The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA's) Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Framework, 3^rd Edition, is a guide and collection of resources for use in analyzing the impacts of climate change and extreme weather on transportation infrastructure. Its purpose is to identify key considerations, questions, and resources that can be used to design and implement a climate change vulnerability assessment. The processes, lessons learned, and resources outlined in the framework are geared toward state departments of transportation (DOTs), metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and other agencies involved in planning, building, or maintaining the transportation system. It includes suggestions and examples applicable to a wide range of applications, from small qualitative studies to large, detailed, data-intensive analyses. The resources included in the framework will be added to and updated over time.

The framework guides development of a vulnerability assessment from defining the scope of the project to integrating information into decision making. Click the image for a larger view.

The vulnerability assessment framework consists of three primary components:

1. Defining objectives and scope: This section provides suggestions and resources for articulating objectives, selecting and characterizing relevant assets, and identifying climate variables for study.
2. Assessing vulnerability: In this section, practitioners begin to assess the vulnerability of their assets. The form, level of effort, and detail of the vulnerability assessment will vary based on the identified objectives, goals, and other factors.
3. Integrating vulnerability into decision making: Finally, this section reminds study participants to consider how to address identified vulnerabilities and to ensure that study results are used in practice.