Tennessee Valley Authority & Chattanooga Resilience Mapping

Status

Start: February 2024
End: July 2024
Client or funder: Tennessee Valley Authority and Chattanooga

Context

TVA and Chattanooga worked together to map climate hazards like heat and flooding while identifying socially vulnerable areas to prioritize investments. ICLEI conducted a GIS analysis, creating composite indices for heat risk and disadvantage and preparing flood data. Chattanooga guided the process and verified results, while TVA gained regional data to support resilience efforts across its service area. The final maps and technical documentation will help secure funding, identify needs, and guide local climate resilience projects.

Project Activity

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and Chattanooga sought to understand the geographic distribution of climate hazards, particularly heat and flooding, while identifying areas with high social vulnerability to prioritize investments. They adopted a two-pronged approach, with Chattanooga guiding the analysis, verifying results, and receiving custom maps. The data layers developed covered the entire TVA region, enabling TVA to share this information with other communities looking to enhance resilience.

Outcomes

ICLEI USA conducted an iterative geographic analysis of heat and disadvantage, incorporating feedback from Chattanooga staff. GIS was used to create composite indices for heat risk and disadvantage, while flood data from First Street was prepared as a shapefile for Chattanooga. TVA and Chattanooga received data, exported maps, and technical documentation, which will support grant applications, identify areas of need, and guide community resilience projects.

Those Involved

Tennessee Valley Authority and Chattanooga