Lessons from Sandy

This report, spurred by aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, identifies a set of policies, regulations, and administrative practices that federal agencies can adopt to help coastal metropolitan regions recover quickly from natural disasters and reduce future risk in the face of climate change and rising sea levels.

About the Authors

Robert Pirani is a senior fellow at Regional Plan Association and the program director for the New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program (HEP) at the Hudson River Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2014, Mr. Pirani was RPA’s vice president for environmental and energy programs for more than 20 years.

Laura Tolkoff is associate planner for the environmental and energy programs at Regional Plan Association, where she has focused on advancing climate mitigation and climate resilience through research, advocacy, and planning. She also manages RPA’s energy program, which seeks to develop a contemporary model of energy infrastructure that improves the New York metropolitan region's economic competitiveness, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, avoids pollution, and takes advantage of technologies that can help manage energy resources more effectively.