Climate & Resilience

  • U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors 93rd Winter Meeting on Jan. 17, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Biden urges mayors to continue the climate change fight

    Former President Biden and then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke at a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting Friday.

    By Danielle McLean • Jan. 21, 2025
  • A car, remains of a house and downed power lines stand in front of an orange wall of flame.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Apu Gomes via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    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
  • smart city, smart cities Explore the Trendline➔
    Image attribution tooltip
    jamesteohart via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    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
  • Building debris sits in mud outside a building that reads "Casablanca Cigar Bar 18 Lodge St." Two people carry items out of the building.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Melissa Sue Gerrits via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    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 • Jan. 10, 2025
  • Wind power generator in green landscape with distributed energy icons.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Sakorn Sukkasemsakorn via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    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
  • A highway with cars on it in front of a city skyline. Two large cranes line the highway next to new construction.
    Image attribution tooltip
    JasonDoiy via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    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 , • Jan. 9, 2025
  • A sidewalk along a street is lined with several trees. Deeper into the sidewalk are benches and large built structures casting shadows.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by City of Phoenix Office of Heat Response and Mitigation
    Image attribution tooltip

    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 • Jan. 8, 2025
  • Aerial shot of flooded street lined by palm trees and houses. A truck drives down the flooded street.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    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 • Jan. 7, 2025
  • A person in shorts and sneakers runs along a tree-lined path next to an elevated track.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Friends of The Underline
    Image attribution tooltip
    Q&A

    Inside Miami’s new linear park: Bioswales, bike paths and a 50-foot ‘dining room’ table

    As rapid development threatens the city’s green space, The Underline restores ecosystems and adds amenities, a project leader says. But the effort also faces cost and design hurdles.

    By • Jan. 6, 2025
  • Aerial shot of intersection surrounded by buildings and trees.
    Image attribution tooltip
    MattGush via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    EPA issues permits for California carbon capture and storage facility

    Amid local concerns about the health risks the facility could pose, an EPA official said she believes the permits are “protective of the public and the environment.”

    By • Jan. 3, 2025
  • The Tesla Model Y traveling on a highway.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Tesla Inc.
    Image attribution tooltip

    Rise in EV financing may signal growing interest among consumers: Experian

    The arrival of new, more affordable models alongside the federal EV tax credit have boosted leasing.

    By Kalena Thomhave • Jan. 3, 2025
  • A shot of a town's downtown. A red fire truck is in the foreground on an almost carless downtown street.
    Image attribution tooltip
    "New Brunswick, New Jersey" by Ken Lund is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
    Image attribution tooltip

    New Jersey breaks ground on hurricane shelter for rail cars

    Officials proposed the project after Hurricane Sandy caused $400 million worth of damage to an NJ Transit maintenance complex and hundreds of trains stored there.

    By Matthew Thibault • Jan. 2, 2025
  • People walk across a city street at a crosswalk. Tall buildings and streetlights line the road,
    Image attribution tooltip
    tunart via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    9 predictions about what 2025 may hold for US cities

    “Playground” cities will thrive, innovative housing programs will proliferate and technology will transform transit and municipal services, these sources say.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff • Jan. 2, 2025
  • federal regulation rules
    Image attribution tooltip
    Tasos Katopodis via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Biden raises GHG emissions-reduction goal, but experts say Trump ‘hellbent’ on reversing course

    “Even though the Trump administration may not lift a finger to deliver on this plan, it sets a north star for what the U.S. should be aiming for,” said World Resources Institute's Debbie Weyl.

    By Robert Walton • Dec. 20, 2024
  • Solar panels on top of vegetation on a building roof. Behind the building is another building and trees.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Rene Notenbomer via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    ‘Smart surfaces’ policy tracker shows how cities boost green infrastructure, solar, cool pavement

    Local officials can use the over 450 resources in the tracker to develop their own policies, according to Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Smart Surfaces Coalition.

