Climate & Resilience

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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
  • Two men and two woman seated on a stage in front of a backdrop that reads "NLC - National League of Cities."
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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
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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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    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
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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
  • Lee Zeldin sits at a desk
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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
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    Apu Gomes via Getty Images
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    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
  • Building debris sits in mud outside a building that reads "Casablanca Cigar Bar 18 Lodge St." Two people carry items out of the building.
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    Melissa Sue Gerrits via Getty Images
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    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
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    Sakorn Sukkasemsakorn via Getty Images
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    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.
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    JasonDoiy via Getty Images
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    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 , • 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.
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    Permission granted by City of Phoenix Office of Heat Response and Mitigation
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    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
  • Aerial shot of flooded street lined by palm trees and houses. A truck drives down the flooded street.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    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
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    Permission granted by Friends of The Underline
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    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 Ysabelle Kempe • Jan. 6, 2025
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    MattGush via Getty Images
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    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 Ysabelle Kempe • Jan. 3, 2025
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    Courtesy of Tesla Inc.
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    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.
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    "New Brunswick, New Jersey" by Ken Lund is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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    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