How to build resilience in a climate crisis
The future of many cities is being threatened by climate change, whether by long-term effects or extreme weather catastrophes. It makes running a city all the more challenging, especially when navigating infrastructure plans, urban planning, housing affordability, and inequality. West Palm Beach, Florida, is one of the U.S. cities most vulnerable to climate change. For Mayor Keith A. James, it takes a sense of urgency, action and diplomacy to ensure the city remains resilient.
Kate MacArthur: What’s the most important element in how climate change is shaping the future of your city and how you run it?
Mayor Keith A. James: Resiliency. We are undergoing a vulnerability assessment study as we speak to have consultants advice us as to where we are and what parts of our city are most at risk to climate change. The most important thing is we know it is here. I won’t say it’s coming. It is here. We have to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to respond to it and understand the data, based where some of the hotspots are and where we are most vulnerable.
MacArthur: How is climate change affecting the future of your city?
James: We have something that’s called king tide flooding [the highest tides caused by the gravitational forces of the sun and moon]. That causes some surface street flooding. We also need to work to make sure that we have tree canopies because there is a tremendous warming effect and our streets can become heat islands.
MacArthur: Climate experts argue that the option to combat climate change is closing rapidly. Do you think there’s still time to act?
James: Well, I don’t think we have any choice. We have to act, right? Is the window closing? Yes, it is. But that does not mean that we can’t do everything we can in the moment that we are faced with.
MacArthur: Where does climate fit into all the other priorities that you have?
James: It’s an integral part of everything that we do, and it goes back to your question earlier about the window closing. Hence, we want to have the data from this resiliency study so we can make sure that we understand where the hotspots are and as we are establishing priorities for infrastructure projects, for instance, we take that data into account.
“I don’t think we have any choice. We have to act, right? Is the window closing? Yes, it is. But that does not mean that we can’t do everything we can in the moment that we are faced with.”
MacArthur: How do you ensure that your city benefits from state and federal mandates?
James: We try to be as proactive as possible, working with our state and federal legislatures and taking advantage of the opportunities, whether it’s grants, funding opportunities that are there. We use our lobbyists to work with both sides of the aisle, whether it’s in Tallahassee or Washington, D. C., to get as many resources as possible to benefit our city.
MacArthur: That’s a good point about red and blue states.
James: My job is to serve the public. Potholes are not Republican or Democratic. When someone turns on their water faucet, they expect clean water, whether they’re a Democrat or a Republican.
MacArthur: Does partisanship increase the degree of difficulty for getting those things done?
James: It makes getting resources out of our state more challenging because you’ve got to kind of walk a line. It makes me more judicious in any criticism I have of our leadership at the state level, because I have to recognize the big picture and they still hold the purse strings.
MacArthur: How do you prioritize projects that might not be completed until after you are mayor?
James: If you’re a true leader, you can’t let the timeline dictate the priority of the decisions. So yes, I may say, “We need to build a road here.” Which, once you get through planning and design, etc., I may be out of office by the time it's built. But if it's the right thing to do, you have to start the process.
MacArthur: We understand that density helps with climate. How can cities and the whole ecosystem work to make housing accessible for people?
James: We’ve taken a look at our zoning code to see if we can fold in some incentives to that. If you’re seeking more density, then you’ve got to commit to a certain percentage of that going to workforce or housing that is affordable, based upon the average median income. You have to look for creative ways in which to do that. Our state has issued some laws, which basically say in certain areas, whether it's commercial warehouse areas, you could do residential housing there, provided that there's a certain percentage that goes to workforce housing. So, the alarm has gone off that we need to address this problem as best we can.
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