Chicago environmental justice order signed as mayor’s term ends

The order requires the completion of a citywide environmental justice data project, creates a new environmental justice coordinator role and calls for community engagement standards.

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 12, 2023

Parking minimums will soon be history in Austin, Texas

“Our priority should be allowing space for people rather than mandating space for cars,” City Council member Zohaib Qadri said.

By Michael Brady • May 12, 2023

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from Smart Cities Dive

From worsening climate change to a shifting transportation landscape and the housing affordability crisis, cities have their work cut out for them.

By Smart Cities Dive staff

To spur green manufacturing and jobs, will NYC change its industrial zoning?

“This is a moment for New York City to be ahead of the curve and lead on an issue our president has made a priority for this country,” said Councilmember Amanda Farías.

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 11, 2023

To achieve their sustainability goals, cities and counties must engage with key stakeholders

Editor's note: This article was originally published in American City & County, which has merged with Smart Cities Dive to bring you expanded coverage of city innovation and local government. For the latest in smart city news, explore Smart Cities Dive or sign up for our newsletter.Local gove...

By Michael Keating • May 10, 2023

For more effective climate planning, cities must include suburbs and exurbs, researchers say

Existing regional entities, such as metropolitan planning organizations or councils of governments, can often be starting points for coordinated climate conversations, one researcher said.

By Kalena Thomhave • May 10, 2023

New York City’s congestion pricing plan gets the green light, despite opposition

Many advocates, urban planners and public officials in New York support the congestion pricing program, which would be the first in the U.S. Critics, however, called the program “anti-environment” and “cash-grabbing.”

By Michael Brady • May 10, 2023

Portland, Oregon, to pilot zero-emission delivery zone

The project could help the city reduce climate pollution and improve public health, the Portland Bureau of Transportation said. Portland received nearly $2 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the project.

By Max Garland • May 9, 2023

Dallas restores core emergency dispatch systems after ransomware attack

“At this point, we do not have evidence or indication that there has been data removed during this attack,” Dallas CIO Bill Zielinski told city officials Monday.

By Matt Kapko • May 9, 2023

To build climate resilience, Detroit communities turn to long-neglected alleys

These overgrown strips of land are now working to help mitigate flooding and provide accessible green space in neighborhoods dealing with urban blight.

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 9, 2023

As sea levels rise, it’s time for West Coast communities to overcome ‘taboo of managed retreat’: report

It is urgent for some coastal communities to begin considering managed retreat because the longer they wait, the more expensive it will be, says a report by the international Ocean & Climate Platform.

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 8, 2023

Report: Local governments turning to digital transformation to combat climate change

The push toward digital transformation in local government is synonymous with the rising needs brought on by climate change. Beyond convenience, streamlining efficiencies through automation and artificial intelligence is a step element that, increasingly, administrators and public officials are ensuring their organizations take.

By Andy Castillo • May 4, 2023

How governments are updating ‘operational technologies,’ including AI, and the challenges that remain: survey

Over half of the survey respondents reported their agency plans to upgrade systems by 2025, a Center for Digital Government and Samsara survey found. Operational efficiency and cost savings are a big reason why.

By Michael Brady • May 4, 2023

To spur geothermal heating and cooling, DOE funds 11 community-scale system design projects

DOE will select several of the designs for development to advance community-scale geothermal systems, which are relatively uncommon in the U.S.

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 3, 2023

California spent $1.3B in cap-and-trade funds on climate, equity projects in 2022

The California Climate Investments funding addressed affordable housing, transportation, energy costs, extreme heat, fire, access to clean drinking water and more, a California Air Resources Board official said.

By Kalena Thomhave • May 2, 2023

Affordable, all-electric and energy-efficient housing gets $15M boost from NYC initiative

The initiative “will demonstrate to the affordable housing market a highly replicable new construction solution,” said Doreen Harris, president and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 2, 2023

Mobility could be transformed by 2035, with US car sales dropping 30%: report

As cities and consumers move toward new mobility options, “the mobility ecosystem will most likely undergo a transformation not seen since the early days of the automobile,” a McKinsey report says.

By Michael Brady • May 2, 2023

Orders of natural gas-fueled and battery-powered waste trucks rose in 2022, report says

A consulting report anticipates zero-emissions trucks will become “the law of the land” as companies and local governments shift away from diesel.

By Jacob Wallace • May 1, 2023

Women, people of color, renters underrepresented on land-use boards: report

Homeownership and other requirements could create barriers to participation that “function as inexplicit racial filters,” an Urban Institute report found.

By Gaby Galvin • April 28, 2023

Uber, Lyft more responsive to ride demand than taxis are during emergencies: study

“In light of our findings, service providers and city planners should reevaluate and improve their mobility platform, particularly under emergencies, disasters and hazards,” one researcher said.

By Michael Brady • April 28, 2023

First state law banning gas in new buildings passes in New York

The law does not include a “poison pill” provision backed by the oil and gas industry, which environmental and social justice advocates had worried would make its way into the measure.

By Ysabelle Kempe • Updated Dec. 21, 2023

Worried about gas ban litigation? After court tosses Berkeley rule, legal experts look at cities’ options

Other “totally lawful opportunities” exist for local governments to phase out gas in new buildings, such as through building codes, said a senior fellow at Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

By Ysabelle Kempe • April 27, 2023

Elon Musk’s company town plans worry some locals, urban planners

The plans for Snailbrook, near Boring Co. and future SpaceX manufacturing facilities in central Texas, raise questions about local governance, environmental impacts and more.

By Adina Solomon • April 24, 2023

$562M for coastal resiliency projects announced by Commerce Department

The money from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law will fund nearly 150 projects across the country focused on bolstering the country’s response to climate change.

By Jennifer Goodman • April 24, 2023

Fight or adapt to climate change? It’s ‘a false trade-off’ for cities, climate experts say

Cities should pursue projects that do both, said panelists at last week’s Cities Climate Action Summit. “A resilient building is also a low-carbon building,” said Jane Gilbert, Miami-Dade County’s chief heat officer.

By Ysabelle Kempe • April 24, 2023

ARPA funds used to fill city budget gaps, Brookings analysis finds

Spending American Rescue Plan Act funds on “revenue replacement” allowed localities to free up money for long-term priorities, such as economic development, a Brookings Metro researcher said.

By Kalena Thomhave • April 21, 2023