Building Climate Resilient Cities: Will Travis, Executive Director. Bay Conservation and Development Commission ( BCDC)
About:”Battling the Sea Level Rise”
Most debates on Climate change are often focused on Mitigation and very little attention has been given to adapting to climate change. The ongoing California Climate Adaptation Strategy Draft is among the first example of a tactical plan for action by a government agency to adapt to extreme climate events and sea-level rise.
This issue is of great importance in developing world cities which are often characterized by extreme poverty; and these poor communities will be most vulnerable to any potential extreme climate events. The forum held in University of California, Berkeley explored strategies that addressed the impact of sea level rise and extreme climate events.

About : Will Travis, Executive Director, Bay Conservation and Development Commission
Will Travis is the executive director of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, commonly called BCDC, which was the nation’s first state coastal management agency when it was created in 1965. Will, who is a native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, earned Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Regional Planning degrees in 1967 and 1970 respectively, both from Penn State University. During 1966, he studied architecture in London.
Will began his professional career as an assistant planner and urban designer at BCDC between 1970 and 1972. He then spent a year as a consultant on the master plan for the East Bay Regional Park District. In 1973, he joined the staff of the newly-established California Coastal Commission where, between 1973 and 1985, he held a number of positions including heading the coastal agency’s offshore oil drilling permit staff, directing its public access program, and overseeing its budget and administrative functions. He returned to BCDC in 1985 and spent the next ten years as the Commission’s deputy director. He has been BCDC’s executive director since 1995.