Photo Courtesy of Jessi Wyatt
Residents of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, know firsthand the urgency of addressing climate change. The city, Iowa’s second largest and located along the Cedar River, has experienced several major flooding events in recent years. Now the city is home to an ambitious plan to address climate change.
As nations gather in Glasgow for the COP26 climate summit, cities like Cedar Rapids are demonstrating how they can lead on climate mitigation while also delivering community-based solutions that incorporate equity and resilience.
Key takeaways from the Cedar Rapids Community Climate Action Plan:
- The plan “centers on equity and community strengths,” including access to environmental and economic benefits.
- The plan has ambitious targets for near- and long-term carbon reduction, with the ultimate vision of a carbon-free Cedar Rapids by 2050.
- Equitable community engagement was vital in shaping the plan and creating buy-in that everyone can do their part to make it successful.
The Community Climate Action Plan, approved in September 2021, was developed over 18 months of planning and community engagement. GPI is proud to have been part of the process as the lead consultant.
Cedar Rapids climate plan shaped by equitable community engagement
At the start, it was activists with the local Sunrise Movement chapter who collaborated with the city to pass a resolution recognizing “the urgency for community climate action” and committing the city to start on its climate action plan. This initial spark grew into a citywide process that engaged community members, including the people most likely to be disproportionately affected by climate change impacts.
To steer the plan, the city reached out to community members with a broad range of backgrounds and expertise to participate in the Community Climate Advisory Committee. This 14-member committee met twice a month for most of the 9-month planning process, providing input to shape the plan. Focus groups were conducted with key stakeholders to both solicit feedback on the plan’s direction and get buy-in for community-driven implementation. Ground teams and the city’s Rollin’ Recmobile were deployed to conduct surveys and host conversations with residents in underrepresented communities.
As a result of extensive and deep engagement, the city has put together a plan that reflects the interests of the community and built the momentum needed to ensure the plan is successful.
Climate plan envisions a carbon-free, resilient, and accessible community
The resolution calls for the city to become carbon-free by midcentury, with a 45 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. The city structured the plan to meet these and other targets while evaluating the impact of actions on equity, the environment, and the economy.
The climate plan details priority actions to meet two goal areas and visions:
- “2050 vision: Cedar Rapids is a carbon-free community. Residents can meet their basic needs within a 15-minute walk. Clean energy provides clean, healthy air. Walking, biking, and busing are popular, while low-emissions public transit and shared-mobility options come frequently.
- Resilient & Accessible: All residents of Cedar Rapids have access to high-quality green space, healthy food, clean air and water, and good, green jobs. Residents and neighborhoods are cohesive and familiar, helping each other out and getting connected to our rich community resources.”
As described by The Gazette, “the Community Climate Action Plan outlines steps that residents and neighborhood groups, industrial partners, businesses and city officials can take to engage in local action, with an eye toward equity to uplift those who will disproportionately bear the consequences of a warming planet. City officials lauded the plan as a likely model for other communities to use.”
A role for everyone to contribute toward shared community climate goals
Cedar Rapids leaders and community members recognize the growing threat of climate change. They also recognize the opportunity to craft solutions built on local strengths, from their schools to their industrial base.
As Mayor Brad Hart and City Manager Jeff Pomeranz wrote in the plan’s introduction, “Cedar Rapids has endured a disproportionate share of extraordinary climate events. These have come at significant cost and with many opportunities to learn, adapt and improve.”
The plan lays out opportunities for action by everyone in the community, from carbon emissions reductions by industrial companies to making neighborhoods more sustainable. As Mayor Hart said, “Every one of us can have some role in moving towards the goals that are set out in the plan.”
As COP26 comes to a close, it is important to remember that while climate change must be addressed on a global scale, cities play a critical role in driving local solutions. After all, impacts are felt locally and the more we dig in together, the more resilient our communities will be.
Contact Abby Finis at [email protected] to find out more about how your community can reach its energy planning, sustainability, and climate action goals.
