Climate & Resilience: Page 2

  • A rendering of people playing sports in a recreation center with basketball hoops and an upper level. The building is made of wood and has large windows with sunlight streaming through.
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    Permission granted by Marvel, TYLin | Silman Structural Solutions, NYC Department of Design and Construction and the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation
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    Want more mass timber buildings in your city? This industry group could help.

    New York City, Boston and Atlanta have launched programs to spur mass timber construction, which proponents say can lower buildings’ embodied carbon. The Softwood Lumber Board wants to fund more of such efforts.

    By • Aug. 12, 2024
  • A plus shaped pool in the river in front of a city skyline. A path leads out to the pool from the riverbank.
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    Permission granted by Friends of + POOL
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    Floating pool in Manhattan’s East River gets a step closer to reality

    As climate change drives more heat waves, New York state and city officials unveiled the location of a multiuse swimming facility they hope will bring residents some relief.

    By • Updated Aug. 8, 2024
  • A battery-electric bus on a street.
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    Courtesy of NFI Group Inc.
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    Zero-emission bus demand adds to New Flyer backlog

    Supply chain issues are easing, says the transit bus maker's CEO, as the company works to fill market gaps left by competitors.

    By • Aug. 7, 2024
  • An interior of a lake source cooling system at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York
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    Retrieved from Cornell University on August 06, 2024
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    Thermal energy networks can slash water use in buildings, study shows

    With thermal energy networks poised to expand in coming years, water usage data must be standardized and publicly available, the Building Decarbonization Coalition said.

    By Nish Amarnath • Aug. 7, 2024
  • A man works in the sun at a construction site during a heat wave on July 27, 2023 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
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    Spencer Platt/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    OSHA’s proposed worker heat safety rule: What to know

    Legal experts say regardless of whether the standard will be adopted, it’s a helpful tool and provides insight into the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s views on heat safety.

    By Zachary Phillips • Aug. 2, 2024
  • Two people wearing yellow wide-brimmed hats and orange work gloves hold a solar panel leaning on a home's roof.
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    Mario Tama/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    $36M for low-income housing energy efficiency available from US DOE grants

    Local governments and other entities can get up to $2 million each for weatherization and workforce training efforts.

    By • Aug. 1, 2024
  • Workers install solar panels on a roof.
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    ArtistGNDphotography via Getty Images
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    Clean energy tax credits are tough. This new tool could help.

    The free online navigator from Lawyers for Good Government can help cities determine if a project qualifies for Inflation Reduction Act direct-pay incentives.

    By • July 31, 2024
  • ExxonMobil
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    David McNew via Getty Images
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    ExxonMobil climate liability case to proceed in Connecticut

    A judge allowed the state to move ahead with its lawsuit, marking the latest victory for states and local governments looking to hold Big Oil accountable for climate change.

    By Zoya Mirza • July 31, 2024
  • A view of the facades of commercial skyscrapers in Boston's bustling Copley Square
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    Elijah-Lovkoff via Getty Images
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    US cities sharpen focus on building performance standards to meet net-zero goals

    U.S. cities are turning to performance-based standards to meet climate goals after traditional energy-efficiency mandates fell short, a JLL report says.

    By Nish Amarnath • July 29, 2024
  • A piece of wood sits on equipment. A person wearing a hat looks through the equipment. Behind the person is a pile of branches and trucks.
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    Permission granted by Philadelphia Parks & Recreation
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    A new way to fund urban forestry takes root in Philadelphia

    The city is turning wood waste into material that can be sold. Other cities are eyeing the approach, said the co-founder of the company Philadelphia is partnering with.

    By • Updated July 29, 2024
  • City buses in Sao Paulo
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    Permission granted by ICLEI
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    Sponsored by ICLEI

    What even is sustainable urban development? One city network is trying to define it

    Local and regional governments in the ICLEI network are planning and implementing ambitious zero emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular communities around the world.

    By Barbara Riedemann • July 29, 2024
  • Workers installing solar panels on a house.
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    IPGGutenbergUKLtd via Getty Images
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    EPA releases $325M in environmental justice grants

    It’s not too late for other local governments to apply to the federal Community Change grants program, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accepting submissions into November.

    By • July 26, 2024
  • A man wearing sunglasses stands outside at a podium emblazoned with the words "President Joe Biden - Investing in America" in front of another Biden banner.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    EPA to update landfill air emissions rules in 2025

    This would be the first update to Clean Air Act emissions standards for new and existing municipal solid waste landfills since 2016.

