Climate & Resilience: Page 5

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    Denver adds flexibility to building performance guidelines

    Following public input, including some backlash from building owners, the new rules will push back compliance deadlines, remove electrification report requirements and reduce penalty rates, the city said. 

    By Joe Burns • April 9, 2025
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    America’s aging water infrastructure faces new threats

    The U.S. urgently needs to increase funding to shore up facilities, experts say, as climate change and emerging contaminants like PFAS pose growing threats.

    By Julie Strupp • April 1, 2025
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    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
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Preparing manufactured homes for extreme weather: 5 barriers

    Zoning, financing and other regulations can leave this more affordable form of housing vulnerable. Some communities are addressing the risk.

    By Leslie Nemo • April 1, 2025
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    New Mexico occupational safety bureau advances heat safety rule

    If passed, the state would be the sixth to implement its own heat-related guidance, after a federal standard appears to have lost steam.

    By Zachary Phillips • March 31, 2025
  • A destroyed home in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on September 30, 2024 near Black Mountain, North Carolina.
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    Sean Rayford/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    FEMA disaster preparedness role could decrease following Trump executive order

    The administration plans to publish a national resilience strategy with further details within 90 days, it said.

    By Ryan Kushner • March 28, 2025
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    For some cities, the path to sustainability, resilience starts with strong emergency response systems

    One of the keys to achieving sustainability goals is by developing a comprehensive framework that can help communities become more resilient.

    By Michael Keating • March 27, 2025
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    Alex Wong via Getty Images
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    US infrastructure gets a C, its highest grade ever, in ASCE report card

    Infrastructure needs long-term, continuous investment to maintain and continue to improve, however, the civil engineering group said. 

    By Michelle M. Havich • March 26, 2025
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    Dan Zukowski/Smart Cities Dive
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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 • March 21, 2025
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    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
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    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
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    Dan Zukowski/Smart Cities Dive
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    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 • March 18, 2025
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    Retrieved from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    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
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    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
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    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 • March 3, 2025
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    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
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
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    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