The recently published Built to Endure smart guide maps a path for smaller and mid-sized municipalities to build more resilient infrastructure systems. Two of the guide's authors—Rory Linehan (Bentley Systems) and Elizabeth Losos (Nicholas Institute)—talked with the ASCE Plot Points podcast about the new technology making resilient infrastructure more accessible than ever.

At DC Climate Week (April 20-26, 2026), Duke experts and partners will convene leaders across sectors to exchange ideas about resilience solutions for U.S. communities and emerging economies. See a full list of Duke events to be hosted at Duke in DC, the university’s home in the nation’s capital.

Infrastructure and technology experts at South by Southwest highlighted how cities such as Austin can modernize the infrastructure systems that keep residents safe and adopt digital tools to help do it. Built to Endure, a resilience planning guide published by the Nicholas Institute, provides cities with a roadmap for coordinating agencies, updating codes and using new digital tools, reports KXAN Austin.

Duke University and industry partners recently launched a 51-page guidebook titled Built to Endure, which provides local governments with a roadmap to move away from isolated, reactive infrastructure repairs and toward a more interconnected, system-wide approach to resilience, reports Construction & Property.

Infrastructure failures can cascade across transportation, water, energy, communications and emergency services. Built to Endure: A Smart Guide for U.S. Cities To Build Resilient Infrastructure That Lasts "makes the case for a fundamental shift from traditional asset-by-asset repairs to a more holistic systems-based approach," writes Bentley Systems' Rory Linehan in United for Infrastructure's newsletter.

State officials this year advanced the next phase of the state’s Flood Resiliency Blueprint, incorporating updated modeling that factors in heavier rainfall, future development and sea-level rise. That marks a shift away from relying solely on historic data and FEMA’s regulatory maps, reports WRAL News. “A lot of the regulatory floodplains really haven’t kept up with what we know is happening,” said Nicholas Institute expert Elizabeth Losos.

This week at Duke University, researchers and engineers unveiled Built to Endure, a new guide aimed at helping small and midsized cities like Chapel Hill better prepare for rising flood risks, reports WRAL News. The 51-page guide outlines practical steps communities can take to assess vulnerabilities, improve planning and use digital tools to model future flood scenarios before investing in costly infrastructure projects.

More than 100 community members gathered in Gross Hall Wednesday evening for the unveiling of “Built to Endure,” a new guide from Duke University and several partners that promises to help local leaders in making smarter decisions about their infrastructure development, The Chronicle reports.

In July, China and Brazil formally announced they would explore the possibility of a railway leading from Brazil’s Atlantic coast directly to a new Peruvian port on the Pacific coast. "[Railways] take up the same amount of space, but for the most part, people get off at stations and can’t get off at multiple places in between," Nicholas Institute expert Elizabeth Losos told Inside Climate News when asked whether rail is less damaging to forests than roads. "But when they build the railways they create service roads that serve them."

Are you a Duke University alum with plans (or potential plans) to attend Climate Week NYC (September 22-29) or the UNFCCC’s Conference of Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan (November 11-22)? Duke University experts will again take part in these important convenings alongside climate thought leaders and decision-makers from across the world—and we are eager to connect with Duke alumni who will also be joining.

Duke experts Elizabeth Losos, Alex Pfaff and Stuart Pimm argue in an op-ed for Foreign Policy that improved debt-for-nature swaps on a substantial scale will help break the downward cycle created by the interlinked debt, climate and biodiversity crises. Smart debt relief will reduce climate change effects and increase economic growth, particularly in the Global South, they write.

Some of the United States' premiere environmental laws of the 1970s—such as the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act—need to be reformed to more quickly meet today's environmental goals. Jackson Ewing, director of energy and climate policy at the Nicholas Institute, told Newsweek the U.S. must adopt policies that allow for different permitting processes or accelerated approval for renewable energy and infrastructure projects before beginning construction.

At the latest Duke University Climate Collaboration Symposium, experts exchanged ideas about accelerating sustainable infrastructure development. Panelists at a March 21 event discussed the need for a new sustainability and resilience mindset to future-proof infrastructure from climate change's impacts and shifting societal expectations.

World leaders—along with government officials, nongovernmental organizations, researchers and activists—gathered in Dubai for the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference to discuss ways to advance climate action. Experts from the Nicholas Institute attended the conference, released publications or announced initiatives tied to it and/or followed the proceedings closely.

The Infrastructure Sustainability Learning (ISLe) Initiative aims to accelerate the development of climate-smart infrastructure through virtual knowledge exchange and problem-solving among infrastructure practitioners and experts.