Abstract

The latest report from the Alliance for a Sustainable Future – a joint effort of C2ES and The U.S. Conference of Mayors to help cities and businesses collaborate on sustainable development— highlights city-oriented case studies that advance climate resilience. One of the goals of the Alliance is to inform mayors, local officials, and business leaders of innovative new strategies that could present an opportunity for their own communities to reach their climate goals.

Climate change and extreme weather events are creating stress on communities, homes, and local economies across the country. In 2023, 28 climate disasters cost communities over a billion dollars each, and extreme weather events drove a record 2.4 million people from their homes. Improving local climate resilience—a community’s ability to prepare for threats and hazards, adapt to changing conditions, and withstand and recover rapidly from adverse conditions and disruptions from climate threats—with community resilience hubs, for instance, is crucial for communities’ ability to thrive.

“Resilience hubs”—characterized by the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) as community-serving facilities enhanced to support residents and coordinate resource distribution and services before, during, and after a disruption—are an emerging strategy to improve local resilience. While the strategy is often used to enhance the resilience of community-serving facilities in vulnerable and low-income communities, it can also be applied more broadly, to include critical infrastructure, like fire stations, public health buildings, and more.

The following case studies showcase the variety of resilience spaces and hubs that are emerging in communities around the country and the role of local governments. They feature the following:

1. The Vicars Community Center: Equity Centered Community Resilience (Atlanta, GA)
2. The Warehouse: Building Climate Resilience through Youth Empowerment and Well-being (Wilmington, DE)
3. Resilient Fire Stations: Protecting and Preparing Critical Infrastructure Facilities with Microgrids (Fremont, CA)
4. Central Park Recreation Center: Energy Resilience for Recreation Centers (Denver, CO)