Lisa Gardner, City Council Communications Director, 509.625.6226
Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at 3:32 p.m.
Today, the National League of Cities (NLC) announced Spokane, WA for the Leadership in Community Resilience program. Spokane is one of eight cities to be awarded in this program and will receive $10,000 in direct financial support as well as technical assistance and advisory services from NLC staff and partners to help them meet community-specific resiliency goals.
“On behalf of the City Council, we are thrilled to learn Spokane has been awarded the National League of Cities grant,” said Councilwoman Betsy Wilkerson. “Our policy staff continues to take action and push Spokane forward on initiatives important to our community such as environmental justice especially focusing on our most vulnerable communities that are disproportionately at risk of climate impacts. This grant will allow Council to take a deeper dive in community engagement and education on issues that immediately impair our community like toxic wildfire smoke and heat waves that Spokane experienced last summer.”
The City Council’s Sustainability Action Subcommittee Equity Workgroup submitted a proposal detailing resiliency challenges in Spokane and proposed projects that could support local capacity-building activities such as workshops for city staff, residents, and/or nonprofit partners. Specifically, the Equity Workgroup will partner with The ZoNE Project & APIC Spokane who will provide capacity and/or resources to help increase resiliency in underserved and highly impacted communities in Spokane by reducing environmental health disparities exacerbated by climate change.
“This is a great win for the City of Spokane,” says City Council Equity and Inclusion Manager Alex Gibilisco. “This will give us the opportunity to center our environmental justice plan around people that would otherwise be the most impacted members of our community.”
For more information about the Sustainability Action Subcommittee or the Equity Workgroup, please contact Council’s Manager of Sustainability Initiatives, Kara Odegard at kodegard@spokanecity.org
About the National League of Cities
The National League of Cities (NLC) is the voice of America’s cities, towns and villages, representing more than 200 million people. NLC works to strengthen local leadership, influence federal policy and drive innovative solutions. Stay connected with NLC on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
