Client: Roots2Empower
Authors: Sagal Alisalad, Tanya Stasio, PhD, Elisabeth Seliga
September 2026
On behalf of Roots2Empower, Researcher Sagal Alisalad, Senior Researcher Tanya Stasio, and Assistant Researcher Elisabeth Seliga, prepared a report assessing climate vulnerability in the City of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. AEC staff developed a Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI) by combining metrics related to social, economic, health, housing, and exposure to climate hazards. The analysis found that Pawtucket’s Downtown and Woodlawn neighborhoods are most vulnerable to climate change impacts, and that residents of Woodlawn, particularly those closest to Morley Field (a now-closed public park sold to developers), are likely to experience more severe impacts from climate change compared to residents in other parts of Pawtucket. Based on the results of this report, AEC recommends that Pawtucket decision-makers reconsider how the conversion of Morley Field into a parking lot will affect a neighborhood that already faces disparate climate hazard risk and social, housing, and health vulnerabilities.
