FLAGSTAFF — The National League of Cities (NLC) announced the city of Flagstaff as one of eight cities for the 2021 Leadership in Community Resilience program. The NLC will provide the city with $10,000 in direct financial support as well as technical assistance and advisory services from NLC staff and partners to help meet community-specific resilience goals. The city will use this funding to focus on the impacts of smoke from wildfires and prescribed burns by launching the Resilient Neighborhoods Network in three pilot neighborhoods and to provide micro-grants for participating neighborhoods, as well as purchasing HEPA air purifiers to distribute to vulnerable residents.
“The city is honored to be working with NLC to advance our resiliency work in Flagstaff and launch these valuable programs” said Flagstaff Mayor Paul Deasy. “There is a tremendous need in our community to support resiliency at the neighborhood level. The HEPA air purifiers and the Resilient Neighborhoods Network will help prepare our community for the impacts of climate change.”
Now in its fifth year, the Leadership in Community Resilience program is generously supported by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Wells Fargo. The program offers training, tools and partnerships to support local government leaders as they prepare their communities for extreme events as well as long-term climatic and social stressors.
“Every city in the country needs a resilient recovery from COVID-19 to build stronger, more equitable communities, said Cooper Martin, Director of Sustainability & Solutions for NLC. “Lower income residents and communities of color suffer disproportionately in all kinds of disasters, and we’re proud that this grant supports local efforts to improve the lives of all residents.”
In addition to the direct support provided to these eight cities, NLC will share their experiences and best practices with other NLC member cities, serving as examples for hundreds of other communities seeking to achieve greater resiliency for their residents and prepare for the impacts of climate change.