Virginia designed a promising way to bolster coastal areas vulnerable to sea-level rise. But it was never funded.
Peter Coutu reports in Governing on efforts to fund a unique climate resilience program in Virginia.
The Virginia Shoreline Resiliency Fund was a "first-of-its-kind" loan program when approved in 2016, Coutu writes, but it is a legislative shell—existing on the books but never receiving dedicated funding. He writes:
"Instead of just trying to mitigate current flood damage, the new revolving fund would help homeowners and businesses elevate their properties to prepare for sea level rise ... It would not only save residents a fortune on their property, but also maintain ever-important tax revenues for local governments on the coast."
Now, Virginia Conservation Network, a group of more than 100 environmental organizations, is calling on the state to dedicate $50 million annually to the fund. The region is especially vulnerable to climate change because the land is subsiding while the sea is rising, they say, and the program would help bolster resilience without losing government money.
Read the full story: Virginia Started a Unique Climate Change Fund. 2 Years Later, It's Empty.
Who pays when a remote Alaska village can no longer stay?
A year after ex-Typhoon Halong, the struggle for two communities to find safer ground has become part of a national debate over who should bear the costs of the climate crisis.
'Something we’ve never seen before:' rising utility rates could strain city finances nationwide
Data centers, climate change and other factors have caused utility rates in the United States to increase by 38% since 2020.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future
Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.
NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project
New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.
One Kentucky town’s secret to affordable housing
The Smoketown Community Land Trust has already built seven affordable homes for community members.
Houston gains petal-shaped cooling infrastructure to make streets more ‘delightful’
The city has installed the pavilions along 15 blocks in Houston.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority