Delivering Urban Resilience: Costs and benefits of city-wide adoption of smart surfaces
This report quantifies the benefits and costs of smart surface technologies and finds that the risks from extreme heat and weather can be offset by these technologies. It draws on Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and El Paso as case studies and considers five smart surface technologies: cool roofs, green roofs, solar PV, reflective pavements, and urban trees. The authors find that adopting these technologies can generate millions (or even billions) of dollars in net financial benefits at the city level and can generate half a trillion dollars in net financial benefits nationwide. It also finds that benefits are greatest in low-income areas.
Resource Details
Related resources (by topic)
Elevate Blog
The Elevate blog publishes a wide variety of articles focused on energy justice, water equity, climate change, and environmental justice
Funding Navigation for California Communities
Funding Navigation for California Communities is an online portal for funding opportunities directed at local governments of California. Grants and other funding resources are categorized under seven project types, and those addressing climate adaptation and resiliency are primarily found under…
Kensington Corridor Trust
We utilize collective ownership to direct investments on the corridor that preserve culture and affordability while building neighborhood power and wealth in Kensington, Philadelphia.
Life-Cycle Assessment and Co-Benefits of Cool Pavements
Prepared for the California Air Resources Board and the California Environmental Protection Agency, this report describes the development of a “cool” pavement life-cycle assessment (pLCA) tool. The tool was created to help local officials in California cities to evaluate the…
Help us expand the Resource Hub
Share resources that you think would be a good addition to this tool and our team will review them for inclusion in future updates.