Climate & Resilience


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    David Dee Delgado via Getty Images
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    Nearly half of US residents breathe unhealthy air: report

    American Lung Association officials call for city leaders to speak up for federal support of air quality research amid record pollution levels.

    By April 23, 2025
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    Megan Varner via Getty Images
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    Atlanta to launch Climate Resilience Action Plan

    The city plans to move forward even as federal support is uncertain and the plan’s focus on energy burden equity has put the program in the Trump administration’s crosshairs.

    By April 21, 2025
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    EPA confirms recycling, waste infrastructure grants on track for disbursement

    EPA will move forward with awarding the second round of solid waste and recycling grants. The news comes after uncertainty over the status of numerous federal funding opportunities for the waste and recycling sectors.

    By Megan Quinn • April 15, 2025
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    Kyle Rivas via Getty Images
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    Prepare now to protect urban forests from storms

    As FEMA funding fades and disasters intensify, risk assessments, standing contracts and debris-management plans are crucial, one conservation director says.

    By April 14, 2025
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    Jacob Wallace/Smart Cities Dive
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    New York City pauses curbside organics enforcement

    The city issued tens of thousands of warnings before enforcement began on April 1, but Mayor Eric Adams has since paused that plan through the end of the year for most building owners.

    By Jacob Wallace • Updated April 21, 2025
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    RoschetzkyIstockPhoto via Getty Images
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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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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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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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    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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    CasarsaGuru via Getty Images
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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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    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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    MattGush via Getty Images
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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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    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
  • 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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    Andrew Harnik via Getty Images
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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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    Kayla Bartkowski via Getty Images
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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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    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
  • "Hon. Lee M. Zeldin," as a placard states, sits at a table with a microphone in front of a crowd in a hearing room.
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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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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    Kent Nishimura via Getty Images
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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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    Mark Makela via Getty Images
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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
  • The Boston Harbor and Financial district in Boston, Massachusetts, USA at sunrise showcasing its mix of contemporary and historic buildings.
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    Marcio Silva via Getty Images
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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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    OlegAlbinsky via Getty Images
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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
  • 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.
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    Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images
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    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