Climate & Resilience

  • flood repair rule
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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
  • Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks at a podium.
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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
  • smart city, smart cities Explore the Trendline➔
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    jamesteohart via Getty Images
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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
  • 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
  • View of the White House with flowers and fountain in front.
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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
  • A car, remains of a house and downed power lines stand in front of an orange wall of flame.
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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
  • Wind power generator in green landscape with distributed energy icons.
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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
  • A person in shorts and sneakers runs along a tree-lined path next to an elevated track.
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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
  • Aerial shot of intersection surrounded by buildings and trees.
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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
  • The Tesla Model Y traveling on a highway.
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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
  • People walk across a city street at a crosswalk. Tall buildings and streetlights line the road,
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    tunart via Getty Images
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    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
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    Tasos Katopodis via Getty Images
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    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.
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    Rene Notenbomer via Getty Images
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    ‘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 Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 20, 2024
  • A rendering of public EV charging station that General Motors and Chargepoint plan to build.
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    Courtesy of General Motors
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    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.
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    RyanJLane via Getty Images
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    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 Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 19, 2024
  • A man in a red uniform repairing a heat pump.
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    welcomia via Getty Images
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    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.
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    Nafiz Rahat via Getty Images
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    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.
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    Davel5957 via Getty Images
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    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 Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 16, 2024
  • Two people wearing sunglasses talk to each other in front of a blurred background
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    Drew Angerer/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    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 Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 13, 2024