ASHEVILLE, NC, June 12, 2007—As the global climate heats up in the coming decades, urban
planners in particular are going to be in the hot seat as they make decisions about transportation, land use, landscaping, and a host of other critical issues.  The available literature for planners about climate change is neither comprehensive nor up to date, and much of it is inaccurate, but that’s going to
change as a result of a new initiative in Asheville, NC, to develop a practical manual for planners
across the United States.  

NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville and Scott Shuford, who will step down
from his post as Planning and Development Director for the City of Asheville on June 30, are combining forces to develop “Planning for Climate Change, A Handbook for City, Town and Rural Area Planners”
to guide planning and decisionmaking in the following areas:

·         Land Use

·         Transportation

·         Natural Resources Management

·         Structure and Site Design

·         Public Safety

·         Public Infrastructure

·         Economic Development

·         Social Services

Their initial partner is the Environmental Quality Institute at the University of North Carolina Asheville (www.unca.edu), which is facilitating Shuford’s participation in the project.  Additional partners, including professional organizations, will be sought to sponsor the effort.

“The battle to adapt to climate change will be won or lost on the local level to a large extent,” said Shuford, who will write the handbook. “By developing practical and comprehensive information for
planners that sorts climate variability and climate change information from the NCDC into discrete
focus areas, our goals are to provide sound scientific information and to facilitate the exchange of
ideas about a set of planning responses for areas across the United States.  By providing climate
data and expertise for the handbook, NCDC is making a contribution of incalculable value.”

National Climatic Data Center’s Role

“Climate change is real, and this is a great example of the National Climatic Data Center working with partners to help guide society’s adaptation to it.” said David Easterling, Chief of the Scientific Services Division at NCDC and a leading author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC.   NCDC’s participation in this project for urban planners demonstrates how we are changing the way we provide climate services.  Scott will work closely with climate experts in NCDC, and besides providing extensive climate data and expertise for the initiative, NCDC will support development and
dissemination of the handbook when it is finished in 2008.”

UNC Asheville’s Participation

“UNC Asheville is pleased to facilitate Scott Shuford’s work on this important project,” said Dr. Gerard Voos, Program Director of UNC Asheville’s Environmental Quality Institute.  “Through EQI, the
university’s atmospheric sciences program, the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center and other initiatives, UNC Asheville is preparing students to play lead roles in society’s efforts to deal
with climate change in the years ahead.”

Climate Expertise in Asheville

The collaboration between NCDC and Shuford is an outcome of the Asheville HUB Project (www.ashevillehub.com), a partnership involving public, educational and private organizations in
Asheville and Buncombe County, NC.  The HUB Project is pursuing specific strategies for economic development, including attracting more federal government and private meteorological agencies and companies to Western North Carolina.  Asheville, NC, is home to many important climate and environmental assets.  To read about them, visit www.ashevillehub.com/images/stories/pdf/climate_asset_fact_sheet.pdf. 

“The Asheville HUB Project has given NCDC scientists a good way of collaborating with people who
have expertise that complements what we do at NCDC,” said Easterling.  “With the partnering that is taking place, we are seeing benefits for NCDC and all of its clients.  For example, as our scientists
have begun to talk to Scott Shuford about urban planning challenges, we speak more of a common language than we expected because we all familiar with Western North Carolina and can talk about
how climate affects something specific in the region.  Then Scott can see implications of a problem
far beyond the region and address the needs of planners everywhere.”

About the National Climatic Data Center

The National Climatic Data Center (ncdc.noaa.gov) is a world leader in the climate community.  Part
of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, it holds the world’s largest
collection of environmental data.  The NCDC provides the historical overview of weather for regions, offering vital analysis about climate variability and change necessary for strategic planning in all
aspects of commerce and daily life.

About Scott Shuford

Scott Shuford is an urban planning professional with 25 years of experience in the southeastern United States. A member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, he has served as Planning and Development Director for the City of Asheville since 1999 and previously had senior planning
assignments in St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Brevard County, FL, and Wilmington and Carolina
Beach, NC.  He earned his Master of Regional Planning and his B.A. from the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.

About UNC Asheville

UNC Asheville, a four-year public liberal arts university located in the mountains of  Western North Carolina, has earned a national reputation for its programs in the humanities, undergraduate research, atmospheric sciences and environmental studies. The University is also a leader in climate and environmental sustainability education and research. Atmospheric science faculty and students are currently at work on groundbreaking investigations of local winter weather patterns, rainfall in the Appalachian Mountains and calculating hurricane wind speeds. UNC Asheville is partnering with the Renaissance Computing Institute in Chapel Hill to develop 3-D weather models for better disaster planning and response in the region, which has a history of devastating floods and mudslides. The National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center, a national center for the modeling and analysis
of environmental data, was established at UNC Asheville in 2004 to coordinate basic and applied
research projects. 

For More Information, Contact

• Nancy Foltz, Asheville HUB Project, 828/628-1699

• Marjorie McGuirk, NOAA/National Climatic Data Center, 828/271-4442

• Merianne Epstein, UNC Asheville, 828/251-6676