Climate & Resilience: Page 3

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    Courtesy of Archer Aviation
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    8 trends that will shape cities in 2026

    As federal funding becomes less predictable, cities face major shifts in transportation, housing and climate resilience in the new year.

    By Smart Cities Dive Staff • Jan. 8, 2026
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    14 predictions about what 2026 may hold for cities

    AI, infrastructure needs and shifting mobility patterns will shape how cities function in 2026, experts say.

    By Smart Cities Dive Staff • Jan. 7, 2026
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    Trendline

    Energy Codes and Building Performance Standards

    Cities are using these levers to meet climate goals and address everything from data centers to building decarbonization.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    Court blocks ‘arbitrary and capricious’ changes to FEMA grants

    FEMA’s “abrupt change in policy is particularly harmful to local emergency management,” the judge stated.

    By • Jan. 6, 2026
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    Addressing housing, climate change and AI in an unpredictable year

    Community leaders described their efforts to tackle those and other key issues at the annual National League of Cities' City Summit in November.

    By • Dec. 22, 2025
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    Emergency managers, meteorologists push back against breakup of NCAR climate research center

    Dismantling the nation’s premier weather and climate institution would have “a horrible impact on the local level,” says the chair of the International Association of Emergency Managers USA Weather Caucus.

    By • Dec. 19, 2025
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Appeals court to reexamine EPA’s power to block climate grants

    The D.C. Circuit agreed to rehear a ruling that let the Environmental Protection Agency freeze $20 billion in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund awards.

    By • Updated Dec. 18, 2025
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    NYC congestion zone air pollution measure fell 22% in 6 months

    Significant emissions reductions in Manhattan’s tolling zone extended to the wider metropolitan New York City area, a Cornell University study found.

    By • Dec. 17, 2025
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    Ron Jenkins via Getty Images
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    As EPA moves to fast-track data centers, some cities are moving to slow them down

    The EPA is streamlining Clean Air Act permitting to accelerate development. Will local communities pay the price?

    By • Dec. 17, 2025
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    Kayla Bartkowski via Getty Images
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    FEMA

    Local governments need to step up as FEMA’s future remains uncertain, experts say

    The upheaval in emergency management could ultimately strengthen a long-overlooked profession, former FEMA leaders said Monday during a Carnegie Institute panel.

    By • Updated Dec. 16, 2025
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    FEMA

    Emergency managers expected direction on FEMA’s future. They got silence instead.

    Capping nine months of reduced federal support and legal disputes, the abrupt shutdown of a FEMA review vote Thursday deepens uncertainty around disaster planning, experts say.

    By • Updated Dec. 12, 2025
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    Climate change is rapidly altering cities. Here’s how some are responding.

    As cities heat up, leaders continue to pursue sustainability, panelists at the National League of Cities City Summit said.

    By • Dec. 10, 2025
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    Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images
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    Facing extreme rainfall and flooding, NYC is turning Brooklyn’s Prospect Park into a natural buffer

    A $68 million Bluebelt system includes drainage upgrades, ponds and rain gardens designed to manage intensifying rainfall while easing pressure on the city’s aging sewer system.

    By • Dec. 8, 2025
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    Michael M. Santiago / Staff via Getty Images
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    House bill barring state, local gas appliance bans clears hurdle

    California and Washington are among the states with gas bans, and Washington, D.C., and Montgomery County, Maryland, are among the localities with bans.

    By Robert Freedman • Dec. 8, 2025
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    GAF

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    Sponsored by GAF

    Building storm-ready cities from the top down

    GAF and IBHS are helping to address a common challenge: how to build communities to withstand the growing force of severe weather.

    Dec. 8, 2025
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    5 steps to increasing biodiversity in cities

    Researchers from the University of Notre Dame analyzed international biodiversity initiatives and developed actionable steps cities can take.

    By • Dec. 4, 2025
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    Permission granted by Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
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    Accelerator aims to strengthen resilience in Austin-San Antonio region

    Local governments across Texas’ fastest-growing corridor will build a shared road map to tackle flooding, extreme heat, wildfire and winter storms as population growth amplifies risk.

    By • Updated Dec. 2, 2025
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    Adaptive reuse projects accelerate, driven by schools, offices

    Chicago is leading the nation in conversions, as the pipeline for these projects has increased 19% across the U.S, according to RentCafe.

    By Joe Burns • Dec. 1, 2025
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    Shifting water infrastructure decisions to local governments could accelerate housing, advocates say

    A new WOTUS definition proposed by the EPA would give builders relief from federal permitting delays, but environmental groups warn it could leave cities more exposed to flood and water quality risks.

    By • Dec. 1, 2025
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    EPA moves to roll back Biden-era particulate limits, signaling a major shift in clean air policy

    The agency asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn the 2024 “soot standard,” citing incomplete scientific analysis and projected compliance costs.

    By • Nov. 26, 2025
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    Bim/iStock

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    Sponsored by Samsara

    How connected operations transforms emergency response

    84% of agencies lack real-time data for effective emergency response.

    Nov. 24, 2025
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    The Eaton Fire showed us California’s future. Our recovery systems aren’t ready.

    Ten months after the fire, many Altadena families remain displaced because permitting, remediation and housing policies are not designed for urban fire disasters. Here’s a road map to address these failures.

    By Farid Yaghoubtil • Nov. 21, 2025
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    Q&A

    How cities are building climate resilience even as federal funds disappear

    Cities are tapping AI, universities and streamlined procurement to prepare for and protect their communities from extreme weather, a founding member of the Local Infrastructure Hub says.

    By • Nov. 21, 2025
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    Power outages getting longer as extreme weather takes larger toll, report says

    The average length of the longest power outage has increased in all regions since 2022, according to JD Power. 

    By Meris Lutz • Nov. 19, 2025
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    Andy Manis via Getty Images
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    Opinion

    Building climate-resilient communities: The case for performance-based codes

    As communities face increasingly severe climate-related disasters, a shift to performance-based building codes is one of the most effective tools they have for protecting against future natural catastrophes and reinforcing community resilience.

    By Charlie Sidoti • Nov. 18, 2025
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    Jemal Countess via Getty Images
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    St. Paul, Minnesota, and environmental groups sue over canceled DOE clean energy grants

    The lawsuit claims the Trump administration’s cancellation of $7.56 billion in grants for projects in 16 states was politically motivated.

    By • Updated Nov. 13, 2025