Climate Action

“Prioritize design that alleviates impact on the environment’s natural resources.” The Civic Design Center has made this theme one of its Guiding Principles stemming back to the creation of The Plan of Nashville: Avenues To A Great City. The related goals of this principle include prioritizing development and landscaping practices and policies that contribute to sustaining local resources. Also, to implement environmental sustainability and resiliency planning into communities. This principle and related goals specifically lead the Civic Design Center to pursue a community collaboration grant from Southeast Sustainability Directors Network to help the Nashville Sustainability Advisory Committee to involve community members in what action Metro should take to mitigate climate change in our region.

There is overwhelming scientific consensus that human activities are driving climate change. It is estimated that between 2025-2035, the Metro Nashville will face myriad climate risks, including an increased number of intense storms and tornadoes and more frequent flooding and extreme heat days per year. Nashville also will be affected by the economic and social disruptions arising from climate change and the regulatory and market responses to climate change in the United States and around the globe.

In February 2020, Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced the establishment of a standing Sustainability Advisory Committee and charged it with providing advice on a range of sustainability issues. Several months earlier in December 2019, the Mayor announced that his administration had re-joined the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. This prompted the development of a citywide climate action plan to be completed within three years that includes a greenhouse gas emissions target and the emissions reduction actions to meet a specific goal.

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