Built Last

California's aging infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to climate-driven extreme weather, such as floods, wildfires, and heat waves. The document advocates for "climate-smart" infrastructure—designing systems based on future climate projections rather than past trends—to protect public safety and the economy. It identifies barriers such as outdated design codes and inadequate funding, and recommends updating standards, increasing technical capacity, and prioritizing equitable outcomes for low-income communities and communities of color.

• California's existing infrastructure is deteriorating and unfit to handle the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including heat waves, wildfires, and floods, as evidenced by the Wine Country fires and the Oroville Dam spillway failure.
• The document defines "climate-smart" infrastructure as the practice of designing and building systems based on future climate projections instead of relying on historical trends, while seeking to reduce emissions and provide social and environmental benefits.
• Several systemic barriers hinder the adoption of climate-smart infrastructure, including outdated codes, limited government capacity, insufficient funding, and a lack of risk analysis for communities of color and low-income populations.
• To improve resilience, the authors recommend that state and local governments update design standards, establish a state coordinating center, incorporate climate costs into economic assessments, and ensure transparency and inclusion in decision-making.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2017). Built Last. https://www.ucs.org/resources/built-last

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Built Last. 2017. https://www.ucs.org/resources/built-last.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Built Last |date=8 November 2017 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/built-last |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2017built, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Built Last}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2017}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/built-last}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }