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July 2022 Climate Action Report
Follow along at the City of Tucson's Climate Action Hub
Climate Action Hub
Climatehub@tucsonaz.gov
City of Tucson Issues first Climate Action Report
The Climate Action Report provides insight into the City of Tucson's dedication to mitigating climate change by building up our community's resiliency. Each month, the feature story will dive deep into the efforts across the city to move us closer to Mayor Romero's goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. The first Climate Action Report shares the importance of collaboration to build and maintain over 134,000 square feet of stormwater harvesting sites and provides an update on the Climate Action and Adaption Plan.
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Collaboration and Cooperation is key to meet Green Stormwater Goals
In keeping with Tucson’s long history of pioneering and forward-thinking water conservation practices, Mayor and Council directed the creation of the Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) Program in 2019. By creating this program, the City of Tucson joined a small but powerful band of dryland cities that are setting a new standard by making the most of precious rainwater resources through GSI.
In collaboration with all six Ward Offices, the re-dubbed Storm to Shade Program (S2S)/Chubasco a Sombra is presently shepherding approximately 30 new GSI projects from concept through construction, as well as contracting local GSI specialists to maintain existing GSI throughout the City.
In May 2020, Tucson Water customers within City limits saw a new fee for GSI on their Water Utility bills. The launch of the program was delayed due to COVID and the City’s subsequent hiring freeze, but in January 2021 the GSI Program Manager, Blue Baldwin, was onboarded, followed by Xochitl Coronado-Vargas as Public Outreach Coordinator, Jon Choi as Capital Projects Manager, and Brooke Bushman rounded out the team in December 2021 as Maintenance Program Manager.
The team has been busy building the systems and relationships needed to fulfill the two original mandates of the program —1) to build new GSI throughout the City, and 2) to maintain some existing GSI and all GSI built by Storm to Shade.
The current majority of new GSI projects are being designed and constructed in coordination with existing Tucson Delivers projects in parks and on bicycle and pedestrian transportation corridors, leveraging every dollar of investment and minimizing construction time. Meanwhile, by summer’s end, the Maintenance Program will deploy local landscape contractors that specialize in GSI to perform maintenance on the vegetation and structures that contain GSI, whether it be in City parks, neighborhood pocket parks, or along transportation corridors.
Planning Our Work & Working Our Plan
Like our friend the Urban Forestry Program, S2S uses Tree Equity Score to prioritize investment in both capital projects and maintenance efforts. This GIS-based tool combines data layers including socio-economic and demographic indicators, tree canopy, and heat vulnerability to pinpoint zones in each Ward where investment in GSI is needed most. Tree Equity Score was developed by American Forests and brought to Tucson by Mayor Romero through her participation in the 1t.org US Stakeholder Council. The Tree Equity Score is setting the standard for targeting investment in urban tree planting efforts across the country.
The collaboration that is foundational to S2S’s work has forged fruitful partnerships with the Mayor’s Office and City Council staff as well as across City departments. But partnerships and partnering opportunities have also arisen from unanticipated and sometimes surprising places.
Fresh Collabs with Flood Control
As they look within the City to identify locations for new flood control facilities, Pima County’s Regional Flood Control District has emerged as an enthusiastic “partner in percolation” for building GSI beyond the scale and financial reach of S2S. Pima County’s flood control facilities can sometimes be combined with smaller scale S2S projects to capture and utilize stormwater from both large and small storm events. In other cases, after initial investigation, opportunities identified by the S2S team are better suited to the counties' larger scale flood control goals and handed off to our colleagues there. On the maintenance front, S2S contractors will maintain the vegetation in some Pima County Regional Flood Control District-constructed facilities on City-owned property to ensure they are at optimal functionality and providing maximum benefits. This partnership reveals a world of opportunities for sharing resources and expertise and can increase the scope and improve the quality of each program’s projects.
Another exciting partnership is presented by Tucson Clean and Beautiful's GSI MiniGrants Program, which is funded by the Tucson Water Conservation Fund. Like S2S, Tucson Clean and Beautiful's program builds GSI in collaboration with Ward Offices, the Mayor’s Office, and City of Tucson departments, though with a smaller budget and through a community grant application process. Staff from each team meet regularly to discuss potential MiniGrants projects and look for opportunities to support one another. Partnership often occurs through collaboration on community outreach efforts, especially when Tucson Clean and Beautiful and S2S are assessing potential projects in the same neighborhoods. Both teams are also always game to get out of the office and lend a hand at one another’s workdays. Tucson Clean and Beautiful's GSI MiniGrants Program has been
In addition to parks, school campuses are some of the last vestiges of open space inside the City, and Tucson Unified School District is home to almost 90 schools. Many TUSD schools are in areas with low Tree Equity Score, where investment in GSI could provide significant benefits to community members, especially families with children who often suffer disproportionately from climate-related stressors such as poor air quality and excessive heat. Tucson Delivers projects on streets bordering schools present a fantastic opportunity to bring the benefits of GSI to the perimeters of campuses. Schools located in flood prone neighborhoods or adjacent to washes, where adding GSI and or flood control facilities could both alleviate flooding and activate underutilized areas of campus, present another win-win opportunity. And of course, S2S’s inaugural project, CSM Martin R. “Gunny” Barreras Park in Ward 5 borders Sunnyside High School and is well used by students and the community for sports and recreation. This project will harvest stormwater from S. Campbell Ave. to create an extensive area of native vegetation, including 30 additional trees, along the eastern edge of the park.
For the S2S team, cooperation and collaboration is the name of the game. We look forward to continuing to work with all our partners to steward our precious water resources, mitigate the negative effects of climate change, and make Tucson a healthier and more livable community for all Tucsonans. Learn more.
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How are we doing?
2022 Climate Action measurements from the City of Tucson.
 1- Tucson Million Trees (TMT) Program
Climate Action and Adaptation Plan Updates
Tucson Resilient Together, the City’s climate action and adaptation plan, is set to be completed by December 2022. In 2020 the City Council declared a Climate Emergency that set a goal for Tucson to be carbon neutral by 2030. This plan will provide the mitigation measures and resiliency strategies necessary to meet this goal. Throughout 2020 and 2021, the Mayor’s office conducted a community survey and climate listening sessions to gather feedback from the to gather feedback from the community on the direction for the plan. And then in January 2022, Buro Happold was hired along with several other organizations to lead the climate action planning process. To date, the City along with the consultant team have completed a community engagement strategy, a draft existing conditions assessment, a draft climate vulnerability assessment, and a draft emissions inventory. On May 24th, 2022, the team conducted its first public workshop to present the framework for the design of the plan and to gather input from those who attended.
Some of the common themes that have come from these engagement efforts include:
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circular energy solutions (renewable electrification)
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planting more trees and native plants
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local food + sustainable water supplies
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equitable mobility: bikeability, walkability, public transportation
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sustainable neighborhoods: shade, housing, green infrastructure
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improved governance + collaboration across city, county, state, and other organizations
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shades pedestrian areas + routes
The community engagement strategy adopted by Buro Happold and Living Streets Alliance from the Urban Sustainability Directors Network uses an equity forward approach to reach and amplify the voices of those communities of priority that have traditionally been left out of the decision-making processes that affect their livelihoods. The targeted universalism framework uses four forms of equity: inclusive procedural equity, fair distributional equity, recognition of structural equity, and transgenerational equity. Through intentional outreach and engagement with these communities of priority, the City plans to advance and achieve these four forms of equity. The Team will continue to use public workshops/meetings, community dialogues, pop-up events, and will work with promotores to meet people where they are and empower ownership in decision making around climate resilience and mitigation strategies. These meetings and events will be occurring throughout the month of July, August, and September.
Check this out
Actions from around the community contributing to Tucson's climate resilience.
What else is going on
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The City of Tucson has six cooling center locations, one in each Ward. The centers will be open daily from noon - 4 p.m. Pop into any City of Tucson Rec Center to escape the heat and enjoy the amenities. |
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With the recent rain, the Department of Transportation and Mobility Streets and Maintenance team is here to remind us that Monsoon season is on and we want you to stay safe!
Streets and Maintenance will assist residents concerned with flooding by offering free self-serve sandbags in the east parking lot of Hi Corbett Field, 700 S. Randolph Way, at Reid Park. This location will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Residents should bring their own shovel.
Check out the public service announcement.
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