    By Jacob Wallace • July 25, 2024
  • A facade of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency signage on the wall of its building
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    Joe Cicak via Getty Images
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    EPA announces nearly $160M to cut construction emissions

    Grant recipients will help disclose the environmental impacts of manufacturing construction materials as some cities eye ways to reduce buildings’ embodied carbon.

    By Matthew Thibault • July 24, 2024
  • Teal and orange color of NYC midtown view and the East river from Roosevelt Island
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    Tanaonte via Getty Images
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    Building performance standards are likely not preempted by federal law, attorney says

    Such policies are likely safe even after a federal appeals court struck down Berkeley, California’s first-in-the-nation gas ban in new construction, said Daniel Carpenter-Gold, staff attorney at the Public Health Law Center.

    By • Updated July 24, 2024
  • A view of the facade of New York City Hall and Manhattan Municipal Building in lower Manhattan, New York City.
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    Mark Zhu via Getty Images
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    600+ NYC facilities pledge to cut energy use as part of expanded demand response program

    The city also plans to install over 1,150 real-time meters in municipal buildings to help manage electricity use, according to its Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

    By Nish Amarnath • July 23, 2024
  • A row of electric vehicle chargers is seen from one end with a dark red vehicle parked and plugged in to the nearest charger.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    How cities are using Biden’s $4.3B climate pollution reduction grants

    The grants “put local governments in the driver’s seat to develop climate solutions,” a federal official said. Cities and counties plan to use the money for electrification, bike-sharing, solar power and more.

    By • July 23, 2024
  • A low angle of tall buildings in Manhattan
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    franckreporter via Getty Images
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    New York wants tall commercial, multifamily buildings to test low-carbon heating retrofits

    Seven finalists in a $10 million competition will develop heating and distribution systems that can be installed without displacing occupants, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last week. 

    By Nish Amarnath • July 22, 2024
  • Trees and sitting people are silhouetted against a white government building and blue sky.
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    Andrew Harnik/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    14 attorneys general press FEMA to define heat, wildfire smoke as major disasters

    The state officials are the latest to call on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to update its definition of major disasters eligible for federal money as key funds run low.

    By • July 19, 2024
  • Several rats on the ground next to full black trash bags.
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    Chanawat Phadwichit via Getty Images
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    Boston has a new anti-rat plan. Here are 3 takeaways.

    “We’re working to make Boston a home for everyone. Except for rats," Mayor Michelle Wu said as the city released a report by a leading urban rat researcher.

    By • July 18, 2024
  • A group of people hold a house on a city street. Other people stand in the background in yellow and orange safety vests.
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    Courtesy of NYC Water
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    NYC bets big on porous pavement with $32M flood-control project

    It's the city's first large-scale implementation of the approach after years of testing different porous pavement products.

    By • July 17, 2024
  • A person looks at a flooded highway with a partly submerged white pickup truck.
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    FEMA tightens flood resilience rules for federally funded infrastructure

    Projects like schools, fire and police stations, sewers, roads and bridges will be affected by the new Federal Emergency Management Agency policy. 

    By Julie Strupp • July 15, 2024
  • Los Angeles skyline in background with a busy freeway in the foreground.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    3 strategies to decarbonize transportation: US DOT report

    To meet U.S. greenhouse gas emissions targets under the Paris Agreement, the Transportation Department says the U.S. must reduce transportation emissions to near zero.

    By • July 15, 2024
  • Close-up of a pipeline in a trench dug in the ground
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    ImagePixel via Getty Images
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    The movement to get neighborhoods off natural gas gains momentum

    For years, cities have pursued ways to get buildings off fossil fuels, one structure at a time. Now, some leaders and advocates are eyeing a newer approach: neighborhood-scale decarbonization.

    By • July 10, 2024
  • A man walks near a banner holding a microphone and speaker. The banner says "Compost Is For Everyone, It Belongs In Public Parks."
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    Jacob Wallace/Smart Cities Dive
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    New York City Community Compost program funds restored in FY25 budget

    The budget, finalized Sunday, expands the number of organizations the program funds and protects it from future cuts. Certain active and planned composting projects will still be disrupted, however.

    By Jacob Wallace • July 2, 2024