Austin and UT publish Resilient Austin Playbook to guide city climate resilience efforts
March 9, 2026
- What: City of Austin and the University of Texas released the Resilient Austin Playbook on Feb. 25, outlining strategies to bolster the city's economic and infrastructural resilience to extreme weather and climate change.
- Who: Austin's Office of Climate Resilience and UT-City CoLab, a partnership of UT researchers, faculty and students; key contributors include Marc Coudert, Dev Niyogi and researcher Trevor Brooks.
- Why it matters: The playbook offers practical projects and policies, such as boosting sustainable infrastructure and using reflective pavement coatings to lower neighborhood heat risk, to inform future city planning and reduce climate impacts.
Austin and the University of Texas released the Resilient Austin Playbook on Feb. 25 as a joint effort to map local strategies for handling climate-driven disruptions. City staff and UT researchers developed the document to give officials a clear set of projects, goals and policy options that can be used in planning and operations.
UT-City CoLab served as the main vehicle for collaboration, connecting university researchers, faculty and students with city policymakers. CoLab contributors provided data, technical analysis and project proposals to shape recommendations in the playbook, and they also supported earlier efforts such as seasonal climate outlooks and a separate heat resilience guide.
The playbook highlights practical interventions meant to reduce risks in vulnerable neighborhoods. Examples include prioritizing sustainable infrastructure investments and trialing reflective coatings on pavement to cut surface temperatures and limit heat exposure. The document packages these ideas so city departments and community partners can evaluate costs, benefits and implementation pathways.
City climate resilience staff framed the publication as more than a definition of resilience, they said, calling it a communication tool to show what the city is doing and plans to do. Officials emphasized the importance of learning from recent extreme weather and economic impacts, and using that experience to narrow uncertainties and make recovery less complex for residents.
UT CoLab leadership described the effort as open and participatory, inviting input from residents and stakeholders across Austin. Researchers working on the initiative said the partnership creates mutual benefits: students and faculty gain research opportunities while the city receives targeted data and analysis to inform decisions.
The Resilient Austin Playbook will act as a reference for city planners, community groups and partner agencies as they prioritize projects and funding. City and university officials expect the playbook to guide future climate work and to be updated as new data and community feedback shape local resilience strategies.
Sources
- Resilient Austin Playbook document
- City of Austin climate office announcement
- UT-City CoLab materials and statements
- Interviews with City climate resilience staff and CoLab researchers