Survey: Mayors Concerned About Direct Impacts of Climate Change

A new report from the Boston University Initiative on Cities indicates that most U.S. mayors are concerned about the impacts of climate change on their communities. As Michael Brady writes in Smart Cities Dive, 97 percent of mayors surveyed said climate change was a concern, while over half worry about drought, extreme heat, flooding, and air pollution. Notably, “There was no partisan gap among mayors.”

US Mayors Address the Climate Crisis in New Report from BU’s Initiative on Cities

Nearly all US mayors are worried about the impacts of climate change on their cities, with the effects of drought, extreme heat, flooding, and air pollution topping their list of concerns. And more than half of them believe that “real progress on climate issues” will mean their residents will have to make “real sacrifices” in their lifestyles. Additionally, while mayors are enthusiastic about investing in new green technologies like electric vehicles and the infrastructure to support them, they are less likely to support restrictions on the use of fossil fuels in new private construction.

Report: Regardless of party, mayors are united in concern about climate change — and what’s causing it

While opinions about climate change might split along party lines among the general public, mayors are universally clear about what’s driving it and are unanimous in their concern about its detrimental impact on American cities. In a new report published Wednesday by the Boston University Initiative on Cities, nearly all mayors surveyed in the 2022 Menino Survey of Mayors are worried about climate impacts on their cities—only 3% said they’re not concerned.

Report: 2022 Menino Survey of Mayors: Mayors and the Climate Crisis

The Inflation Reduction Act features hundreds of billions of dollars in commitments to reshaping American energy use and reducing emissions. These commitments include tax credits and rebates for solar panels, electric vehicles, and heat pumps. These federal investments represent new opportunities for local governments and local elected officials who have already been addressing climate change or who wish to do so. The latest Menino Survey unpacks mayors’ current views on local climate action, their sense of the tools they have at their disposal, and their enthusiasm for using them.

5 ways local leaders can use the Racial Wealth Equity Database

The large wealth gap between Black and White families in America has persisted for generations—and mayors are determined to find ways to finally address it. In the most recent Menino Survey of Mayors, 67 percent of mayors said they are worried about the racial wealth gap in their cities. Of those mayors, overwhelming majorities support targeted programs to help Black and Latino residents build businesses and increase homeownership. When city leaders get down to designing new policies and programs, however, they quickly discover a problem. The data they need to inform their efforts—local-level data on assets, homeownership, and more—can be difficult to find broken down by race.

Thank You For Your Feedback

In 2018, Sarah Meyer, then chief customer officer with New York City Transit, was fielding questions at a public meeting in the 14th Street Y near Union Square. The topic of the meeting was moving a few bus stops a few hundred feet so they were better spaced out. While working one of the tables, a man Meyer described as about 60 or 70 years old sauntered up to her. He said he was representing “everyone from his building,” Meyer said. They were opposed to the MTA moving bus stops. Meyer tried to explain why they were doing it—there are international standards for bus stop distances, and this stop was far too close to the other stops. With fewer stops, the buses would be faster.

Greater Boston Housing Earns “Failing Grade” in Annual Report Card

Released on Wednesday, the 2022 Greater Boston Housing Report Card—the Boston Foundation’s annual accounting of the state of housing in Boston and the area surrounding the city—shows that the region “would receive a failing grade” along almost every metric for measuring housing accessibility, equity, and availability, said M. Lee Pelton, Boston Foundation president and CEO, during a report launch event. (Pelton is also a member of the BU Board of Trustees.)

For New Initiative on Cities Leader, Urban Geography Is People

“Urban geography” may sound like it’s all about streets and parks and tall buildings. But for Loretta Lees, the new faculty director of Boston University’s Initiative on Cities (IoC), it means gentrification and homelessness, climate change and commuting, the way the built environment and the politics that shape it affect the lives of residents.