Cities around the world are facing the challenges of a changing climate, like extreme weather events that threaten city infrastructure and a lack of reliable energy resources to allow citizens to live comfortably in rising temperatures and maintain safety during weather events. But as centers of economic activity, civic engagement, and political will, urban communities are well positioned to proactively manage risks and increase the positive impact of urbanization on national economies. Learn how USAID is aiding in the progression of climate-resilient urban communities through some of the following blogs on Climatelinks.
Increasing Climate Resilience with Energy Efficient Microgrids
Large power outages caused by climate-driven events are becoming more frequent, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries. The emerging technology of microgrids offers a competitive, practical, and decentralized option for addressing this disparity by providing an alternative to a centralized power grid that has a quick recovery time, sustains renewable energy sources, and can serve critical locations. Through USAID’s Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research, the Agency is funding local scientists worldwide in their research towards technical maturity of microgrids.
Resilient Urban Infrastructure – Helping Cities Find the Right Blend of Finance
There is a wealth of options to consider when financing urban infrastructure, but raising large investment volumes often requires a blend of options for cities looking to address climate resilience. To address the issue, C40 Cities Finance Facility (CFF) has partnered with eThekwini Municipality (Durban) in South Africa to assist the city to overcome this challenge. By aligning interests of local stakeholders, the city’s pilot program aimed to create hundreds of community co-operatives to clean and maintain riverbeds. With CFF support, the city of Durban was able to engage local communities, businesses, and NGOs to expand their pilot program into a city-wide Transformative River Management Programme.
Municipal Hurricane Resilience in the Dominican Republic
In 2017 ClimaPlan, a USAID project working with the Dominican municipality of Las Terrenas, recognized hurricanes Irma and Maria would provide an opportunity to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of the city’s capacity for climate resilience and adaptation. After witnessing the damage done to the city, the project team conducted a Post-Event Assessment of Resilience (PEAR) to document the impacts of the hurricanes and the sensitivity of the people, power system, and other municipal assets to the storms. The city of Las Terrenas was able to turn a negative event into a productive one, serving as a model for conducting PEAR in other locations and recognizing the benefits of assessing climate resilience on a local scale.
When it Comes to Climate Resilience for Cities, Local Leadership Makes a Big Difference
Frequent flooding is a major problem for the coastal cities of Madagascar, which are home to roughly 60 percent of the country's population. With an increase in storm-induced flooding and significant sea level rise, interventions to reduce vulnerability are vital. To aid in this effort, the 5-year Coastal City Adaptation Project was developed to increase the climate resilience of Mozambican cities. The project has had a range of valuable, scalable experiences, particularly in its sustained support for two major cities, Pemba and Quelimane.
Explore additional Urban themed blogs on Climatelinks.
Ariel Schindler
Ariel Schindler is a Communications and Knowledge Management Specialist on USAID’s Advancing Capacity for the Environment (ACE) contract, supporting Climate in her main role as Climatelinks Community Manager. Ariel has a Master’s in Strategic Communications, with a focus on social impact and advocacy, from American University, and a BA in Environmental Science and Policy from Eckerd College.
