Climate Action You Can Feel: Community-Based Human-Centered Decarbonization and Resilience

The session explores how the City of Iowa City (4-STAR Certified LEED for Cities: Existing v4) and its community partners – both public and private – are translating climate commitments into human-centered outcomes that residents, students, and workers can see and feel. Grounded in Iowa City’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, municipal programs, and the University of Iowa’s Strategic Plan and Sustainability Goals, this session demonstrates how policy, planning, institutional leadership and community engagement align to advance decarbonization while strengthening health, equity and resilience.
Rather than treating carbon reduction as a technical exercise alone, this session reframes it as a community well-being strategy. Speakers will share how electrification, energy efficiency, renewable energy investment, and resilience planning are reducing energy burdens, improving indoor air quality, protecting vulnerable populations from extreme weather, and supporting the local economy.
Participants will learn how cross-sector collaboration between local government, higher education, and community stakeholders accelerates climate action while building public trust and accountability. The session highlights replicable strategies, including the development of a climate action plan, establishing resilience hubs, and planting Miyawaki forests that align climate goals with planning, infrastructure investment, building performance, and neighborhood-level engagement. Attendees will leave with practical approaches to ensure their own climate initiatives deliver measurable decarbonization alongside tangible public health and community resilience benefits while also meeting LEED rating system credit requirements.