Climate & Resilience: Page 4
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Nearly 3,000 city leaders gathered in Washington last week. Here’s what they had to say.
Mayors, council members and nonprofit leaders heard from Vice President JD Vance, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and others at the National League of Cities meeting.
By Dan Zukowski • March 21, 2025 -
Opinion
3 concerns about California’s neighborhood decarbonization pilot program
Decarbonization is essential to achieve carbon neutrality, but tenants and low-income homeowners might pay a steep price due to factors they can’t control.
By Teresa Linares • March 20, 2025 -
Explore the Trendline➔
jamesteohart via Getty ImagesTrendlineTop 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 -
Column
How cities are prioritizing transparency to combat climate change
City leaders are creating climate change mitigation and adaptation action plans and turning to technology to help them stay on track and keep themselves accountable.
By Francisco J. Conteras and Elizabeth Steward • March 19, 2025 -
City leaders name housing, public safety and infrastructure as top issues
The National League of Cities Congressional City Conference brought together 3,000 city leaders to discuss these issues, with appearances from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and Vice President JD Vance.
By Dan Zukowski • March 18, 2025 -
Retrieved from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
EPA to end environmental justice programs, monitoring tools
As part of the Trump administration’s end to environmental justice programs, it has cut off access to EJScreen, a monitoring tool used to track environmental justice metrics.
By Megan Quinn • March 14, 2025 -
EPA revisiting dozens of climate, environment rules in ‘day of deregulation’
The agency said it would roll back a range of rules and programs, including some that are foundational to its efforts to address climate change. A new WOTUS definition is expected, as well as rollbacks to an emissions reporting program.
By Jacob Wallace • March 13, 2025 -
DOT removes equity, environmental factors from IIJA funding decisions
The move rolls back a Biden-era policy that included these considerations in decision-making criteria for infrastructure projects.
By Julie Strupp • March 12, 2025 -
Recycling batteries and bulbs can help local governments hit their sustainability targets
City and county administrators can take several steps to make their communities more sustainable, including using local companies for recycling needs.
By Michael Keating • March 10, 2025 -
California wildfire air pollution insights coming from air sensor network
Residents can track localized pollution, including particles from the wildfires that tore across Los Angeles in January, thanks to improvements in air quality sensor tech.
By Kalena Thomhave • March 10, 2025 -
EPA $20B funding freeze leaves ‘green bank’ nonprofits unable to pay bills
“Local projects across the country will be unable to move forward without legal intervention” if EPA or Citibank does not unfreeze the funds, a Climate United Fund spokesperson said.
By Diana DiGangi • March 4, 2025 -
Pilot program in Salem explores ways to mitigate rising flood risks and fill insurance gaps
The public-private pilot program is designed to explore and evaluate measures that could lower flood risks for homeowners and renters and develop a base model that could be replicated in other communities.
By Ryan Kushner • March 3, 2025 -
Large-scale sustainability goals are achievable when cities and counties support them
Counties and municipalities can intervene on climate and sustainability in meaningful, large-scale ways by tackling three huge pieces of the climate problem: electricity supply, the built environment and transportation.
By Michael Keating • Feb. 26, 2025 -
FEMA halts enforcement of flood rebuild rule, New York Times reports
By not requiring buildings at risk of repeated flooding to be elevated or moved, the government isn’t saving money, critics say.
By Robert Freedman • Feb. 19, 2025 -
Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro sues Trump administration, citing frozen IRA funding
The state’s agencies have limited access to over $3.1 billion in funding for activities including distributed solar deployment, well plugging and weatherization, according to the lawsuit.
By Diana DiGangi • Feb. 18, 2025 -
Boston expands net-zero emissions requirements to new buildings, large additions
The zoning change requires most new buildings to be net zero when they open. The city previously set similar performance standards for existing buildings.
By Joe Burns • Feb. 4, 2025 -
The Smart Cities Outlook for 2025: Change is coming
From new federal policies to growing technologies like AI and robotaxis, cities will encounter many changes while they continue to tackle housing, homelessness, climate and equity issues.
By Smart Cities Dive Staff • Jan. 31, 2025 -
Zeldin is confirmed as the new EPA administrator. What’s next?
The former New York representative will helm the agency as it navigates executive orders pausing climate programs and reviews pending regulations that could affect the waste and recycling industries.
By Megan Quinn , Jacob Wallace • Updated Jan. 30, 2025 -
Nature- and health-inspired facilities will help cities and counties reach sustainability goals
Buildings account for a third or more of carbon emissions, and local officials can make big strides toward greater sustainability by prioritizing adoption of green building standards for all new residential and commercial construction.
By Michael Keating • Jan. 29, 2025 -
Biden urges mayors to continue the climate change fight
Then-President Biden and then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke at a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting Jan. 17.
By Danielle McLean • Jan. 21, 2025 -
LA fires damage power, sewer and water infrastructure
AccuWeather says economic loss and rebuilding could cost between $250 billion and $275 billion, making these the most expensive fires in U.S. history.
By Julie Strupp • Jan. 15, 2025 -
HUD doles out $12B in disaster recovery grants
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s leader made the announcement in Asheville, North Carolina, where Hurricane Helene obliterated buildings and infrastructure in September.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Jan. 10, 2025 -
Microgrids boost grid reliability, lower costs: Colorado road map
In the face of rising transmission costs and extreme weather impacts, self-contained grids can benefit both rural areas and urban centers, according to state agencies.
By Brian Martucci • Jan. 9, 2025 -
6 smart cities trends to watch in 2025
Transportation systems, housing policy and decarbonization approaches will evolve this year as the Trump administration assumes power and technology continues to advance.
By Ysabelle Kempe , Dan Zukowski • Jan. 9, 2025 -
Not just trees: Phoenix’s $60M shade plan includes built structures, too
“We need to think much more holistically” about responding to extreme heat, said Adam Freed, a Bloomberg Associates principal who helped the desert city develop its plan.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Jan. 8, 2025 -
FEMA offers $1.35B in climate resilience grants
Certain restrictions for this cycle of funding will help “ensure a more diverse distribution” of grants across the U.S., the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.
By Ysabelle Kempe • Jan. 7, 2025