the city must give a platform to community members of color and simply listen and learn (Bowden et al, 2020). After listening, asking questions, and learning, action must be taken by the city to help the Black community combat systemic racism.

 

Economic Development Recommendations

​

    The city should consider providing incentives to small/medium size businesses to work together to implement risk-reduction measures (Lowlander, 2017). Investing in tailored Green Infrastructure projects to supplement existing gray and green infrastructure initiatives will help mitigate high-business density areas’ vulnerabilities by slowing and reducing stormwater discharges in areas of high pluvial flooding risk with strained drainage systems, while adding environmental, social and economic benefits to the area (EPA, 2020). This concept could be implemented in a similar fashion to the Green Infrastructure to Green Jobs Initiative, or in conjunction with it. By allowing small business owners to take part in a community-led green infrastructure initiative, the city could employ this opportunity to inform them of the current flood risks their business and area are facing, while giving them a tool to combat the source of the risk and empowering the concept of community ownership.

​

    Savannah should take a more active role in supporting small/medium sized business resilience by providing information in usable and easily accessible formats. Much like the businesses in the report, many Savannah businesses have taken steps to protect their properties and businesses. However, they are lacking in the knowledge of low-cost adaptation measures that can be taken towards climate change (Lowlander, 2017). The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR) prepared a Flood Response Toolkit to help communities prepare, respond, and recover from flood related emergencies. A similar Flood Response Toolkit, tailored to the needs and flood risk of Savannah could help to prepare, assess, and provide resources for flooding (Landers, 2018). This could become a useful tool to supplement the aforementioned community-led green infrastructure initiative, as it would provide a succinct and standardized source of knowledge for community members to refer to in case of flood-related emergencies, while adding insight to their flood mitigation efforts.

​

    We also recommend that, in high business districts, a gradual subsidization of flood insurance costs should occur depending on factors such as the flood risk and the size of a business. This will help mitigate some of the negative effects increasing environmental related costs will have on businesses in Savannah. Small businesses with smaller margins will be particularly helped by such a policy, because they would likely be the first to struggle if operating costs were to start to increase, 25% of small businesses never reopen after a climate disaster (Williams, 2018).

​

    Additionally, Savannah could help businesses implement measures taken in residential housing to adapt to climate change. This won’t apply to every business, but due to the size of small businesses and their properties, many of them could benefit from the same protection measures as residential housing. This help could be given in the form of how-to guides and case study workshops provided by the city (Lowlander, 2017). 

​

Lastly, a thorough benefit-cost analysis (BCA) should be conducted before any flood or other hazard mitigation project is funded. If the BCR is 1.0 or greater then the benefits of proposed legislation outweigh the costs, and the project should be commenced . It is imperative, however, that in this BCA, society as a whole is given appropriate standing within the analysis (Landers, 2018).