Resilience

DC flexible housing subsidy shows promise for addressing homelessness, researchers say

Participants used 29% fewer homelessness services, and 88% of them remained in stable housing, in the program's first year, but more time and research will be key to determining the program's long-term effectiveness, said Urban Institute and DC government researchers.

By Katie Pyzyk • Aug. 26, 2021

Cities use art to combat extreme urban heat

As urban areas struggle to cope with scorching temperatures, the Boston-area Metropolitan Area Planning Council is helping local leaders partner with community groups and artists to develop creative cooling infrastructure. 

By Kat Friedrich • Aug. 23, 2021

Equity concerns drive changes to federal community hazard mitigation program

After lower-resourced areas and Midwest, Mountain West and Gulf states lost out in the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program's first year, FEMA aims to boost disadvantaged rural communities' access to grants.

By Maria Rachal • Aug. 20, 2021

As heat island effects worsen due to climate change, cities try to adapt

Cities are adding cooling measures like trees and lighter pavement to reduce their urban heat island effects as record temperatures sweep the nation.

By Katie Pyzyk • Aug. 17, 2021

Despite limited participation, advocates see potential for Northeast transportation cap-and-invest plan

Only four of the over a dozen original participants of the Transportation and Climate Initiative signed on to a final program to cut transportation emissions. Backers say there's still a bright future.

By Jason Plautz • July 29, 2021

'We have got to do something': Cities behind on climate goals as extreme weather worsens

Funding and staffing shortfalls and a lack of buy-in from city workers are impeding progress, a Bloomberg Associates report states. It calls for savvy messaging and regional collaborations.

By Danielle McLean • July 27, 2021

Resilience roles go mainstream, as cities seek more climate adaptation resources

"Chief resilience officer" was a novel title a decade ago but is now a fixture in many major local governments looking to coordinate preparedness and response in the face of increasingly common, and costly, extreme weather.

By Maria Rachal • UPDATED: Aug. 10, 2021 at 10:10 a.m.

Billions more needed to address climate infrastructure needs of US cities: report

Cities need at least $10.6 billion to fund more than 300 sustainable infrastructure projects, according to a CDP survey of 97 U.S. cities. 

By Jason Plautz • July 20, 2021

Local leaders from 12 cities to attend vacant property leadership institute

Amid expectations the number of vacant proprieties will rise due to the pandemic, local leaders from across four states will attend an intensive training to learn how to best transform and maintain them.

By Katie Pyzyk • July 12, 2021

WRI names Rosario, Argentina, as 'Prize for Cities' winner

The city's sustainable food initiative, a program that addresses inequalities and the effects of climate change by providing low-income residents with access to underused land to grow food, led to its win.

By Chris Teale • June 29, 2021

Most major US cities have become more segregated in recent decades: report

University of California at Berkeley researchers find that 80% of metro regions have become more segregated from 1990 to 2019. Some leaders are looking to reparations to address segregation and other effects of systemic racism.

By Cailin Crowe • June 28, 2021

Pittsburgh summer program aims to retain young professionals

Competition for talent has become even more pronounced during the pandemic as remote work proliferated, giving employees greater flexibility in where they live.

By Katie Pyzyk • June 16, 2021

Deep Dive

Philadelphia's eviction diversion program is a 'lifeline' for tenants

The "nation's largest poor city" has adopted one of the most aggressive eviction diversion efforts in the U.S., in an effort one city council member said she hopes will remain post-pandemic.

By Amanda Loudin • June 16, 2021

Dallas adopts its first urban forest master plan

The plan follows an earlier heat island management study that found the nation's ninth-most-populous city was heating up more rapidly than every other city in the U.S. outside of Phoenix.

By Maria Rachal • June 11, 2021

EPA, USDA select 13 sites to help build community-led food systems

The Local Foods, Local Places program aims to rejuvenate economically blighted areas, with revitalization plans including the creation of community gardens and converting a transit bus into a mobile farmers market. 

By Katie Pyzyk • June 08, 2021

Tampa, Florida, creates resilience plan to prepare for next crisis

The road map, which officials say is the first to be released during or after the coronavirus pandemic, calls for more affordable housing and broadband access in addition to climate-ready infrastructure.

By Chris Teale • June 03, 2021

With more extreme weather on horizon, FEMA resilience program's dollars to double

The Biden administration's $1 billion injection for the nascent Pre-Disaster Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program comes as national leaders aim to "categorically shift" disaster spending from reactive to proactive.

By Maria Rachal • May 26, 2021

Opinion

Averting economic devastation from New York's billion-dollar consumer energy debt

Federal funds will eliminate a lot of New Yorkers' energy and water utility debt, but utility shareholders must share the burden of what remains, the authors write.

By Kevin Parker and Richard Berkley • May 26, 2021

Stimulus funds poised to magnify impact of Economic Development Administration's new equity focus

The EDA has for the first time prioritized equity in its strategy as it looks to invest in underserved communities and prepare them for the jobs of the future.

By Chris Teale • May 24, 2021

Funding is a key barrier to cities' climate plan progress: report

About 43% of cities worldwide lack a climate adaptation plan, with 25% noting budget constraints as an obstacle, nonprofit CDP reports. But neglecting to address climate change comes with a financial cost too, experts warn.

By Katie Pyzyk • May 17, 2021

Verizon-backed accelerator taps emerging tech to support climate justice

A new initiative aims to use 5G, big data and AI to help vulnerable communities build resiliency against the worst impacts of climate change. 

By Chris Teale • April 26, 2021

3 key investments in LA Mayor Garcetti's proposed 'justice budget'

As the city recovers from the financial blows of the pandemic, the FY22 budget calls for record funding to address homelessness, a guaranteed basic income pilot and the exploration of a reparations commission. 

By Cailin Crowe • April 22, 2021

Buttigieg defends climate elements of American Jobs plan

The transportation secretary told the Senate Appropriations Committee that President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan aims to have the country off fossil fuels and toward net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

By Kim Slowey • April 21, 2021

Equitable energy transition will require more than funding and job training, researchers say

Utilities, governments must ensure clean energy jobs provide stable, middle-class earnings, according to a new guide from Inclusive Economics and the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge.

By Emma Penrod • April 19, 2021

Cities spend millions on homeless encampment response: report

Local governments spend up to $8.5 million a year in response to encampments, according to the first federal encampment study, as a lack of affordable housing remains a key reason people are unhoused. 

By Cailin Crowe • April 15, 2021