    By • Dec. 20, 2024
  • A rendering of public EV charging station that General Motors and Chargepoint plan to build.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of General Motors
    Image attribution tooltip

    GM, ChargePoint partner to deploy 500 ultra-fast EV chargers

    The two companies plan to open the charging stations to the public before the end of 2025.

    By Eric Walz • Dec. 19, 2024
  • A person in a hat and gloves stands on the wooden beams of home under construction. The person holds a wooden beam.
    Image attribution tooltip
    RyanJLane via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Washington local governments sue to block builder-supported measure favoring natural gas

    Voter-approved I-2066, which prevents the state and local governments from restricting access to natural gas, is unconstitutional, said Seattle, King County and other groups in a lawsuit filed last week.

    By • Dec. 19, 2024
  • A man in a red uniform repairing a heat pump.
    Image attribution tooltip
    welcomia via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Opinion

    The key to successfully deploying heat pump water heaters? Funding innovation.

    Small grants allow local organizations to test new technologies and approaches, a vital step in scaling climate solutions. 

    By Chris Badger • Dec. 17, 2024
  • An aerial view of the Manhattan skyline at sunset.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Nafiz Rahat via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    92% of large NYC buildings meet 2024 carbon emission limits: report

    Site energy use in buildings over 25,000 square feet dropped for the fifth year in a row, with 43% of buildings set to meet Local Law 97’s stricter 2030 targets, the Urban Green Council says.

    By Nish Amarnath • Dec. 16, 2024
  • Aerial view of houses with a city skyline in the background.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Davel5957 via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Climate resilience top of mind for Denver as it plans to revamp landscaping rules

    Facing prolonged drought and heat, Denver plans rules that may require native grasses, shrubs and trees in new development and some redevelopment projects.

    By • Dec. 16, 2024
  • Two people wearing sunglasses talk to each other in front of a blurred background
    Image attribution tooltip
    Drew Angerer/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    EPA awards more climate justice grants, but ‘overwhelming’ number of applications to review remain

    As Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration approaches, the Environmental Protection Agency says it will not have time before then to award more funds under the Community Change grants program.

    By • Dec. 13, 2024
  • Rivian R2 reveal
    Image attribution tooltip
    Phillip Faraone via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    California approves $1.4B to deploy 17,000 EV chargers, hydrogen fueling infrastructure

    California has about 152,000 public and shared private chargers installed today, and it expects that number to reach 250,000 in the next few years.

    By Robert Walton • Dec. 13, 2024
  • Closeup of the hands of two people holding together pipes. One pair of hands holds a tool.
    Image attribution tooltip
    BanksPhotos via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    5 community-scale geothermal systems to be built with $35M from DOE

    The projects will demonstrate how communities can leverage energy underground to decarbonize buildings, the Department of Energy’s Geothermal Technologies Office says.

    By • Updated Dec. 18, 2024
  • Aerial view of wind turbines taken with a drone in Vermont.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Gabriel Shakour via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Opinion

    Stepping up to achieve local climate progress despite federal headwinds

    As a second Trump administration takes office, state and local action will be among the most effective means of continuing the momentum for clean energy deployment and cost reductions.

    By Darren Springer • Dec. 11, 2024
  • Aerial shot of a city with intermixed buildings, houses, roads and trees.
    Image attribution tooltip
    halbergman via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Deep Dive

    A Michigan city’s ‘sustainable energy utility’ got the green light from voters. What now?

    By creating a supplemental utility that will focus on scaling up rooftop solar, battery storage and microgrids, Ann Arbor, Michigan, is taking its clean energy future into its own hands.

    By • Dec. 10, 2024
  • People walk on a beach that used to be the bottom of Lake Powell amid big rock formations.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Biden administration releases $849M to fix aging water infrastructure in the West

    The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding will help boost drought resilience via 77 projects in 11 states.

    By Julie Strupp • Dec. 10, 2024